Tommy was a cheerful fifth grader, but he had a serious issue — he never paid attention to his parents’ advice about time management.

Tommy’s mother would always tell him to get up early and get ready for school in the morning promptly, but because he would always stay up late and play games on his tablet, he could never get up on time in the morning. He believed that he could finish everything quickly in the morning, but he was never on time. He always delayed doing things. Sometimes, his lack of punctuality even caused him to miss school!

In school, Tommy didn’t pay attention to his studies and lectures. He drew in his notebook instead of focusing and didn’t finish his homework because he spent too much time chatting with his friends.

When tests came around, he didn’t study beforehand because he thought he could learn everything at the last minute. Since Tommy didn’t listen to his parents and didn’t manage his time well, his grades started to go down. He got bad marks on his tests and quizzes, and his teachers were worried about him. They tried to help him, but Tommy didn’t listen.

One day, Tommy’s parents got his report card, and it was full of Ds and Fs. They were disappointed and Tommy also felt terrible. His friends had gotten good grades, only Tommy was lagging behind in studies in the class.

Something changed in him that day. He realised he had let everyone down because he didn’t manage his time or his studies properly. He decided to do better if he wanted to succeed in school. Thus, Tommy started listening to his parents and paid attention in class.

He made a schedule for himself and set aside time for homework and studying every day. Slowly, Tommy’s grades started to improve. He worked hard and stayed focused, and soon he was getting As and Bs in his tests. His parents were proud of him for his drastic improvement, and so were his teachers.

Tommy learned an important lesson, that managing time is important and it’s something he needed to do to be successful. From that day on, he always listened to his parents and made sure to manage his time wisely.

Published in Dawn, Young World, May 4th, 2024