The most essential skill for all college students, yet naturally the hardest to attain. Going away to college for the first time is filled with an abundance of exciting stories and new experiences, but if you don’t learn how to manage your time you won’t be able to balance working hard and playing harder.

Initially, the first thing that comes to everyone’s mind when they think of college is parties. Don’t get caught up in it. And if you do, make sure to do all of your homework first because a hungover Sunday morning isn’t exactly primetime to cram in all your work. Besides just balancing schoolwork and parties, there are several other facets to consider. Food is pretty important, going to the gym isn't a terrible idea, making time for friends is sensible, going to office hours is meaningful, and the list goes on. It’s important to take into consideration all the aspects of college life you want to partake in and then learn how to stabilize them.

As I helplessly try to manage my time, I’m unfortunately learning that procrastination is seemingly the only way my one sided mind is willing to tackle school work. To emphasize my unfortunate reality, I’ll explain my current dilemma. Although I have Italian homework, communication homework, environmental science homework, and a 1,000 word philosophy paper all due tomorrow, I instead opt to eat peanut butter and apples in bed and watch 90210. Despite faulty logic, it seems to be the option I revert to every time I am crammed for work. Part of me knows it’s because I’m inherently lazy with seldom any motivation for schoolwork, yet part of me chooses to believe that it’s because I work better under pressure and waiting until the last minute inadvertently lends to my best work.

So, as I procrastinate on my homework a little longer by writing this article, I prompt you all to recognize that an innate laziness isn’t necessarily a bad thing, if all of your work ultimately gets done, but is inevitably a big stress provoker. And for that alone, learn to manage your time, don’t push everything to the last minute, and don’t reward yourselves with hourly breaks after minutes of work— trust me, you’ll never get your work done that way.