Now that the holiday season is quickly (and sadly) coming to an end, the spring semester is creeping up on us and will be here before we know it. It will be time to snap back into reality and hit the books. Days of family, shopping, relaxing, and celebrating the holidays will be over for the time-being, and days of library-binging, procrastination, and stressing will begin again. Here are 6 ways to make yourself a little less stressed this semester:
1. Relaxation
Whether it is meditation of some sort, or just simply taking 5 minutes out of your day to not worry about anything, relaxation is key to avoiding stress during difficult times. If you over do it and don't give yourself any time to recuperate, you will not see any progress.
2. Healthy Diet and Exercise
Poor health is a known major source of stress. Having a healthy diet and a regular exercise routine can really help to reduce stress.
Eating nutritiously helps you to avoid stress more than you realize. Instead of relying on coffee to give you energy, limit the caffeine. Believe it or not, caffeine can actually stress a person out more than they would be without the caffeine. This doesn't mean you have to cut coffee out completely, but instead drink it in moderation, as you should with most things.
Exercise doesn't completely mean being in shape. Having moderate exercise once a day can help improve self-esteem, give you a sense of control, and most importantly, reduce stress. Even if it is just a walk, it will make a world of a difference in your lifestyle and how you feel overall.
3. Sleep
Sleep helps the body recover from stress. Without it, the stress will continue to build up over time. College students often act as if sleep is not necessary, when in fact it is a major factor in our overall quality of life. Don't be one of those people that sleeps for hours at the library because they pulled an all nighter to cram for an exam. Without sleep, our behavior and performance will slack. Sleep is a major factor in avoiding stress and is key to college success.
4. Time Management
According to WebMD, there are 3 main parts to time management: prioritize your tasks and activities, control your procrastination, and manage your commitments. If you overwhelm yourself and have a bunch of tasks on the same day because you procrastinated, your stress will obviously increase. If you manage your tasks, activities, procrastination, and commitments, your college education will go much more smoothly. Planners and an organized lists of due dates will help you practice your time management skills and help you avoid stress more than you know.
5. Support Systems
Coping with your problems and stresses alone will get you absolutely no where. If you are stressed about an upcoming test or assignment, find a group of friends that are in the same boat and help bounce ideas off of each other to stress LESS. Going at it alone is the worst thing you can do.
6. Positive Thinking
Instead of dwelling on the negative aspects in your life, think about the positive. Reward yourself when you succeed, and if you fail, don't beat yourself up. As cliche as it sounds, learn from it and you will end up even better in the long run.
