How do you usually spend that break hour where everyone else you know is stuck in class? Will you spend it catching up on sleep or eating to your heart's content? What about those lengthy weekends? Will you spend them partying the night away or snuggling up watching movies with your S.O.? While it is important to have some you time, it's just as important to spend at least a few of those free hours actually getting stuff done. Here are the 15 best ways to optimize your free time.

1. Getting A Head Start On Tonight's Homework

As terrible as this may sound in the moment, you'll have a huge weight lifted off of your shoulders if you can get most of your homework out of the way before dinner. Be sure to work in your optimal environment whether this is at your desk, in your bed, in the center of campus, or even outside in the sun. Getting work done early will give you more time to focus on more important things later, like binge-watching your favorite series on Netflix or doing another legitimately productive task on this list.

2. Grab A Bite To Eat

This may sound like a no-brainer to some but in the busy social and academic lifestyle of a college student, it can be hard to find time for snacks and meals throughout the day. If you're anything like some of my friends, you may even get so caught up in your life that you forget to eat entirely. Regardless of whether skipping meals is due to a busy schedule or a busy mind, free time between classes is prime time to grab a slice of pizza or a salad from a dining hall. You could even use mealtime to catch up with friends or your roommates for a bit!

3. Take A Shower

Yes, it is important to keep up with good hygiene, but showers are also a great way to decompress and let your mind wander. The steam and heat of a nice hot shower always seem to melt your worries away and the simplicity of shower tasks make for the most spontaneous thoughts. Some brilliant ideas were conceived in showers!

4. Do Your Laundry

This may be one of the most uneventful ways to spend your free time but we've all got to do it at some point. Nobody wants to talk to the kid who smells like old sweat and consistently wears coffee stained shirts, trust me! Going to the laundry room is also a great time to socialize with other people from your residence hall. You never know, maybe you'll meet your best friend bonding over how much you love fabric softener one day!

5. Do Your Dishes

Even if you don't have the luxury of living in an apartment, odds are you have a few water bottles, plates, mugs or silverware lying around in your room somewhere. If you want to avoid dealing with a bug infestation, you should really wash them off after you use them.

6. Make Your Bed

Does your bed look like it came straight out of a linens catalog or does it look more like it barely survived a dorm room tornado? If it looks more like the latter, it may be a smart idea to take 5-10 minutes to bring it back to its former glory. It doesn't take long and some people, including myself, are more productive in a more organized room. Messy rooms tend to just be anxiety-inducing.

7. Create or Update Your Master Syllabus

This is another great way to get organized. Writing down all of your assignments, projects, and tests for all of your classes in one location will ensure that you never miss a deadline again.

8. Clean Your Room

While we're on the topic of organizing, why not go ahead and organize your room a bit? There are bound to be a few things sprawled on the floor and across your desk that make for a distracting work environment. You could also clean the mirrors, vacuum the floors, or dust the shelves. Make that room sparkle!

9. Take Out The Trash

Unfortunately, most dorm rooms and apartments don't have trash chutes conveniently located indoors. It's important to take the trek down to the trash cans and dumpsters every once in a while to avoid your bedroom floor transforming into a dumpster itself.

10. Get To Know Your Roommate A Bit Better

Ask your roommate some random questions. It'll be fun, trust me!

11. Start an Art Project

Paint a canvas or some pottery to add some color to your room. Not only will this help make your room feel more like home, it's also a unique way to relieve stress.

12. Drink A Cup of Coffee or Tea

Hot beverages can help get you through any day no matter how crappy you feel. Drink a cup of tea to relax before bed or a cup of coffee to perk you up and get you through the rest of your classes. Hot chocolate and hot apple cider (which is in season!) always seem to do the trick too.

13. Exercise

Exercising, daunting as it can be, is full of benefits. It is another great way to relieve stress and it burns calories and builds muscle. It requires a bit of a longer time commitment but it's all worth it for the results. Take a trip to your school's gym or pool or just go for a jog around campus. You could even just dance around your room. There's no way to exercise wrong, just do what makes you feel energized.

14. Make Time For Friends

It's always a good time to reach out to a friend. This could be through Skyping a friend back home, calling your girlfriend or boyfriend, talking with a friend on campus over coffee or lunch, or even just having a long text conversation with someone who you haven't talked to in a while. There doesn't need to be a party or outing involved to see your friends. Everyone appreciates a little one on one time.

15. You Time

The best way that you can spend your free time is to spend it doing something that you enjoy. Hobbies and clubs are good ways to make structured times to focus on you time but the ideal way to spend you time is to listen to music alone and just tune everyone else out for a little while. You could write, draw, paint, knit, sing, or you anything that your heart desires. Just focus on YOU and remember that it's okay to be a little unproductive as long as you balance your time wisely.