1. Change your definition of success.

Lots of teens excel academically and shine in extracurricular activities but feel stressed all the time. According to the nonprofit organization Challenge Success, 56% of teens say their stress about school has increased since the pandemic. The five major stressors they cited are grades, tests and other assessments, overall workload, lack of sleep, and time management. These teens are on track to experience burnout, characterized by irritability, sleep-deprivation, exhaustion, near-constant anxiety, and loss of motivation. In other words, without self-care teens eventually won’t be able to maintain their level of success. To protect your teen from burnout, uplevel your own understanding of success to include well-being that’s sustainable over the long-term. Then make sure your teen knows that’s what matters most to you.

2. Teach them a variety of techniques.

Each teen’s nervous system, stress-triggers, schedule and circumstances are different, so there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to self-care. Support your teen by teaching them a variety of techniques that can be used whenever and wherever they are needed. To start, try equipping your teen with these meditation and mindfulness apps, stress strategies and time management tools. Help them stick to healthy routines for mealtimes and bedtimes and get plenty of exercise. Challenge Success emphasizes the importance of playtime, downtime and family time for kids of all ages. The more tools teens have, the more likely they’ll be to remember and reach for the right one.

3. Schedule self-care.

To learn how to manage stress, teens need to be proactive in their self-care. That means not waiting until they’re super-stressed to do something nourishing for themselves. Teens are just as busy as their parents, and as we all know, it’s easy to leave self-care as the last thing on the to-do list. The best way to ensure a regular self-care practice is to schedule it. A good goal is to schedule at least one self-care commitment each day. It can change based on how your teen is feeling, and may include everything from going for a run, calling a friend, watching funny videos, taking a karate class or reading a book for fun. The important thing is that it alleviates stress and makes your teen feel good.

4. Say “no” and set boundaries.

Sometimes self-care is not about doing more – it’s about doing less. When they feel stressed, teach your teen to ask themselves if there’s something they could do less of, let go of, or say “no” to. Setting boundaries takes practice, so help your teen think through their priorities and the pros and cons of each situation. Remind them that boundaries aren’t so much about keeping people or experiences out; they’re more about protecting and prioritizing their own well-being so they can keep showing up as their best self. Boundaries are an important part of self-care because they teach teens how to care for and respect  themselves and others, meet expectations, and create physical and emotional safety. And there’s no better formula for success.

1. A predictable routine

One of the best ways parents can help teens manage their time is to be a little boring. Researchers at the University of Georgia found that teens with consistent schedules at home reported higher levels of self-control and emotional well-being and were less likely to use alcohol and more likely to enroll in college. Teens with routines also tested for lower levels of the stress hormone epinephrine. “The big takeaway is to help your child navigate the teen years, make their lives predictable,” says the study’s lead author Allen Barton. To minimize pushback and make it work for everyone, parents and teens can create routines together. Try establishing bedtimes, mealtimes, after-school schedules, and limits on screen time, and balance it out with lots of unscheduled time on the weekends.

2. Micro-goals

Two-thirds of teens say they are “constantly worried” about school and their workload is a major source of stress, according to the nonprofit Challenge Success. Academic pressure leads many teens to procrastinate and feel anxious and overwhelmed by their goals, instead of excited and optimistic. Parents can help teens break down big, potentially scary processes–think college applications–into manageable steps using micro-goals. Start by reducing the “barrier to entry,” or making the first step so simple there’s no fear of failure. Then sort the entire process into easily-achievable goals, put each task on a timeline, and schedule daily or weekly time for your teen to work towards their goals. Finally, make sure to celebrate their successes. Each micro-goal they complete is a milestone.

3. Time Travel

Teach teens to put themselves in the shoes of their future selves. The “time travel” strategy, developed by psychologist and researcher Fuschia Sirois, uses visualization to imagine how great it will feel to complete a task successfully or attain an aim. Teens can travel through time to envision the outcome of any goal, and visualization can also help them imagine solutions to problems and setbacks they encounter along the way. By engaging teens emotionally, visualization motivates them to stay aligned with their dreams for the future.

4. An award-winning planner

Digital calendars, tracking tools, and reminders all help teens stay organized, but for developing executive function skills, a paper planner may still be best. Writing things down helps teens organize their thoughts, visualize a plan, and feel in control. Academic and parenting coach Leslie Joesel created the Order Out Of Chaos academic planner specifically to help teens focus, prioritize, and manage their time and tasks effectively. The planner\’s practical design includes school assignments placed alongside extracurricular and weekend activities, a Next Week/Notes section to help teens track complex projects, and visual aids that make it a cinch to use.

5. Analog clocks

Besides paper planners, Joesel offers another old-school time management hack for parents: analog clocks. In this YouTube video, Joesel says analog clocks help kids visualize the movement of time, which better prepares them to manage it. “The problem with digital is that digital only gives you one time: the present, so you can’t see what came before it, how much time you have left, or (see)… time move.” Joesel encourages parents to put an analog clock in every room their teen spends time in, including the bedroom, bathroom, and wherever they do their homework. Time management strategists say analog watches are great for teens, too.

6. Reward Substitution

Digital devices and social media distraction are a huge hurdle for teens who are learning time management. Since limiting screen time is not always an option, parents also need to help teens develop internal controls to dial down the temptation. One simple but effective strategy is Reward Substitution, created by behavioral economics professor Dan Ariely. To practice, teens create a habit that links a long-term goal with something immediately fun or relaxing, like rewarding themselves with 15 minutes of game time for each hour of study completed. Experiencing immediate rewards while working towards a long-term goal helps teens stay motivated and get in the habit of managing their time wisely.