As I discussed last week, we as students need all the help we can get when it comes to scheduling. This week is kind of a continuation but, more focused on stress. Us college students get stressed a lot, that is so obvious. However, dealing with that stress without losing your mind, it not so obvious. There are many ways to deal with stress, some bad some good.
The more well-known ways of dealing with stress are practicing things like breathing exercises, meditation, praying, reading your bible, going for a walk, listening to music, and sleeping. Now, I’m not saying these don’t work they do and they’re great! But, I have two other great ideas for you to try as well that you probably didn’t think of:
1. Clean your room.
I, for one, find it very difficult to concentrate in a messy room. If there is clutter anywhere in the room and I can see it from my work space, it will keep my attention until it is gone. When I am stressed out just the act of cleaning a room makes me feel better. When I finish organizing and picking up a room, the end product looks so good that it also relieves me quite a bit. This may just be an OCD type of thing, but just try it and see how much better you feel.
2. Make a list.
I make a list of everything I have to do in the order I want to do it. I also break up big jobs into smaller ones so I can cross more off and feel more accomplished. For example, if I am going to clean my room I won’t write, “clean room.” Instead, I’ll break it up and write, “pick up clothes, make bed, take out trash, and vacuum.” Or, even for a project, don’t write, “project.” Instead write all the pieces of the project you have to do, “paper, presentation, speech,” etc. Also, completing more than half of the items you wrote on your list by the end of the day is a great way of feeling less stressed and more accomplished. Imagine having all those check marks on your list. So, be careful to make your list something that is obtainable, not something that is impractical.
Being organized in general helps prevent and relieve stress. Just try it once at least and see how different your day is. Try working in a clean, well-lit, and comfortable (but not so much so that you fall asleep) room. Write down that list (correctly this time) so you know what you have to focus on and get done by the end of the day. For some people this may be difficult to do, cleaning and organizing tasks into a list, but just trust me, like I said try it just once and see. Now, go be productive and stop stressing about all that homework!
