1. Stay Organized
If there’s anything that sends a student’s course-load spiraling out of control, it’s disorganization. By keeping a few key components organized at all times, it is much easier to stay in control and stress-free. Keep your notes and binders tidy and organized by date and topic, when it comes time to write a test the materials you need to do well will all be in one place. To stay organized on a day to day basis, invest in a day planner, make lists, or use the calendar app on your phone to keep track of test dates, assignments, and extra curricular activities. Not only will this stop you forgetting to start your English paper prior to the night before it’s due, but also help you in balancing all the activities you may be juggling this semester. The last organizational tip may be the simplest, yet hardest to do, depending on your course-load. Staying on top of day to day assignments and studying for tests is a great organizational tool for beating stress, while staying on top of your class-work.
2. Live Healthy
Leading an active and healthy lifestyle is also a great way to reduce stress. Eating three nutritionally balanced meals a day will improve your concentration, mood, and ability to learn. While sleeping for about eight hours each night will also help improve your moods, especially in relieving stress and tension, it also will improve your clarity, improving scholastic performance. Lastly, regular exercise is shown to also reduce stress as well as enhancing overall health and well being. At least 30 minutes of exercise is recommended daily.
3. Maintain a Healthy Work-Life Balance
While focusing on school, volunteering, and maybe having a part time job on the side is an important part of teenage life, as well as setting the stage for one’s future, its important to remember to make time for friends, family, and fun- maintaining an antiquate work-life balance. Not only will this keep your life fun and social throughout the school year, making time for the fun side of life will help reduce stress, giving your brain and body time to relax and unwind from daily stressors.
4. Know When Your Plate is Full
While its great to have goals of doing well in school, having countless volunteer hours, as well as having a job on the side, and whatever other aspirations you may have in mind, you need to know when enough is enough- before you reach your “breaking point.” Admitting that you’ve taken on too much and laying off on what you feel is least important to you is better then waiting until you’ve completely broken down, or simply overwhelmed yourself later on down the road.
5. Prioritize
Even when you follow all of these tips; keeping yourself organized, living healthily, maintaining a healthy work-life balance, and not overwhelming yourself, there will be times when life simply throws more at you then is possible to do. It is times like these when it becomes crucial to examine what needs to be done and decide what comes first and is more important- prioritize. Even though you may not get everything you wanted to done, you’ll finish what was most important.