Time: Balance & Focus

Overview

Subject: Other (Personal and Social Capability / General Capabilities)
Year Level: Year 11
Lesson Duration: 240 minutes (split into two 120-minute sessions with a 20-minute break in between)
Class Size: 14 students
Curriculum Link:
Australian Curriculum – General Capabilities, specifically:

• Personal and Social Capability
  • Self-management: Develop self-discipline and set goals
  • Social awareness: Appreciate diverse perspectives
  • Social management: Work collaboratively
• Critical and Creative Thinking
  • Inquiring – identify, clarify questions
  • Reflecting on thinking, actions and learning

This lesson is designed to drive high engagement and personal reflection among Years 11 students, focusing on time management in a modern, digital world. It uses collaborative, project-based learning alongside reflective tasks to build life skills, emotional regulation, and resilience.

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Learning Intentions

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

• Identify personal time drains and productivity blockers
• Analyse the correlation between time management and well-being
• Design personalised weekly schedules that prioritise academic, social, and emotional demands
• Reflect on their habits and commit to specific, measurable goals
• Evaluate and apply a range of time and commitment management strategies

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Success Criteria

Students will demonstrate success by:

• Successfully completed time audit sheet
• Participation in group solution-building discussions
• Presentation of their personalised weekly plan and justification
• Reflection journal demonstrating critical evaluation of their current habits and proposed changes

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Required Materials

• Printed copies of:
  • Time Audit Sheets
  • Weekly Planner Templates
  • Reflection Journals
  • ‘Distraction Dice’ Prompt Cards
• Timer
• Post-it notes
• Butcher’s paper
• Coloured markers
• Access to whiteboard
• Phones temporarily surrendered in a 'Digital Detox Box' during key reflection times (optional, to support focus)

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Lesson Breakdown

Session 1: Discover & Reflect (120 minutes)

Part 1 – Icebreaker: You’ve Got 24 (15 minutes)

Objective: Build awareness of how each person allocates 24 hours.
Activity:
Students are handed 24 playing chips, each representing an hour.
They must allocate chips across categories: sleep, school, homework, sport, social media, gaming, leisure, work, family time etc.
Debrief with:

• “What surprised you?”
• “What’s non-negotiable vs flexible?”

Part 2 – Personal Time Audit (30 minutes)

Students complete a Time Audit Sheet based on their past three days.
They categorise time into:

• Productive Time
• Passive Time
• Obligations
• Wasted Time

Group discussion follows:

• What do you notice?
• Where do you spend more time than expected?
• What makes a time investment worthwhile?

Part 3 – The Great Distraction Debate (30 minutes)

Team activity: Split class into 3 groups:

1. Digital Distractions
2. Social Commitments
3. Academic Pressures

Each group lists common challenges & “time vampires.”
They then debate: “Which is the biggest time-drain for youth today?”
Teacher facilitates scaffolded discussion:

• Use evidence from your time audit to justify
• Use ‘Distraction Dice’ cards to introduce common scenarios

Part 4 – Mindful Time and Focus Flow (20 minutes)

Guided mindfulness-based exercise focusing on:

• Breathing and awareness
• Visualising a productive and balanced day
• Emotional check-in

Discuss the connection between emotional regulation and time choices.
Invite short journalling task: “When I feel X, I tend to respond with Y. How does that affect how I use my time?”

Break – 20 minutes

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Session 2: Plan & Engage (120 minutes)

Part 5 – Future-Mapping: Setting Priorities (20 minutes)

Using butcher’s paper, students list their:

• Non-negotiables (school hours, shifts)
• Goals (academic, personal)
• Mini Goals (this week’s exams, events)

Group analysis using colour coding:

• Red = Stressors
• Blue = Energy boosters
• Green = Supportive routines
  Discussion:
  “What needs to change for your week to feel more balanced?”

Part 6 – The Real-World Challenge: Design Your Ideal Week (45 minutes)

Each student receives a blank Weekly Planner Template.
They build a new time plan for the upcoming week, integrating:

• Study Blocks
• Wellbeing Time (physical activity, digital breaks)
• Flex Time for unexpected events
• Social/Relationship-building Time
• Wind-down Time/Rituals

Peer feedback circles:

• “Does it reflect your priorities?”
• “What could be optimised?”

Students justify one key change using reflective writing:
“I’ve changed ____ in order to improve ____.”

Part 7 – The Commitment Contract (25 minutes)

Students write a short Personal Time Management Pledge including:

• One behaviour they will trial or change
• Context-specific mantra (i.e., “When I scroll, I check in”)
• Include accountability partner (peer selected)

Display pledges in classroom “Accountability Corner”

Part 8 – Exit Reflection: Through My Week (30 minutes)

Guided visualisation:
Students close their eyes and imagine:

• Monday morning… classes… distractions… evening routines... weekend decisions
  Written reflection journalling prompt:
• “If I fully stick to my new plan, how will I feel on Sunday night?”

Finish with “Star-Stepping” activity:

• Each student writes their proudest takeaway on a gold star post-it.
• Place on Time Wall: ‘One small shift, one big impact.’

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Extension/Homework

• Students implement their Weekly Plan and trial for 7 days
• At the end of the week, complete a short reflection:
  • “What worked well?”
  • “Where did I slip?”
  • “What will I change next week?”

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Differentiation

• Visual Learners: Templates + colour-coded maps
• Auditory Learners: Group discussions, guided visualisations
• Kinaesthetic Learners: Icebreaker, butcher’s paper activity, “Star-Stepping” movement
• Support: Use of sentence stems for journalling
• Challenge: Students tasked with designing a digital version of their weekly planner using software (Excel, Canva, Google Calendar etc.)

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Assessment (Formative)

• Participation in Time Audit and Team Debate
• Quality of Weekly Plan (personal alignment, real-life feasibility)
• Reflection Journal Entries
• ‘Time Management Pledge’ contract

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Teacher Notes

• Use a warm, conversational tone to engage students
• Use humour and current examples (i.e., TikTok, long homework slots versus Pomodoro)
• Framing is key: this is not about restriction but freedom through structure
• Be flexible: offer 1:1 coaching for those needing extra scaffolding

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Opportunity for Cross-Curriculum Integration

• English: Argument construction in debate, reflective writing
• Health and PE: Mental and emotional wellbeing links
• Digital Technologies: Scheduler tools, app awareness

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Final Reflection

This isn't just a lesson—it's an intervention. Managing time well is emancipating for senior students burdened with academic, social, and external work demands. By gear-shifting analysis into creative action, we empower our young people to claim ownership of their hours and, ultimately, their sense of self.

Let them not just manage time—but master it.