With school, work, homework, and social commitments, life can sometimes feel overwhelming. In those moments, it's rather easy to panic, demotivate yourself & decrease overall productivity. Instead, here is a list of things one can do to immediately relieve stress, instead of working themselves into a frenzy. Common ways of de-stressing include listening to music or watching a viral video, but I find these ineffective, as I get even more distracted along the way, and end up taking longer to finish my tasks. Instead, I have compiled a list of ways to de-stress in under fifteen minutes.

1. Go Outside

Stop what you're doing and change your surroundings. Often times, work spaces in general can be more overwhelming to deal with than the actual task at hand. This is due to associations with stress, clutter, and other reasons. Sometimes, to physically remove yourself from feelings of stress - get up, go outside, take a five minute walk (or longer if your schedule permits). Doing so may help stress, if a person was stressing about the thought of the task at hand, instead of the task itself. After going on a walk, people often report that they feel more relieved and ready to focus.

2. Make a List

I often find myself commonly stressed out by the sheer amount of tasks needed to be done, meetings to be attended, and other places to be. I know that, in effect, I'd be more likely to forget all of these commitments and responsibilities. As a result, I find myself making a lot of lists. Even before I owned a planner, I would write down checklists within the pages of my college notebooks, just because I knew I would frequently check there. The act of listing things is fairly therapeutic to me, as responsibilities don't look as scary when they're written down. I prefer handwritten lists, and they have been known to more effectively de-stress, over typing a to do list. Additionally, there is plenty of satisfaction of checking the box, or crossing the list item off upon completion.

3. Take a (mindful) break

This in no way means procrastinate, possibly even further. But instead, be mindful that a lot of today's tasks for school and work involve looking at screens for many hours on end. Take a second to physically remove yourself from doing so. Get up, stretch - especially neck and shoulder muscles. Use this time to breathe deeply, as doing so can help relax, and relieve tension. Additional suggestions include turning off your phone, if possible, which would further help eliminate distractions.