It is 8 p.m. on a Sunday. I am sitting in my room, at my desk while the piled-up homework looms over me. The day flew by, as many weekends do, and I was forced to open my Chromebook and preview my schedule for the week.

I immediately feel overwhelmed with the upcoming tasks on my to-do list. 

I see clubs, tests, presentations, homework, ACT prep, three-hour dance practices each day, and more to do that will appear throughout the week. The stress builds as I begin to plan out every day, realizing I have no free time and I can not take anything out of my schedule.

My parents urge me to take breaks and lessen my load, but it is difficult when I want to be able to do it all. To do this, I have learned to manage my time, in turn making my schedule less overwhelming.

A study done by the National Library of Medicine assessed the impact of time management on many factors of life such as job performance, academic achievement, and well-being. It revealed that time management is necessary for stress reduction and overall well-being as it enhances quality of life. 

I find it easier to stay on top of my schedule when I get my work done first. Rather than taking a nap after school, I complete my homework right away so I do not have to do it after practice. 

This can be extremely difficult to do as it can be easier to procrastinate and put off assignments for later since many may seem daunting. A study done by National University revealed that 86 percent of high school students procrastinate on assignments. However for me there is no “later”. 

Instead I try to combat procrastination by looking ahead for the week and making a schedule of which days I will work on specific assignments. On those days I choose to complete the hardest tasks first that are sitting on the list waiting to be checked off. So instead of starting with my easy couple of math problems, I begin with my multiple paragraph english essay. 

Managing busy schedules is still difficult for me, but using my time wisely and prioritizing work, schedules, and hopefully, my Sunday nights can be less overwhelming.