Something that has been gnawing at my mind lately is the saying, "Is what you're trading your life for worth it?" I can't honestly say that it is right now. If I knew that my last day on Earth would be tomorrow, you better bet that I would not be doing what I did today.

How do we create that life? As college students and 20-somethings, it seems like our days are planned out for us, and unless we have some incredible stroke of luck or such a strong vision that it is going to take us a long time to accomplish.

I've been learning a lot lately about time management and how to make the most of the time we have. I work for a really cool company, and at this company, there is an amazing book called, " The ONE thing," by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan.

I've always been a planner lover and a bit time management obsessed, but it didn't seem to be working. What was I missing? I had my jobs blocked out, my little slivers of free time blocked out and I still felt like I was leaving work every day not really accomplishing anything.

Why is it that we all have 24 hours, but it seems like other people seem to use it more effectively?

Until I sat down and started really breaking down my day and creating a routine did I start making the most of my time at my job and in my personal life. I realized this when I thought about why and how I could have possibly been more productive while I was in college. 21 credits, two part time jobs, being involved in a sorority and somehow having a social life while making Dean's list was a breeze.

It all boiled down to a simple thing, I knew what I needed to get done, and I just did it. I never was taught in school that getting your most important work done first is the real key to being successful and accomplishing all you needed to do. I got more done because I did the important things first and left what could wait to wait.

It's a funny thought, making yourself get your important things done first, and, in theory, earning the right to do the boring things like laundry that might be irritating in that moment, but don't need to be done to accomplish your physics homework.

While I might have gotten a lot of crap for it in previous years, my planner really has been my saving grace for really just kicking ass at school and at work. Now, thanks to what I'm learning, it is also helping me kick ass in my personal life and in my goals of climbing up the career ladder and building a life worth trading my time for.