Managing Your Stress and Time, and staying positive
I’m a high school junior right now, and that is one of the most stressful years of high school. You have to worry about college and getting good grades (not to mention a good SAT score) and still balance extracurricular activities. Stress can really weigh down on you when the homework schedule and your outside schedule conflicts. I have a busy schedule and I have to learn how to time manage well, which I don’t always do if I am perfectly honest. Balancing an AP class and my other classes with my dance team schedule, my choir, orchestra and voice lessons schedule, and anything else that I am committed to, can be a challenge. I always have to find the right time to do my homework and still have time to get ready for my next thing.
Here are a few of my tips for managing my busy schedule:
- USE A PLANNER!!
- Do your homework as soon as possible to get it out of the way!
- I am a big procrastinator, so this one I struggle with sometimes but when I do, I feel way more accomplished and I have more time to focus on some luxury things
- Have Reminders on your phone for big events or not in the normal schedule things that you might forget
- I often put a reminder in my phone to tell me when something big or different is coming up. Our culture is dependent on our phones, so it's easy for me to get those reminders and I don’t always have to search in my planner for any out of the blue things.
- Buddy System
- Have a friend that has a similar schedule so you guys can text little reminders to each other to help you both do the right thing at the right time
When you have such a busy schedule, you tend to stress out. I definitely stress out a ton. Here are my tips for destressing:
- Take a Deep Breath
- When I get really nervous about something I start to not breath as regularly, so I like to always take a couple minutes and just take some deep breaths to clear my mind and help me get oxygen pumping through my lungs again. I always feel at least a little bit better after doing this.
- Take Breaks to Clear your head
- Do something that relaxes you, like a walk, run, or a bike ride if exercising relaxes you. Take a long hot shower or bubble bath. I have many times almost fallen asleep in the bath so maybe if you are taking a bath do right before you go to bed so you can just snuggle up once you’re done.
- Talk to Someone
- I always feel less stressed out when I am able to call my boyfriend, my friends, or my parents when I just need to vent about how stressed I am. And It’s really helpful! Talking through something that is bugging you helps you process through how you can fix the problem.
Always stay positive when things seem to be going wrong. You can get through anything life throws at you:
- Smile for 30 secs!
- Smiling for a period of time will brighten your mood just like the snap of fingers. When you smile you release endorphins, and endorphins make you happy. Also smiling is contagious and if you smile at someone, they will almost always smile back, which brightens both of your days.
- Make time for Friends
- This is always my issue with my schedule, but it is essential. Don’t get too caught up in what you have to do and get done, taking some time off to spend with friends is the perfect way to relax and get that positivity you need to do the rest of your work later.
- Don’t take things too Personal
- Don’t take criticisms, or a not-so-good-grade to heart. Take everything that can be constructive and save it so you can better yourself. If someone says something rude to you, brush it off, because if they are your friends they probably aren’t the best friends, and if they’re bullies than who cares? You don’t need to listen to them anyways.
I hope some of these tips helped pave the way to a positive, stress free, time managed, life. Have a good day, and be nice to people. ☺
