12

Organize Tasks and Priorities

Take notes and answer questions here.

Review

In “Use a Study Plan,” you learned a process to make a plan to complete your schoolwork at home. Share an example of when you have used this plan to help you complete school assignments or prepare for an exam.

Learn

You have many things to do each day. You can choose to use your time wisely by prioritizing all the things you need to get done each day. Prioritizing means deciding what things are more important than others and doing those things first.

In the Book of Mormon, King Benjamin counseled his people to order, or prioritize, the many things they needed to do:

“And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order” (Mosiah 4:27).

Decide How You Will Spend Your Time

There are many ways we can use our time each day. It is a challenge to use our time wisely. Some ways we can spend our time are more important than others. When we identify the most important things we need to do, we can create a plan to spend our time more effectively.

Complete each sentence for how long you spend on each activity every day.

• I spend minutes a day getting ready for school.

• I spend hours a day at school.

• I spend hours a week exercising or playing sports.

• I spend minutes/hours a day on spiritual activities like scripture study.

• I spend  minutes/hours a day watching television or videos on YouTube.

• I spend  minutes/hours a day playing computer or video games.

• I spend minutes a day talking with friends in person, on the telephone, or through social media. 

Activity

Think about how you spent your time when you were not at school last week. How much of it was spent unwisely? How much time was spent on things that really matter? It may be helpful to make a list of the things you did and order them with the most important items first.

Below, make a list of tasks you need to do this week in the “Task” column. Some possible tasks might include helping with chores, studying for a mathematics exam, buying food, washing clothes, fixing a bike, or studying the scriptures.

Under the word “Priority,” write the number that helps you know how important that task is compared to the other tasks on your list. (For example, if you have eight tasks, then you would prioritize those tasks using the numbers 1–8.)

Priority	Task

You can use this list to help you plan how you will spend your time this week. You can also share this list with a parent and ask them to help you get the important things done.

Talk with Your Family

Talk with your family about what you learned today. How will you spend your time more wisely? Ask your family members to help you make good decisions about how to use your time.