4 Tips to Reduce Stress & Manage Your Time Better (For Life)

Working full time, going to school & running a blog = Stress Central! Or at least it can be if you don’t manage your time well. I’ve always been a pretty busy person, so I’ve learned a lot of tips & tricks over the years to keep myself sane. I definitely still have my bad days/weeks. But I feel like I’m so much more in control of my stress levels than I was 5 years ago.

When I started college, I didn’t manage my time at all. I didn’t ever really learn how to in high school, because I just didn’t have as much on my plate. Even though I still had classes, homework, and sports, it was pretty much all scheduled out for me. I didn’t have to think about it. Come college, I had classes at various times, homework that I had to keep track of myself via syllabus, an ever-changing work schedule, and trying to make time to see friends/family. I also wanted to make time to exercise, cook healthy meals, travel, party, and make new friends. So if you can’t tell already from that huge list of “priorities”, I was a hot mess.

My first 2 years at community college felt okay because I wasn’t really focused on school. I was more focused on meeting new people, all the new experiences I was having that I didn’t in high school, and “finding myself”. Most of my grades were still fine (besides one class that I missed a full month when I had mono). I just didn’t care how I did in school and that was a first for me.

Flash forward to University, I all of a sudden cared SO MUCH how I did in school. But I was still trying to work full-time at Starbucks, go to classes full-time, exercise, pay bills, and be social. By this point, I was experiencing extreme amounts of stress, anxiety, and overwhelm. I didn’t know what to do because I didn’t have any time management strategies in place. And I got so burnt out.

I ended up not wanting to spend time with people at all and was only focused on working and going to school. Even so, I felt completely overwhelmed still because I was already so burnt out, and I became a different person. I wasn’t the happy, go-lucky, carefree girl I was starting college. I became more anxious, on edge, and would complain a lot. There was a lot of anxiety and depression and I didn’t have any idea how to get back to how I was before.

Flash forward to 2020: I’m in online grad school full time and working a new intense job full time. I’m in a relationship, living away from friends and family, and still prioritizing health and exercise. I love being busy and that will probably never change. Although I still have a lot of the same things (or even more) on my plate, I’ve figured out how to manage it.

The most important thing to manage your time is to start being aware of how much time you actually have. I read the book 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think, that changed my life. Laura Vanderkam talks about how even with working full time, sleep, and everything else we have to do in a week, we still have so much time on our hands. At first, I was skeptical, because when you don’t plan things out, you feel like you never have time for anything. But after reading the book, I completely changed my view on time management.

One of the best things she included in the book was the weekly timesheet. I would highly suggest printing one of these bad boys out and filling it out for the week! You just mark off in 30-minute increments, what you’re doing throughout the week. You can either go back and fill one out for the week before, or use it to track the week you’re in.

When I get really busy or am going through major schedule changes, I always fill these out for a few weeks. Filling them out helps me adjust to my busy schedule and understand how much free time I still have in the week. For example, the last one I filled out showed me that I still had 40+ hours of free time free in the week (when I thought I had none). I filled in 40+ hours of work, including commute time, 8-9 hours of sleep/night, getting ready, 10 hours for school, and 10 hours for the blog. I was amazed that I still had so many free hours!

In addition to using the timesheet, I also couldn’t live without my Clever Fox planner! I’ve tried out so many different planners throughout the years (most of them being ridiculously overpriced) and have yet to find one this great. It’s a weekly and monthly planner that lets you write out which week it is every time. So if you go on vacation for a couple of weeks, you don’t have to just waste paper and skip over those dates. You can just move on to the week you get back!

It also has a section each week for a weekly to-do list, your main goal & priorities, habits/skills to build, notes, this week’s wins, and how to improve next week. I can’t express enough how much I love this planner. All of the sections allow me to focus on my weekly goals and never forget about anything I have to do that week. I check it once in the morning and feel set up for the whole day!

Since I’ve been rambling on this whole time, I’ll try and wrap things up in a simple list!

The best things you can do to manage your time and keep stress to a minimum:

1. Map out your values and priorities.

Take 20 minutes to think about what you truly value. Whether it be family, your work, creative pursuits, staying active, or health & wellness. Write it out! After that, take a look at the things you’re spending your time on now. Are they in line with your values? Or are you just doing them because you have been for a while and aren’t really thinking about it anymore? If your current lifestyle isn’t in line with your values, change it! It doesn’t matter how old you are. It’s never too late to change careers, make new friends, go back to school, or make other major life changes.

2. Plan out your week, focusing your hours on what’s most important to you.

If you’re in a tough program in college and need to spend 30 hours a week focused on school, do it! If you love your job and want to focus on that most of the time, do that. Maybe you want to spend more time with friends and family – set aside time each week/day to see them. Plan ahead to call and talk to those important to you. Just don’t let the week slip by without having a game plan.

3. Keep a planner always, and a timesheet during extra busy times.

Without writing things out, it’s near impossible to track where your hours are going in the week. Take 15 minutes on Sunday night to plan out your week, including goals and new habits you want to start. If you’re going through a busy time or life change, print out one of the 168 hours timesheets to track your priorities.

4. Take the time to do the things you love!

While this falls in line with #1, I had to give this its own number because it’s so incredibly important. If you’re living life only to work and do what you “have to”, you won’t feel happy or fulfilled long-term. It’s okay for some weeks to be busier than others, of course, as long as it isn’t every week. Think about your favorite things to do: spending time with friends, fun exercise, exploring, traveling, etc. Make time every single week to do these things! Even if it means cutting down a little on household chores, grocery shopping, time spent studying, etc. Your mental health is always the most important. It needs to be prioritized, even when you’re trying to kill it in all your other endeavors.

If you follow all the steps above, I guarantee you will see a decrease in your stress levels. Another thing that can be a big stressor is money. See my post on budgeting for beginners, for the best way to decrease money stress.

I hope this post is helpful to at least one person out there. We all know how much of a negative impact stress can have. I’ve been through the wringer trying to figure out the best ways to combat it. The world we live in can be stressful in itself. I hope my experiences can help others manage that a little better. 🙂

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