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On Labor Day in the United States it's important to step back and think
about what it means to work, what it means to relax and what it
means to manage your time. The L.A. Times is running an article
entitled "All Work and No Play? No Way."

The article states:

Worried about employee burnout and turnover, some employers are
forcing workers to take the vacation time they are entitled to.
Determined to take some of the "labor" out of Labor Day and other
holidays, employers are encouraging these workaholics to switch off
their cellphones and log out of e-mail while they're away.

Perhaps its particularly important to help students consider the
importance of time management at the beginning of the school year.
While some students need to learn to budget more of their time to
school, there are actually other students who need to budget a little
less of their time to school work and more of their time to having fun.
Read a Similar Story.


Discussion Starters

  • Write the phrase "Time Management" on the board and ask
    students to explain what it means. Lead a discussion with
    students explaining the importance of doing school work,
    having fun with friends, spending time with family and doing
    other things.

  • Ask your students to conduct a survey of several businesses,
    typically businesses that employ staff full time such as business
    firms, asking managers to explain how they think about the
    balance between business and pleasure. Students can develop
    their own questions. Perhaps students can email these
    questions to local businesses and then compile and post the
    results on a blog or website.

  • Ask students to make up a "medical-related" editorial in which
    they try and convince business people that all work and no play
    is not healthy. You can encourage students to research
    information to put into these editorials. They might vodcast
    these editorials or podcast them. It's really very easy to make
    podcasts here.

  • Teach students how to develop their own calendar so that they
    know what they have to accomplish on a specific day.
    Remember that people don't naturally know how to write down
    assignments and allocate time to finish these assignments. They
    need to learn how to do this. Many high school students and
    even adults have a difficult time maintaining an appropriate
    schedule.
All Work No Play
Labor Day, 2006
Google