The auctioneer steps up to the podium for the last time, with the final item in tow. The crowd gasps in amazement as he unveils the prize for all to see: one day of pure relaxation, stress and worry free. Bids fly through the air. Fifty dollars. Two hundred dollars. One thousand. Ten thousand. One million. Higher and higher, seemingly without limit. The price people will pay for one measly day of nothing is absolutely ridiculous. And in a world where time is exceedingly hard to come by, even a few hours would sell for an unfathomable amount of money. I know I would give almost anything to just be able to get away from it all and take a break. Teenagers especially cram their schedules full of AP classes, extracurricular activities, music lessons, church activities, clubs, jobs, and much more. There are simply not enough hours in the day to accomplish what we want to. We need to determine our priorities and cut out those things that may not be as important to us, so maybe we won’t feel the need to spend millions on a few hours of nothingness.

Prioritizing isn’t easy. How are you supposed to choose between two things you love? How are you supposed to determine which things are the most important to you? The truth is, if you are overwhelmed with too many responsibilities, your performance will start to lack in certain areas. If you are putting too much time into sports and not enough into school, your grades will suffer, but the reverse can happen just as easily. Just make sure to put the most important things first, and the rest will follow after. It takes balance. Finding that equilibrium is up to you, but once that stability is unearthed, the majority of the unnecessary pressures should be removed.

Limit time spent doing pointless things. Eliminate unwarranted time on the computer and mindless “relaxation.” You can’t truly relax until the task at hand is accomplished anyway, so you might as well spend your time getting it done in the first place. It’s common knowledge that the faster you get things done, the sooner you will be able to get started on other things, so it should be obvious that procrastination is a poor use of time. Nonetheless, procrastination remains a large problem within society. Sometimes, as students, we put things off because other assignments may be due sooner and need to be completed or simply because we are trying to avoid the inevitable. Either way, I’m sure everyone would choose being done a few days early over staying up until two in the morning the night before the assignment is due any day. The choice needs to be made now. The decision of how you are going to manage your time is up to you. Not your parents, not your teachers, not your friends. Be smart about how you spend every second, because you can’t get that time back later.

Maybe our world is becoming overscheduled, overworked, and overstressed. In some cases, it can’t be helped. However, when time is managed properly and used to its fullest potential, much of the strain can be removed from everyday life. Getting things done now will save us from the consequences later, and prioritizing responsibilities will guarantee that the most important things will get done. Hopefully, managing time wisely will create precious free time for lighthearted relaxation. Or maybe just a few hours to get a head start on that paper due next week.