With summer coming to an end and a strange school year approaching, it’s easy to find oneself in a stressful place. It’s been a tough year and it’s going to keep being tough, but that doesn’t mean we have to let stress rule our lives. I’ve created a list of things we can do daily to manage and defeat stress, so you can make the most of what you are given. These tips and tricks can be used for any time of the year or activity, and may differ from person to person, but at the end of the day, I hope that you learn something helpful about how to manage stress in your life.
Have a Solid Morning and Night Routine
It’s important to start and end the day feeling good, so create routines that work best for you. Not only is a good morning and night routine crucial for hygiene, but they also are important for time management and provide a window of time to not worry about the stressful uncertainty of the day. When times are stressful it’s nice to have one thing that remains consistent in life and a solid morning and night routine can provide that consistency.
Get and Keep a Planner
The type of planner is up to you and what you prefer, but make sure you have something to write upcoming events and assignments in. This will keep your mind organized and will help you avoid stressful situations in the future.
Make Your Bed
This is a simple one, but it can help make a difference in your day. Not only does it make your room look better, but it helps you feel more productive. It’s incredibly important to start your day off feeling productive and organized, and this is an easy way to achieve that.
Have Nutritious Breakfast
Stop skipping breakfast. Starting your day off on a good note is incredibly important and you can’t do that if you are hangry or lacking the nutrients you lose during sleeping. Plus having a yummy breakfast planned out can help motivate you to get out of bed.
Create a To-Do list
The feeling of crossing something off of your to-do list is wonderful and incredibly motivating to keep doing work. When completing a to-do list start with the simpler tasks first and work your way up to the more difficult tasks. I recommend keeping your to-do lists in your planner so you stay ultra-organized.
Create a Specific Space to do Work
When creating this space make sure it’s quiet, well lit, comfortable, and has everything you might need nearby. You should not be doing schoolwork in your bed! If the weather is nice, work at a park or a coffee shop. Finding a separate space will help to limit distractions and allow you to focus.
Schedule Breaks
Throughout the day make sure you are scheduling time for breaks from work. It’s very important not to overwork your brain or else you will run out of energy for the day. You can do whatever you please during a break, but try to avoid super distracting activities so you can eventually go back to what you are doing.
Make Sure to Get in Physical Exercise
All of these tips differ from person to person, especially this one. You know what you like when it comes to working out. Whether it is yoga in the morning or running three miles at night, what's important is that you get 30-60 minutes of exercise a day. Exercise is beneficial both physically and mentally and can help cut down on some of the stress you might be feeling.
Turn Your Phone Off
This one might not be very popular, but it's truly important. Not only can your phone distract you, but it can be damaging to your mental health. I recommend turning it off while you do school work and making it a goal to spend less time on your screen each month. If this isn’t an option, try downloading an app that prevents you from using your apps.
Keep Your Room Clean
I tend to find that a clean room makes me feel so much more organized and level headed. You won’t have to worry about the stress of losing something or navigating your messy floors. I recommended spending 15-20 minutes every day doing something to keep your room clean. This also can be an extra helpful way to deal with stress if you are part of the population who finds organizing things to be relaxing.
Make Time for Friends and Family
While friends and family can sometimes be the causes of stress, they can also be a great stress reliever. Just make sure you spend time with the ones who aren’t damaging to your well being. Prioritizing your work over your relationships can end up damaging your ability to get things done. Set aside time to see the people you care about.
Keep a Journal
Journaling should never feel like a task, but something that helps you destress and keep level headed. If you find yourself stressed often and don’t know the cause, keeping a journal of the days you do feel stressed might help. Not only will this help you vent and feel more relaxed it can also help you possibly identify your stressors in the future.
Make Sure you are Drinking Enough Water
Drinking enough water is incredibly important for your body and mind, so find a reusable water bottle you like and set a daily reminder on your phone to hydrate. Experts recommend at least 2 liters a day.
Prepare Yourself The Night Before
When running late for something we all know how stressful it is to gather everything we need for the day and make sure we don’t forget anything, so to avoid this plan the night before. Not only do you save yourself time and effort in the morning, but you also don’t have to worry about forgetting anything or being late.
Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help
If you feel too overwhelmed with stress and don’t know what to do about it you can always ask a friend, family member, teacher, or coworker for help. They might be able to help you with your situation and cut down on the stress it causes you. While it may be difficult to ask for help it will be worth it in the end.
Know Your Limits
Know when to quit. While good stress can push you to be a better person, bad stress can negatively impact your wellbeing. If a class, friend, or activity is causing you too much bad stress it's okay to cut it out of your life. While it might be hard to do, in the long run, it is what's best for you.
Have an Activity to Look Forward to
It can be hard to stay motivated throughout the day to get your work done, but if you have a fun activity planned for afterward it will help you work harder. A fun activity can also help you wind down from the stress and chaos of the day. Activities can be things like watching your favorite tv show, reading a good book, or working on a drawing.
Keep a Consistent Sleep Schedule
This can be a hard one, but if you aren't getting enough sleep it will mess with your productivity levels and cause you to become more stressed throughout the day. You know whether you are a night owl or early bird, but no matter how you shape your schedule be sure you are getting 8-10 hours and not waking up too late in the day to have a productive morning.
Pick Out the Positives
During stressful times it can be helpful to focus on the good. I recommend before bed thinking about one good thing that happened to you that day. And in the morning pick out one fun thing you want to do.
Get Outside
It's relieving to get some fresh air especially on the days you are working hard inside. Make time in your day to spend at least 15-20 minutes outside.
Practice Positive Self Talk
While this one might seem silly, it’s important. When something bad happens or we mess up it’s easy to talk bad to ourselves and feel guilty, but that type of attitude and behavior can lead to more stress then what is needed. Practice giving yourself compliments and credit when you do something good, and forgiving yourself when you make mistakes. This isn’t a super easy thing to achieve and it is going to take practice, but make a daily effort to use positive self-talk and it will slowly become easier.
Spend Time With a Pet
If you have a pet you know that they can be great partners in relieving stress. If you find yourself getting too stressed, take a break and spend some time with your pet to help calm down.
Reward Yourself
After a hard week, it’s ok to reward yourself for all of your hard work. That reward is a reminder of the stress you overcame and all you can achieve.
Take a Nap
If you find yourself getting too stressed about something it’s okay to take a nap and come back to your task later. Sleeping can help put you in a different mindset and can help if you didn’t get enough sleep the night before. Just make sure you don’t spend too much time napping and you try to eventually go back to the task you are trying to do.
Understand That Stress Doesn’t Last Forever
Even if you follow all of these rules and use all of these tips stress is still going to be in your life. What’s important is knowing that the sun still rises and life keeps going forward. Stress won’t last forever and you will have better days in the future.
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