The moment I found myself secluding myself from my friends and family, as well as engaging in fewer activities with them, like going out for brunch or watching movies, that was when I found myself losing control of having a balance between my academic and social life.

I have lost how to “prioritize” my schedule and my assignments and here is a step by step guide my friend showed me to help me prioritize myself. It may be very simple and although it is simple, I've realized that many of my friends and colleagues have not engaged themselves in making one.

Before I begin, the examples I will be using are the things that were a part of my priority list, so use this as an example.

1. Create a list, in full detail, of EVERYTHING that you are involved in and doing. This also includes working towards fulfilling requirements for a scholarship or an award, as well as activities you do other than in campus. We will name this list the “What I am doing right now” list.

2. After you have created your list, make another list and name it your PRIORITY LIST.

3. Looking at your first list, circle the ones that are more long term and underline the ones that are short term.

An activity labeled as long term or short term is determined by the time you are planning on staying to finish the task. So being a student is generally a “long term” task, especially if you’re still a freshman

For example on my list, I have

• A full-time student (Long term)
• Works at a research internship, part-time (long term)
• Executive for a club (Short term)
• Volunteer at a hospital (Short term)
• A peer ambassador for my college campus (Long term)
• A content creator for the Odyssey (Long term)
• Working to fulfill requirements for an award as well as to be inducted into a leadership society (Short term)

4. Now that we have differentiated the tasks as being long term and short term, in numerical order for both long and short term, separately, from 1 being the MOST IMPORTANT and the larger the number the smaller the priority of that task is.

5. Now that the tasks are in numerical order, place them on your priority list, first your long term tasks then followed by your short term task, in their numerical order.

I hope that this will be very helpful in helping you find what your ways through getting "life together."