November 2019

How do you really use your time? A Sunday School activity.

By Dave Magee

Time is a finite resource and it’s one of the most valuable things students have at their disposal. This activity focuses on helping students to think about how they actually use their time in a normal week, and identify places they might be able to improve.

Give each student a sheet of paper and something to write with. Remind them there are 24 hours in a day, and you want them to document how they spend their time in a “normal” day. (You may get lots of protesting that every day is different, have them choose a normal school day, whatever that means for them).

Remind them to include every activity they do in a normal day, things such as:

– sleeping

– meals

– time in class

– time at before/after school activities

– time studying

– time on social media

– time watching tv/streaming/etc.

– time with friends

– exercise

– time in prayer/Bible study/serving the community

– anything/everything else

Beside each activity they list they should write down how many minutes/hours a day they do this activity. Give them around 5-7 minutes to do this, and ask them to write down how many hours & minutes their activities totaled.

After they are done ask the group:

– Other than sleeping, what do spend your most time on in the day?

– Other than sleeping, what do you spend the second most amount of time on?

– What % of your time is time that you get to choose how to spend it?

– Looking at your day, how can you glorify God through the things you are required to do?

– Looking at your day, how could you better devote your flexible time to God?

If students are having a difficult time thinking this through, invite them to choose a weekday from the previous week and chart what they did on that day.

Youth Small Groups Dialogue

Dave MaGee has served in youth ministry for two decades since graduating from Duke University Divinity School in 1999. He served as a youth minister in several churches in Texas and most recently served as the Director of Student Ministries at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas.