It can wait…
For one neurodivergent young woman, utilizing her free time productively while away at college was a life skill, she quickly realized she didn’t have. Instead of using that time to plan out her week ahead, spend time with friends, and relax, she used up all that time by being on her phone. Now that she didn’t have her parents to tell her to get off social media and video games, the young woman would lay in bed and scroll before eventually realizing her free time was up, leaving her with no plans for the week and no time to spend with her friends.
Despite this, she continued to not use her free time productively, causing her chores, and social life, to fall behind because she would often use that time to be on her phone instead of using it to do what was beneficial for her. The young woman’s friends eventually stopped inviting her to events since she would never show up, and her chores and homework would often be left undone because she didn’t plan out time to do it properly, causing unnecessary stress for the young woman while away at college. This then caused her to resent her independent life, and as time went on, she expressed wanting to drop out, worrying her parents who reached out to the College Life Skills Program for help.
There, she met with a coach weekly so she could learn how to strengthen these life skills by learning and applying strategies such as implementing a system where she used a timer and a planner. With them, she would spend the first 15-minutes of her free time planning out her week, including social and leisure time before allowing herself on to go back on to her phone. As she received this coaching, with a level of accountability, her ability to handle independent life flourished, preventing her from dropping out of college due to heightened anxiety from the stress of her lack of productivity during her free time.
In college, young adults have a lot more time on their hands than when they were in high school. Instead of being in school for 5+ hours a day, they have classes spread out, giving them more time to do other things in between. Yet, young adults have a lot more responsibility when at college. This time is needed to be productive. Whether it be for leisure or planning ahead for the week, college students require so much free time, so they are able to balance their newly found independence.
Utilizing free time productively and effectively is a life skill young adults need to be successful with while away at college. If they do not have it, life can quickly become overwhelming since all of their cleaning, planning, and chores would have to be done sporadically, which can then leave them with no time for leisure. If young adults do not prioritize this free time to make a plan for their week ahead, then they may not be able to attend events with friends or even just relax on their own, which is important. College is about balance, and this open time is where they input leisure into their busy lives. Without it, they may become isolated, stressed, depressed, and even may want to drop out of college because of their poor time management skills, which no parent wants, but seems to be more common than most think. One source explains how “…a whopping 82% of people don’t have a dedicated time management system.” (Clockify, 2017). Without a time management system, that free time to be productive and relieve stress can be wasted, causing college to be more difficult for young adults that it needs to be, especially for those who are neurodivergent, but the College Life Skills Program can help.
At the College Life Skills Program, our team of Doctoral and Master level professionals utilizes a series of highly individualized strategies, services, and techniques to help neurodivergent young adults who are college bound, in college, and even after college succeed in and after their transition into independent life. We help teach them life skills such as using free time productively so they can be successful in the work world and in life as well as help them learn how to balance independent life on their own, and other executive functioning skills, social skills, and emotional maturity. If your young adult is struggling with life skills, such using free time productively on their own or the transition into college and adulthood, CollegeLSP has the tools to aid them in achieving and generalizing such skills.
Click here and call now to schedule your FREE 20-minute individualized screening- $150 value.
Dr. Eric J. Nach, Ph.D., M.Ed., A.S.D.C., is a Developmental and Behavioral Specialist who specializes in Autism, ADHD and related disorders. Dr. Nach is the founder of the College Life Skills Program where he and his team of professional’s help develop the Emotional Maturity, Executive Functioning, Life Skill and Social Abilities of college students and those high school students preparing for college. The CollegeLSP is a subsidiary program of the Support For Students Growth Center, located in Boca Raton, FL and providing services nationwide.
Inc, CAKE. com. (2017, September 1). Time Management Statistics. Clockify. https://clockify.me/time-management-statistics
