As my alarm blares at a refreshing 6:30 a.m. I find myself stumbling out of bed. Fifteen minutes later I am driving to school to make my first class at 8:00 am. Going through the first 3 classes is easy, but when I hit my forth of fifth class my eyes begin to get heavy and lectures go in one ear and out the other.

This is the unfortunate reality I find myself facing everyday; once my final class end it’s a race home to get maybe a few minutes of sleep before work. Such a schedule only allows my free time in the late evening (and often, early morning) sometimes past 2:00 a.m. Lather, rinse, repeat. I am far from the only one on campus struggling to manage school, work and personal schedules.

For me, it is hard to try and balance everything. School and work take up most of my time, and in many cases, I find myself putting leisure activities before sleep.

Junior criminal justice major Shane Canela would agree; “going out on the weekends instead of resting, then writing essays and studying for exams at the last minute, sleep is no longer a priority.”

Canela makes a really good point. It would be so much easier if sleep wasn’t such a time consuming activity, but unfortunately, It is a necessity. I think most of us can admit to dozing off during a break, or even worse, during class.

As I mentioned, time management is the key, but it can be tough for some. “Many of us sleep because we go to school then straight to work then go home and study or just unwind from the day,” said Canela.

For many, it seems sleep has to become of secondary importance since it’s the work thatpays the bills, and it’s the schooling that (hopefully) prepares us the next bill-paying job.

I politely woke Freshman Computer Science major Justin Remmick to ask why he chose to catch a few Zs. “Classes are boring, and not entertaining enough to keep me awake.” Remmick also agreed that schooling and work schedules become more important than sleep.

What can students do to better manage their time? Personally I find becoming a hermit has worked best. Removing social activities in place of studies or sleep has been the best way for me to better manage my time. This advice won’t work for all since many already sacrifice much of their free time; it might be hard to remove it entirely.

If sleeping on the second floor of the Union or the third floor of the library works best for you, I would recommend finding other alternatives for ways to get that extra bit of rest. Time management is a matter of choice for all students, but I would recommend finding a balance between school, work, social activities, leisure and sleep.

It is a tough-balancing act, but without the proper sleeping schedule all those other activities will suffer. In the end, time management is all about the individual student and what works best for he or she.

Andrew Stiffler can be reached at [email protected]