For many people, time seems not to be your friend. I often feel this way when I have enormous loads of homework, housekeeping chores, and a social life to keep together. I sometimes have periods of time where I only focus on school work, other times where I just want to be a homebody and not go anywhere, and then sometimes I like being social and active.

It is really hard to keep a perfect balance of everything that’s going on my life; I would honestly be surprised if someone does have the perfect mix of it all. As hard as it is, though, it is so important to keep yourself balanced so that you don’t get overwhelmed.

Especially with schoolwork, it’s very easy to get consumed by the endless papers, exams and homework assignments. Often time, procrastination plays a huge role in this stress. The more work is put off, the larger the amount you'll have to do later. Due dates somehow seem so far away until they're slapping you in the face by being one day away. To avoid the perils that are impending due dates, you can plan things out.

I am a huge advocate of a daily, weekly and monthly planner. By knowing assignments and other specific dates, you’ll be able to know exactly what is and when you will be able to section off some time for yourself. Keeping yourself organized does so much for your academic and social life. Never again will you have to go through the pain of telling friends you have to cancel plans because you forgot about something else that you already had planned.

Then next big thing that will greatly open up some time to yourself and save your sanity is to learn how to say no. Personally, I have the hardest time saying no to hanging out with friends or helping others if they ask for it. Because of that, I end up being booked solid for weeks on end. I love being around other people, but there comes a time when you have to say no if you want anytime for yourself.

Sometimes, you’ll know when it’s time to say no because you’ll start to think about whether or not you really want to do whatever it is that you said yes to. Sometimes, you truly will want to do it, but other times it feels like a task or an obligation. You might feel weary or long of doing other things. That’s when you know that you should say no.

Basically, plan some You Time. Section off a part of every day, or maybe every other day, and just spend time doing whatever you want to do. That might be through napping, watching TV, indulging in a favorite food or just sitting in complete silence. Just do whatever it is that makes you happy in that time period that you section off.

By making time for yourself and learning to say no, you can finally be able to take some time for yourself and relax. I know that it’s hard to do when the building seems to be crumbling onto you with schoolwork, but you will be able to keep that building up if you're super rested and energized so long as you give yourself that break.