I'm sure everyone has faced the problem of feeling like they just "don't have enough time in a day." Especially during finals week, I've been feeling this problem, but lately I've learned some ways to cope with this struggle. Junior year has forced me to figure out how to get things done more efficiently, so I'm going to share a few easy tips you need to learn for making the most of your time.

1. Get a planner/calendar

Let me just tell you now, THIS IS ESSENTIAL. Many people think that they can go without writing anything down, but you need something to organize all their thoughts in. If you try to go without organizing your thoughts in some way, you will forget things or get times wrong or miss due dates. It is true that some people are able to keep track of everything in their heads, but the majority of people have to write things down. Not only will it help you to not forget things, but it also has health benefits: it reduces stress. Having a planner helps you feel like your life is a little more together, rather than everything falling apart completely. Not everyone needs a planner, but that is definitely the preferred method; find what works best for you whether that may be an app on your phone, or something to physically write things down in.

2. Schedule

Now when I talk about scheduling here, I am not necessarily talking about certain events (although that is helpful as well. Here, I mean that you should plan out your day. For me, since I am so busy almost every second of every day, I have to plan out things almost to the minute. Essentially, set time for you to do a certain task (for example from 5:30-7:30 study for that anatomy test you have been putting off). When you assign yourself specific time to get a task done, then you are more likely to have the motivation to do it. It helps if you set a reasonable time, if you are worried about whether the time you have set is not the right amount, stay on the longer side so that you have extra time in case it takes more time than you expected. Once you start planning things out like this, judging time will get easier for you and be more accurate.

3. The 3 Goal Rule

Many of you may not have heard of this, but I like to call it the Three Goal Rule because that is essentially all it is. Basically, the point is to set three goals for yourself in a "to-do list" kind of style every day. Rank each task from most importance to least importance and you must do the tasks in order; this way the most important tasks get done first while you still have will power. Sometimes when we try to get something done towards the end of the day it is more challenging because we can no longer focus. More than three major goals is too many things for your brain to focus on. If you complete the three major tasks for the day (go you!), then you can add more, but start with three at first.

4. Relax

One of the most important things you can do for yourself is to schedule at least some amount of time for yourself to relax each day. Depending on what tasks you need to get done that day, you may have more or less time to relax but at least five minutes a day will help you be more happy. You must have a good balance between your daily grind of work and your daily you time. I have heard that a daily meditation helps to improve your day and attitude, especially if you can find the time to do it in the morning and start your day off right. It also helps me to look at a scripture passage each morning, or say a quick prayer to have God and Mary help guide your day. (You can find apps for both meditations and scripture in the App Store)

Here's the most basic tips that I have for you so far, but if you have any other nice tips, help other people out in the comments below. Hopefully you found these tips helpful if you haven't heard them before, but try them out because they'll make your life so much easier.