Time is arguably our most valuable asset. But we feel like we have little control over it when we are always busy – to the extent that the idea of one more responsibility instantly overwhelms us. When we discover a rare person who is high-achieving and makes space to relax, we ask them, “How do you have time?” because their schedule is unfathomable to us. Why is that?

Is that just the way the world works? Or can we find a way to manage time that increases productivity and fulfillment? I think we can. 

So here it is. Here is how to have time:

Step One: Prioritize to Mobilize

What matters to you? Why does it matter? Be brutally honest with yourself. 

Like many other Rice students in high school, I found myself swamped with activities, to the point where I needed to step back and ask myself which ones mattered. One day during my junior year, I pulled out my phone and created a note titled “Why I Do Everything I Do: Brutally Honest Edition.” Why did I tutor a student on Tuesdays? Why did I play volleyball?

There were so many things I wanted to do and only so much time to do them (while keeping sanity, of course). I took another step back to figure out my values and developed a list that looked a little like this:

Note: “College preparation” is now “Job preparation” in this new season.

Now, the question was where my activities fit those values (and where they didn’t). Tutoring fell under goals 1c and 2b, but there were other more impactful ways I could give to the community and set myself up for success. Volleyball fell under goals 1b and 3c, though other forms of exercise fit my needs better, and my teammates were not my primary friends.

I had no strong passion for either of those activities, so boom—two time-consuming activities off the plate. Now, there was room for deeper investment in other activities and increased relaxation.

Think about your values. Then, look at what fills your time. It’s ok if not everything you do fits perfectly into your value list, but the priorities do. Prioritize the activities that meet those goals, and don’t try to twist an activity to fit into a category.

It’s like The Home Edit organization show on Netflix: you must go through the “Edit” phase to free up space for the right things (hint: the right things are not all formal activities).

Step Two: Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail

Now, you’ve got your priorities. But here’s the thing: knowing what you should do and actually doing it are very different. If you wake up in the morning and remind yourself of a few things you should do that day, chances are you won’t get them all done. In 2024, we have endless distractions that can steal our whole day if we’re not careful. So we’ve got to make a schedule and stick to it. 

It’s Tuesday night, and I’m about to go to bed. But first, I’ll write a schedule for tomorrow on my Notes app. I have three classes (Priority 2a), a club board meeting (Priorities 1c and 2b), and lunch with a friend (1b) scheduled for today.

Write down the immovable rocks in the schedule.

But I also have some homework, a midterm coming up (2a), a report for my internship (2b) to turn in, and some emails for my club positions to answer (1c and 2b).

Add in the blocks.

Notice how there are gaps between scheduled blocks. These are for conversations with friends on the way to class or other spontaneous things that arise. Include your morning routine as it applies to you. Unless you need 16 hours of productive work in the day, leave the evening more flexible for a lengthy dinner with friends (1b) or call your parents (1a). 

Also, notice that there’s no room for scrolling. Unless you are the most disciplined person I’ve ever met, you struggle to limit yourself to 10 scheduled minutes, so save it for later. STICK TO THE SCHEDULE!

Step Three: Do the Worst First

So, we’ve made our list of priorities and scheduled our days around those activities. We will attend scheduled commitments, spend time with friends and family, and get some work done. 

That phrase is dangerous. You could study for 3 hours or answer one email in 2 minutes, and both would “get some work done.” Once we sit down to work, are we making the most of that time?

When we look at a list of tasks, sorting them into quick and longer tasks is easy. Which tasks do you naturally gravitate to? My guess would be the quicker ones. We get tempted to cross to-dos off our list, but often, we reach the complex tasks and say, “Eh… I can do that later.” STOP THAT (I’m yelling at myself here). 

Do the worst first. Power through the hard tasks and knock them out. Fifteen minutes in, you’ll be in the zone. You start to develop a feeling of “Hey, I can do this!” and before you know it, the mountain of a task is behind you. You can then reward yourself by completing some quick tasks before signing off. 

By doing that, we just finished our to-do list rather than making unmeasurable progress with remnants of work lingering in our minds for the rest of the day.

Step Four: Time to Unwind

You’ve just worked six long, productive days. Sunday through Friday. You’ve restrained yourself from binge-watching and doomscrolling but are pretty tired. Well, good news! It’s time to rest. 

Humans are not built to work seven days a week. When we do, we spend every day except for a rare vacation day waking up, experiencing the same stress, and slowly spiraling towards mental and physical deterioration (Google search “mental health effects of working seven days a week”). Why do people do this?

Because they fear they can’t get it all done in six days. But with steps 1-3, we did get it all done (at least for this week) in six days. Your mind and your body need a break.

Stop working on a Friday night, Saturday morning, or whenever works best for you. Mark when you stopped working and don’t start working again until tomorrow. It’s scary but so worth it. 

Make a list of some things you love doing. It could be spending time outside or crocheting or playing basketball with friends. Take this time to do that. 

A day off work doesn’t just change one day – it changes all seven. The other six days are more productive when you take one day off. When I first tried this routine in high school, it wasn’t easy, and I was itching to get more work done. However, after a few weeks, my 24 hours off work was the best part of the week. I also found myself more motivated to return to it the next day, producing higher output. 

“So if I stop working for a whole day, I’ll ultimately get more work done?” 

Heck yes, you will. 

You now have time to rest, which increases your productivity, reduces work time, and creates more space for rest.

And that is how I have time.