How To Do It All

A topic I've felt myself come back to lately is balance.

I get the occasional comment on a blog post or email in my inbox asking me how I balance everything. Sometimes, I think there's no easy way to answer, but after mulling over it for a week or so, I think I know what to say.

This post isn't exclusively for bloggers either. We all have to balance something. Imagine everyone with a different plate: your plate may hold homework, soccer team, and bible study while another person's plate may have homework, sorority, and job. So we are all balancing.

Ok, so here we go...

Step 1//Prioritize
Often times, you can find a list on my desk that says something like -
"homework
blog
laundry
shower
dinner"
I'm prioritizing, and this is how I manage my time. I won't do my laundry until my homework is done. (Because, frankly, I'd rather ace my Spanish quiz than have my favorite shirt ready to wear the next day.) So if you have a lot on your plate, make a list and prioritize.

Step 2//Time Yourself
I recently learned this tactic while taking summer courses. I had two classes and I found that sometimes I would spent 4 hours on one class and only have about an hour to devote to the other. So, I began setting timers for myself. "I'll work on math for one hour and then biology for one hour." I also scheduled breaks this way. 15 min snack breaks were the bomb.

Step 3//Use Spare Minutes Wisely
I find that when I have 10 minutes here and there, I end up getting on my phone and scrolling aimlessly through social media. (Since I am a blogger, this is actually not a complete waste of my time because I can read other blog posts and connect with people online.) However, during busy days, if I find 10 minutes, I aim to make them productive. Throw your laundry in the wash, prep dinner for that night, read a couple pages of a book for school. You wouldn't believe how much a difference this makes.

Step 4//Schedule everything
I have yet to mention how to balance a social life as well. It helps for me to schedule everything. In my agenda, iPhone calendar, and on multiple sticky note pads, I write down to-dos and meetings. This does include time with friends and social events. I don't write them down because I'm going to forget them; instead, I write them down to manage my time around that event. Football game on Saturday? Ok, that means I need to make up that 3 hours of study time elsewhere in my week.

Step 5//Simplify 
There could be things in your daily life that are taking up more time than they should. Maybe it just takes you forever to eat breakfast, so you never do (even though you know you should). Find a solution like overnight oats or a smoothie. Maybe you spend way too long on your makeup in the morning when you could be reviewing for a test. Buy some 2-in-1 products and simplify. What can you simplify?

I hope this post brings a little bit of inspiration into your life this week. I know many of us are a couple weeks into school and beginning to feel the pressure of trying to balance everything.

Good luck on everything this week, here's one girl that believes in ya!

X,

Cristina