School stresses me out SO much! Why??
Is school designed to be stressful? I feel like me and my friends are always stressing about the next test or assignment. We spend all day at school and then have to go home and do homework for hours on top of extracurriculars and chores. Some of us even have to juggle a job too. How are we supposed to do well in school and take care of ourselves and have a social life? Is there anything I can do to make school less stressful?
Feeling less stressed about school is essential for maintaining your well-being and academic performance. Here are some strategies to help alleviate school-related stress:
1. Time Management: Efficiently managing your time is crucial. Create a schedule or to-do list to organize your tasks, assignments, and study sessions. Prioritize your workload, allocating more time to important assignments and exams.
2. Break Tasks into Smaller Steps: When faced with a big project or assignment, break it into smaller, manageable tasks. This approach makes the workload feel less overwhelming and allows you to focus on one step at a time.
3. Practice Self-Care: Taking care of your physical and mental health is paramount. Ensure you get enough sleep, eat nutritious meals, and engage in regular exercise. These habits can improve your resilience to stress.
4. Seek Help and Support: Don't hesitate to reach out to teachers, professors, or classmates if you're struggling with coursework. Seeking clarification or assistance can alleviate academic stress and help you perform better.
5. Mindfulness and Relaxation Techniques: Incorporate mindfulness and relaxation practices into your daily routine. Techniques like deep breathing, meditation, or yoga can help reduce stress and improve concentration. You can also try using something like therapy dough to maintain focus on the task at hand.
6. Set Realistic Goals: Establish achievable academic goals. Unrealistic expectations can lead to unnecessary stress. Break your goals into manageable milestones and celebrate your progress.
7. Time for Hobbies and Interests: Make time for activities and hobbies you enjoy outside of school. Engaging in your passions provides a healthy balance and relieves stress.
8. Socialize and Connect: Spend time with friends and family to maintain a support system. Sharing your concerns and experiences can help alleviate stress, and social connections are essential for overall well-being.
9. Study Smart, Not Hard: Develop effective study habits, such as active learning, spaced repetition, and taking regular breaks. Quality study sessions are often more productive than long, exhausting ones.
10. Stay Organized: Keep your study space and materials organized to reduce the stress of searching for what you need. Use a calendar and task lists. An organized environment can promote a sense of control.
11. Limit Distractions: Minimize distractions when studying. Put away your phone or use apps that block distracting websites to help you stay focused. Therapy dough is also great to stay on task!
12. Positive Self-Talk: Be mindful of your inner dialogue. Replace negative self-talk with positive affirmations. A positive mindset can help you approach challenges with confidence.
13. Know When to Take Breaks: Recognize your limits and know when to take breaks. Overloading yourself can lead to burnout. Short breaks can rejuvenate your mind.
Remember that school-related stress is a common experience, and it's essential to prioritize self-care and seek support when needed. By implementing these strategies and finding what works best for you, you can reduce stress and approach your academic journey with greater confidence and resilience.
1. Time Management: Efficiently managing your time is crucial. Create a schedule or to-do list to organize your tasks, assignments, and study sessions. Prioritize your workload, allocating more time to important assignments and exams.
2. Break Tasks into Smaller Steps: When faced with a big project or assignment, break it into smaller, manageable tasks. This approach makes the workload feel less overwhelming and allows you to focus on one step at a time.
3. Practice Self-Care: Taking care of your physical and mental health is paramount. Ensure you get enough sleep, eat nutritious meals, and engage in regular exercise. These habits can improve your resilience to stress.
4. Seek Help and Support: Don't hesitate to reach out to teachers, professors, or classmates if you're struggling with coursework. Seeking clarification or assistance can alleviate academic stress and help you perform better.
5. Mindfulness and Relaxation Techniques: Incorporate mindfulness and relaxation practices into your daily routine. Techniques like deep breathing, meditation, or yoga can help reduce stress and improve concentration. You can also try using something like therapy dough to maintain focus on the task at hand.
6. Set Realistic Goals: Establish achievable academic goals. Unrealistic expectations can lead to unnecessary stress. Break your goals into manageable milestones and celebrate your progress.
7. Time for Hobbies and Interests: Make time for activities and hobbies you enjoy outside of school. Engaging in your passions provides a healthy balance and relieves stress.
8. Socialize and Connect: Spend time with friends and family to maintain a support system. Sharing your concerns and experiences can help alleviate stress, and social connections are essential for overall well-being.
9. Study Smart, Not Hard: Develop effective study habits, such as active learning, spaced repetition, and taking regular breaks. Quality study sessions are often more productive than long, exhausting ones.
10. Stay Organized: Keep your study space and materials organized to reduce the stress of searching for what you need. Use a calendar and task lists. An organized environment can promote a sense of control.
11. Limit Distractions: Minimize distractions when studying. Put away your phone or use apps that block distracting websites to help you stay focused. Therapy dough is also great to stay on task!
12. Positive Self-Talk: Be mindful of your inner dialogue. Replace negative self-talk with positive affirmations. A positive mindset can help you approach challenges with confidence.
13. Know When to Take Breaks: Recognize your limits and know when to take breaks. Overloading yourself can lead to burnout. Short breaks can rejuvenate your mind.
Remember that school-related stress is a common experience, and it's essential to prioritize self-care and seek support when needed. By implementing these strategies and finding what works best for you, you can reduce stress and approach your academic journey with greater confidence and resilience.
Oof I really struggle with time management and being more organized, so these strategies are awesome!! I just feel like I get overwhelmed by the amount of tests and assignments and then I just can't get myself started, does anyone else feel like that? Does anyone have any ideas to stay on top of school things better so they don't feel so overwhelming?
A big reason why students may feel overwhelmed is that they don't invest time and energy in developing their organizational and time management skills. I always recommend that students learn Stephen Covey's Theory of Prioritization. Imagine a graph with four quadrants, with one axis having the labels "Urgent" and "Not-Urgent" and the other having the labels "Important" and "Not Important." Then, tasks can be categorized into each quadrant, as seen below:
Q1: Important and Urgent: Things that are due today or tomorrow; these are either emergencies or crisis. (ex: finish an entire persuasive essay in one night.)
Q2: Important and Not Urgent: Long-term projects, studying in advance, or getting started on a task. (ex: doing homework due in a week.)
Q3: Not Important and Urgent: Interruptions, distractions, last minute events, and social situations. (ex: someone asks for a favor.)
Q4: Not Important and Not Urgent: Time waster - busy work, procrastination. (ex: Youtube, Netflix, etc.)
Most students leave assignments until they are both Urgent and Important, which (understandably) makes them feel overwhelmed. If, however, you are able to do your important assignments when they are not-yet-urgent, you'll have the time you need to calmly brainstorm and make a plan.
If I had a student who was behind in many of their school assignments, I would suggest that they take a weekend and turn it into a Homework Retreat. You can do this yourself or hire a tutor. Schedule an entire weekend to get all of your school and homework assignments completed. Setting aside just one free weekend will give you a chance to be fully caught up once you return to school the following week. When planning out your weekend, don't forget to schedule in breaks, snacks, rewards, and energizing activities.
Q1: Important and Urgent: Things that are due today or tomorrow; these are either emergencies or crisis. (ex: finish an entire persuasive essay in one night.)
Q2: Important and Not Urgent: Long-term projects, studying in advance, or getting started on a task. (ex: doing homework due in a week.)
Q3: Not Important and Urgent: Interruptions, distractions, last minute events, and social situations. (ex: someone asks for a favor.)
Q4: Not Important and Not Urgent: Time waster - busy work, procrastination. (ex: Youtube, Netflix, etc.)
Most students leave assignments until they are both Urgent and Important, which (understandably) makes them feel overwhelmed. If, however, you are able to do your important assignments when they are not-yet-urgent, you'll have the time you need to calmly brainstorm and make a plan.
If I had a student who was behind in many of their school assignments, I would suggest that they take a weekend and turn it into a Homework Retreat. You can do this yourself or hire a tutor. Schedule an entire weekend to get all of your school and homework assignments completed. Setting aside just one free weekend will give you a chance to be fully caught up once you return to school the following week. When planning out your weekend, don't forget to schedule in breaks, snacks, rewards, and energizing activities.
Oh I found using a priority matrix so helpful, I definitely second that. It felt really good to look at things based on how important they were, really helped me finish all my work without feeling overwhelmed. But I do still really struggle with tests (who doesn't lol) and I just think I have crazy bad test anxiety. No matter how much time I schedule to study for a test, I still get so stressed by it and end up panicking. If anyone has any test anxiety tips I would LOVE to hear them!!
There are a few things you can do to calm your anxiety during a test. Try placing one hand on your heart and one on your belly, then focus your attention on the breath inside your chest. Just take a minute and do three nice long deep inhales through your nose, tracking the breath as it moves into your chest and belly and out through your mouth. Relax your tongue and let it rest in your lower palate as you breathe out. This exercise activates the parasympathetic part of your nervous system, which helps your body get into "rest and digest" mode.
What do other wikiHow readers have to say?
Other wikiHow readers have submitted their own tips on topics similar to this one.
Reader Tips from How to Cope With Stress at School
Make a 'to do' list and place the things in order based on how time consuming, difficult and important they are. Then, work through the list strategically and you'll feel good when you've done them and you can tick them off. I know it's cliché but it really does help!
Don't worry about getting a 100 on every single test, it's not going to happen. As long as you do your very best, that's all that matters. If you make a C on your biology test, for example, study harder for the next one in order to keep the A you want.
Talk to friends about issues. Maybe they can help you handle it or take it away. Often your friends are the best people in the world to talk to.
Reader Tips from How to Deal With Exam Stress
As tempting as it may be to pull an all-nighter (or late night) study session so that you feel confident the day before an exam, but not getting sleep will actually make you more stressed out. Get at least 8 hours of sleep the day before the big test!
Stay hydrated. Don't eat junk food. Say no to pop, alcohol, and drugs. The better you physically feel, the easier it will be to deal with stress.
It may help to recognize that every student has exam stress in one way or another. You are not unique or alone in this.
Reader Tips from How to Get Rid of Study Stress
Study stress, in my experience, comes from a fear of the future. You're anxious about how you're going to perform on the test that hasn't happened yet. If that's the case for you, pulling yourself back into the moment by drinking something cold or opening a window can really help you stay focused on the "now."
Take breaks! If you're studying so hard that you're beginning to stress out about it, go on a walk. Play a game. Do something interesting. You're not going to be productive in your studying if you are too anxious to actually absorb any information.
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