It’s only 10 a.m. on Wednesday and Lauren Yergeau wonders how she’ll get through the rest of her day. Yergeau, a 19-year-old journalism sophomore at Emerson College, is busy booking several reservations at Emerson’s Campus Center, helping students reserve performance spaces in the building. This is how she starts several of her weekdays, working from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. And even though she is at work, this is usually the quietest part of her day.

From here she’ll grab a quick lunch and then it’s off to Union Square for a story she’s writing. Then she has to hop back on the T for a group meeting for class at 3 p.m., followed by a little downtime where she can do some laundry that’s been piling up. She’s then off for a quick dinner, a special event at the Campus Center and finally back to her room to write some articles for her class.

“I think life is crazy and it’s been crazy since high school,” Yergeau said. “When I wake up Sunday until Thursday, it’s a big blur.”

Yergeau is a member of the Millennials, the new generation of young people under the age of 25, and like others her age she is dedicated to many different responsibilities and activities. But with so many events scheduled, she finds it hard to fit in any leisure time. In essence, she is “overbooked.”

Like the rest of her generation, she is trying to find time to relax in her usually stressful days. As such, she and others like her have had to adapt to a life on the run, squeezing as much fun and enjoyment as they can into their rare free spots during the day. The reason her schedule is so full during the week is so she can free up time later on.

“My weekdays seem really busy, but I like to keep my weekends open,” Yergeau said. “I jam pack free hours in the week with stuff I need to get in so I have time to do stuff on the weekends. It’s not me trying to overextend myself, but I feel like if I work hard, I should be able to play hard too.”

Most of her leisure time revolves around easy-to-access entertainment, like watching TV and listening to her iPod. While riding the T, she often pops her ear buds in and listens to music. In fact she buys music constantly, something her “iTunes bill can attest to.”

“I do a lot of mindless things to relax,” Yergeau said. “I love crappy reality television shows, especially “Project Runway.” I play mindless games on the computer and if I’m really stressed about an assignment, I will take a bunch of breaks.”

And often she gets a lot done during those breaks. Sometimes she’ll take a walk to the Boston Public Library, sometimes she’ll watch an episode of “Oprah” and sometimes she just likes to go out and buy groceries. Her favorite leisure activity, though, is simple- drinking Dunkin Donuts coffee.

“Coffee is my best friend in the worst way possible; it helps me unwind,” she said.

Robin Rush laments the loss of free time in her life. Rush, 24, recently graduated college and is now working in retail, and wishes she had more downtime. Right now the only thing she fits in that’s non-work-related is extensive television watching, especially reruns of “The Simpsons.”

“You’re supposed to have everything going on all the time and I’m like, I don’t want that,” Rush said. “I just want to relax sometimes.”         

Courtney Lawler, 25, a Brookline resident agrees that “everyone seems pretty stressed and overcommitted,” but tries to find time to relax when she’s not working as a child-life specialist.

“I like a glass of wine and a good book,” Lawler said.

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