Everyone has to learn to manage their time, especially while in college. For instance, many girls need to find time for classes, homework, hanging out with friends, spending time with their significant other, family, and work. This can be stressful. College classes may be spread out throughout the day, which makes it difficult to find a chunk of time to work or make other plans. Homework can also be overwhelming. One week you may not have anything due, but you might have tons of work the next week. Many girls also work because they want to have money to go shopping and buy the things they like, or pay for the things they want to do. Work can sometimes get in the way of hanging out with your loved ones or even enjoying the nice weather.

If you don’t learn how to manage your time, you’ll be stressed; mark my words. I’m a freshman in college, work two jobs, have a boyfriend, friends, and a family that I love to spend time with. I find that knowing what assignments I have due and planning ahead makes things easier for me. I know that during the weeks I have a lot of things to do, I can’t afford to spend time hanging out. Sometimes I just do some homework in advance to get it out the way, so that I have time to do other things later. When I don’t plan ahead, I become stressed. I‘m very family-oriented, so I need to make time in my schedule to see my family at least once a week. I also love spending time with my boyfriend, so we make plans to do homework together just so we can see each other.

With all the stress in your life, it’s important to be surrounded by people that love and support you, and who understand that you have a lot on your plate. They may be able to help you come up with ways to reduce your stress so that you can do the things you enjoy. For more information on stress and how to reduce it, take a look at our health guide.

-Erica