I don’t know how things are looking in your neighborhood, but where I’m sitting things are finally warming up. If you’re like me, you’re probably planning to use the nice weather to have some fun. Maybe you’re about to go on spring break. No matter what, I hope you can relax a little while school’s out!

But I have some advice for you this spring—don’t waste all your leisure time playing video games or watching TV. Why? Every day of your life—every single day—is a precious gift. Each hour holds the potential to change your future for the good or the bad.

Instead of spending hours staring at screens, why not use this new season as an opportunity to spring clean your life?

Have you heard your parents or grandparents say they’re about to give the house a good spring cleaning? That just means they’re going to look through the closets, the attic, and the garage to see what needs sorted, what needs fixed, and what needs to make its way to the dump.

Spring cleaning is a great way to get a house looking good. But you can use this same concept to rejuvenate your personal life! You know—make a fresh start, check in on your annual goals, and maybe even adjust them or add new goals based on how life has changed since the New Year!

Let’s talk about three ways you—yes you—can spring clean your life.

1. Check Up on Your Time Management

Are you in the habit of thinking about ways you can spend your time wisely? Managing your time is as important as managing your money.

For example, if you’re passive about your money, it’s going to disappear before you ever knew it was there. The same is true of your time. Don’t let too much time slip by before you get into a habit of scheduling how you want your week to go.

I know it might sound boring or like way too much work to schedule your week, month, or year. But if you don’t have at least a general idea of what you want to accomplish, those days, weeks and months can go by so quickly. Before you know it, you look back and see a whole year has passed without any real growth in your career goals, relationships or personal development.

Here’s how I try to keep motivated to use my time wisely:

• Once a week, usually over the weekend, I make a list of what I need to do the following week.
• I make sure to include work assignments, meetings, video shoots (Hey—how do you think my vlogs show up in your YouTube queue?), and anything else that’s coming up.
• Don’t forget your school schedule, study time, exercise or sports activities, music lessons, doctor appointments, and volunteering activities.
• You can be sure I schedule some time for chilling out too! Nobody needs to work all the time!
• Scheduling extra room in your schedule is just as important as leaving yourself some spending money when you budget. No need to stack every hour full of activity. Leave some free time for daily relaxation.

You’ll enjoy both work and play a lot more if you go into the week with a clear picture of what you want to accomplish.

2. Reassess Your Goals

Remember that list of goals—those New Year’s resolutions you made back in January? (See article here.) You know I made mine! But if you got off track or maybe even skipped making resolutions this year, now’s a perfect time to reevaluate how you’re progressing with your long-term life goals.

These are the areas to think about:

• Money. If you already have a job, how are you doing with budgeting, saving for the future, and giving some of your earnings away? If you’re not working yet, what steps are you taking toward finding a summer job?
• School. Sometimes it’s tempting to take your foot off the pedal in class because of the warm weather and thoughts of summer fun. Don’t let that be you this semester. Instead, figure out which classes you’re having the most trouble in and write out action steps you can take to finish strong in those subjects.
• Friends. Did you know friendships aren’t invincible? You might think your friends will be around forever, but as someone who’s seen my share of friends come and go, I can tell you they’re more like plants. They need attention, nourishment and tender loving care. Which friends should you reach out to and reconnect with this spring?

3. Think About Career Opportunities

Are you wondering why I’m bringing up career advice when we’re talking the current season of your life? After all, your career is years ahead of you and far down the road. Right?

Well no, not really. Honestly, careers come at you faster than you might think, and sometimes they begin earlier than you expect. In fact, there’s no such thing as being “too young” to brainstorm about career opportunities.

One of the coolest ways to determine what you want to do for a living is to create your own business. I know hundreds of teens who have an entrepreneurial mind-set and use it to make money right now—even while they’re still in school!

Chances are you already know teens in your own school or church who are participating in a family business or running one of their own. This spring could be a great time for you to explore the possibilities for yourself.

Here are some of the most common ways teens pursue self-employment:

• Babysitting
• Lawn care
• Handyman service
• House cleaning
• Running errands

If you’re looking for a great resource to help you turn a dream or talent into a real moneymaking venture this spring, I’ve got just the thing for you. It’s called the Teen Entrepreneur Toolbox, and it features yours truly! I’ll walk you through eight practical steps that make it easy for you to start your own business doing things like babysitting, mowing yards, or even outside-the-box opportunities like creating baked goods or setting up an online store! The kit goes on presale April 2, and it’ll be out officially on April 23. (Learn more here.) You can be sure I’ll share more about this exciting release as those dates get closer!

Spring is the perfect time to change and clean out areas of your life. As the days warm up, don’t forget to rev up your goals. Set that schedule, review those resolutions, and consider starting fresh this spring by investing in yourself.

About the Author: Anthony ONEAL is one of Your Monthly Mentors. Since 2003, Anthony has helped thousands of students make good decisions with their money, relationships and education to live a well-balanced life. Now Anthony has joined Ramsey Solutions to spread this encouraging message to students nationwide as a Ramsey Personality. His youth conferences, concerts and events have drawn enormous crowds, and he’s spoken for some of the biggest names in the industry, including Bishop T.D. Jakes’ MegaFest Youth Ministry, television personality, Judge Glenda Hatchett and Rory Jones. Anthony has also appeared on Fox and Friends, CNN and TBN. Read more and check out Anthony’s other articles…

You can follow Anthony on Twitter and Instagram @AnthonyONeal and online at anthonyoneal.com or facebook.com/aoneal.

You can also check out and Subscribe to Anthony’s Awesome YouTube Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/anthonyoneal .