This semester, as I attempt to balance 18 hours of class, work, and various other organizations and responsibilities, has been nothing short of absolutely, insanely HECTIC. Never before have I had so many things on my plate all at once. I feel like I'm balancing a million things at once and half the time I'm about to drop it all.

As I look towards spring break and the halfway point of the semester, I can't help but wonder how I've managed to make it here. While caffeine has played a major role, the biggest thing that comes to mind is time management.

Now I'd heard about this concept from various sources throughout my college career. But quite honestly, it never seemed that important.I always managed to get everything done, even if that meant staying up till 2 or 3 in the morning to finish. But this semester, ignoring time management was simply not an option.

I've learn that time management really is about tangible managing your time. What a novel concept right? It's about making lists, calendars, and other organizational devices. It's about skillfully using those little pockets of time to get things done. For example, that hour between classes you have, use it to read ahead in your textbook or shoot off some emails. By utilizing these small time windows, I've been able to get some major things done more efficiently and stay on top of classes and other responsibilities. I've also been able to mostly go to sleep at a semi-reasonable time.

Which leads into my next point, the importance of sleep. Now normally, I'm a go at 100%, stay up till all hours of the night kind of girl to get things done. I've found however, that this type of system leads to me going strong for a while and then crashing hard all at once. Which doesn't make sense when I always have something to do and can't afford to work on little to no sleep. So I've also made it a priority this year to go to bed early and fit in a nap once in awhile. Adequate sleep also keeps you from getting sleep so it's a win-win right?

Well, I'm going to leave it there and pray that with time management and naps I will make it through part 2 of the craziest semester of my life!!