Something that seems to be a reoccurring problem throughout every stage in life is managing time. Whether you’re a high school student, a college student, a graduate student, or someone that has a full-time job and isn’t in school anymore, there’s always that question of: how do I manage my time? The answer is clear, and it’s not that hard. It’s centered around creating lists, and making a schedule.

Wait, do I have to do more work just to manage my time? I already have enough to do. That may seem like the case now, but how much do you actually have to do and how much do you say you have to do meanwhile in reality you’re spending time doing nothing productive? This may seem harsh, but when I first entered college I had to face this harsh reality myself.

Was it fun? No, it was torturous, but I ended up going on a system that made sense for me. I am someone that loves my alone time, I love spending time with my friends, but I also love going in a quiet room just to write on my laptop for a couple of hours. It’s my therapy, for some people that may be working out, or listening to music and the list goes on. I am able to do this because I budget my time.

How? It’s an easy five-step process that will take less than thirty minutes to complete once a week. First, I ask list the things I need to do and want to do. A want for me would be to write, a want you for you might be different. A need for me to sleep, and that should be a need for you.

Then (step 2,) I calculate the time I spend doing the needs (I consider eating a need.) For example, I sleep an average of 7 hours a night for 7 days, that’s 49 hours a week. For a typical student, this includes time spent in classes (include travel time,) eating, and if you have a job, and you add all of that up. For me my total is about 68.

Note, I am in college, so I don’t spend that much time in class because I don’t have an 8-hour school day like most high school students. If I was in high school, I would have a total of 96.

Third, add the time of the things that you want to do (I include studying as a want because not everyone needs/chooses to do it, they should, but that’s a different story) to the total of your needs time, for me that’s a total of 131 hours spent. If I was in high school, my total would be 138. I know each person is different, but let’s use these numbers for the point.

Fourth, subtract your new number and realize how much free time you actually have.

Then schedule the things that you counted your time for, and do this process every week. The actual scheduling of what you need to do will prevent you from procrastinating and will help you do more work than you ever could have imagined yourself doing. I know it did that for me.

With this little life hack, you realize how much free time you actually have even with your crazy schedule since you scheduled things out. This free time can be used for whatever, but this process once a week can lead to a lot less stress, and lot more time spent doing the things that make you happy.