Make progress: One-thing tips for teens
You feel better when you get stuff done follow-up tips for high school.
Here’s a list of “one things” your teen can do to turn the day around:
Read (anything, everything—websites, books, articles, instructions for how to play…, song lyrics, discussion boards, comic books).
Contribute online to a discussion.
Have a conversation with a sibling.
Solve a problem (math, plumbing, gaming, the wobbly table, the broken blind, detangling a younger sister’s hair, mediate an argument).
Write one poem.
Study one lyric.
Watch one film.
Plan one outing.
Make a plan for next week that gets the teen out of the house.
Go for a run.
Make one date with a friend for coffee and a movie.
Explain one historical event and the persons involved.
Discuss one social issue (both sides).
Identify a theme in one author’s work and talk about it.
Investigate the answer to one question. Report back.
Play one challenging board game.
Study foreign language vocabulary for one hour.
Learn one new scientific principle.
Find one country on the globe that you have never heard of: identify its language, location, political system, and significance on the world stage.
Look up the requirements for one college of the teen’s choice.
Look up the requirements for one career field of interest.
Apply for one job.
Redecorate the teen bedroom.
Work at the most challenging subject matter for one hour.
Learn one new skill—painting walls, quilting, gardening, programming, writing java, cooking or baking…
Start a business. Sell cookies to neighbors, mow lawns, do light housekeeping, tutor math or reading or writing, restring tennis rackets…
Prepare for one section of the SAT/ACT.
Surf, ski, longboard, throw a frisbee, golf, swim, cartwheel, bounce on a trampoline, throw a baseball, hike.
Play one game of chess.
Start a blog or tumblr.
Tweet.
Take one picture and post to Instagram.
Make one to do list… then “to do” it.
You may need to post this list so that the teen has something to look at when boredom inevitably sets in.
Good luck!
Cross-posted on facebook.
Image by Brave Writer mom, Andrea (cc)
