Most of us try to live a balanced life, but at times everyone can feel overwhelmed. The first step is figuring out what is most important to you. By setting life priorities, you can make better decisions about how to manage your time. And reduce stress! Here is an exercise to help you.

Take a few minutes to make a list of 10 things that are most important to you - and don't forget to include things you'd like to have as part of your life. List them in order of importance - 1 being the most important and 10 being the least.

Here are some examples to help you get started:

*Hanging out with friends
*Eating healthy foods
*Making the honor roll in school
*Playing my favorite sport
*Going to church, synagogue, mosque, or other religious institution
*Spending time with my family
*Having free time to do what I want (reading, listening to music, watching TV, seeing movies, shopping)
*Going to my music lesson

Review your list and make sure it really reflects what is important to you. Think about how this translates into your everyday life. For example, if healthy eating is important to you, you'll want to get up a little earlier to eat breakfast before school. The next time you start to feel stressed, take a look at this list. Maybe you'll need to make some changes and re-adjust your priorities.