How To Stay Stress FREE (with links!)

Hey guys! I think stress is inevitable; but we can still try right?!?

                                           

 Here are my tips:

• Go to bed early and consistently. Seriously, I cannot stress this enough. Staying up late is probably the worst thing you can do for your health, because you'll want to sleep all day which will stress you out and just generally snowball into general awfulness. You don’t have to be in bed by like, 8, but try to shoot for 9 or 10. I found 9 works best for me. Try to wake up at the same time every day, too, depending on how many hours of sleep you need. This will vary from person to person. Some people only need like 5 hours of sleep to function fine. I need more like 8 or 9. That’s okay. Don’t let yourself feel bad for needing more sleep. I feel kind of a hypocrite when I say this because I take long to sleep,too. But this sleep clock helps a lot.
• Plan your time wisely. This year was the first time I actually started doing this but it helps so much! You don't need to buy a very expensive planner like a FILOFAX; heck you can use your phone! I actually use two things: A school planner (my school provides one), and a person one. My school planner is categorized into subjects and is used for homework and day-to-day, smaller assignments. My personal planner is for anything else like appointments and such. This system works really well for me, but it might not for you. There will probably be a trial and error period where you find your groove. I'm awarding myself ,for planning so well, an ERIN CONDREN next year, Some other planners include GOOGLE CALENDAR, SUGARPAPER, KIKKI K, and more.
• Start assignments the second you get them. Even if it’s just printing things that you need out or writing your name at the top of the worksheet or whatever. Do something with your homework. The hardest part of any assignment is getting started, but once you do you might find yourself building a little momentum. If you don’t, don’t force it if you don’t have to. Some days you might, especially on time-sensitive work. Trust me, when I got weekend homework I would do everything Sunday night, nowadays I do it all on Friday night and it feels so much better.
• Do as much work on campus/at school as humanly possible. I know some people are more productive at home. I am not one of those people. When I go home, I am done for the day. I might work a little bit if I couldn’t finish everything I wanted to on campus, or if I’m just sick of campus and wearing pants, but for the most part I try to get as much done on campus as I possibly can. I find it to be a much more productive environment for me; I don’t screw around nearly as much. Sometimes my teachers give us about five minutes in the end of class to do some of our homework. In the beginning of the semester I would fool around and talk to my friends. But trust me; that's stupid. As little time that your teacher gives you; you can do something. And that ''something'' sums up!
• Make a good study playlist. People’s tastes tend to vary, but having music or at the very least white noise can make or break a study session. I've heard of the ambient channel on Pandora; it’s got soft, relaxing music without words so you don’t get distracted and try to sing along. But sometimes even that’s too much, and you can use Simply Noise (a free white noise generator) to just have some kind of sound running in the background. I get distracted very easily by people speaking, or miscellaneous noises happening around me, so I need to drown those out. I actually prefer the brown noise over the white noise though; the pitch is a lot lower, and doesn’t hurt my ears.
• Take care of yourself as much as you can on the weekends. I use the weekends probably about 80% for self-care and 20% for homework and studying. I let myself sleep in an extra hour (or four, haha) , do fun and relaxing things, take a bath, whatever you like to do. If you plan your time wisely (your planner will come in handy for that), you can play with it so you have more spare time on the weekends. Sometimes it won’t work out that way, and you’ll have to dedicate full weekends to working. That’s okay. Just try to be a little more gentle on yourself throughout the week.
• Try to get some gentle exercise in a few times a week. This is kind of hypocritical for me to say because I have the most horrible relationship with exercise you’ve ever seen, but it really can make a difference. Go for a gentle walk, or do some stretches, or dance around your room in your underwear while passionately singing into your hairbrush (…not that I do that or anything). Just get up and move a little. Personally, I consider my 7 Minute Workout enough.
• Learn it. Do it. Teach it. I read somewhere that Girl Scouts, set forth three rules in order for you to earn badges. First, you had to learn how to do something; be it tying knots or starting a fire. Then, you had to do it to prove that you could do it. Then, you had to teach someone else how to do it, usually in a workshop the troop would host. By doing those three things, it really solidified that knowledge into our brains. So if you’re having trouble remembering things, use this method. And if the idea of teaching someone something is scary, teach your pet. Teach your stuffed animal. Heck, teach your wall. It’ll be better if you have like an actual person so you can see if they’re understanding it as well as you need to, but if someone’s not available, oh well.
• Use the Pomodoro method of studying. A lot of people recommend it to prevent burnout, but I think it’s doubly important for people who get overwhelmed easily. I can’t focus on things for more than half an hour. The Pomodoro method says to study for twenty-five minutes, then take a five-minute break. You might need to tweak the times to fit your needs better, but generally speaking it’s best to study in smaller clumps with frequent breaks in between than it is to cram everything into six solid hours.
• Stay hydrated. Drink water! It’s good for your brain and your body. Don’t like water? Flavor it! I hate water but I know I need to drink more, so I add grape flavored Propel powder to my water, and I think that’s a fair compromise. Green tea is also acceptable; I like mine iced with a little Splenda and some lemon, but lately I’ve been on a huge water kick. Try to carry a bottle with you to your classes and stuff, too. The funny thing is; when I don't bring my water bottle; I'm much more thirst than with it.
• Be proud of yourself. What you’re doing is not easy. Going to school and getting good grades comes easier to some than others, but it is not in and of itself “easy”. You’re amazing, and don’t ever forget that. Praise yourself often, because like L’Oreal says, ''YOU'RE WORTH IT! GOOD JOB YOU.''

Best of luck to you!