skip to main |
skip to sidebar
STRESS RELIEF FOR STUDENTS
As educational requirements get more stringent in all levels of education, students everywhere experience considerable school stress. Here are some student stress relief tips and tools that students can use to learn study skills, prepare for exams and minimize their school stress levels to make learning easier.
- Manage Time Wisely: It’s important to give yourself plenty of time to work on your studies if you want to do well, and you can save yourself a lot of stress if you plan ahead with good time management skills. Setting up a schedule for study, breaking up your studies into smaller chunks, and other time management skills are essential.
- Get Organized: Have a system of organization for note-taking, keeping track of assignments, and other important papers. Being organized can bring you the peace of mind that comes from knowing where everything is, remembering deadlines and test dates, and clearing your mind of some of the mental clutter that disorganization brings. Keep a calendar, a schedule, and a filing system for your school assignments, and you’ll find it prevents a significant amount of stress!
- Create a Good Study Environment: Creating a soothing environment can reduce stress and help you learn. Playing classical music as you study can also soothe you and help you learn (unless you find it distracting).
- Know Your Learning Style: Did you know that we don’t all learn in the same way? It’s important to know whether you’re a visual, kinesthetic or auditory learner, as you can tailor your study practices around your particular learning style and make success easier to attain.
- Practice Visualizations: Visualizations and imagery are proven stress management techniques. You can also reduce student stress and improve test performance by imagining yourself achieving your goals. Take a few minutes each day and visualize, in detail, what you'd like to happen, whether it’s giving a presentation without getting nervous, acing an exam, or something else that will support your success. Then work hard and make it happen!
- Develop Optimism: It’s been proven that optimists—those who more easily shrug off failures and multiply successes—are healthier, less stressed, and more successful. You can develop the traits of optimism and harness these benefits for yourself, and do better in your studies as a result.
- Get Enough Sleep: If you want your performance to be optimum you need to be well-rested. Research shows that those who are sleep-deprived have more trouble learning and remembering, and perform more poorly in many areas. Work your schedule so you get enough sleep, or take power naps.
- Use Stress Management Techniques: Chronic stress can actually impair your ability to learn and remember facts as well, stress management is one of the most important--and most overlooked--school necessities. A regular stress management practice can reduce your overall stress level and help you to be prepared for whatever comes.
- Learn Study Skills: The more prepared you are, the less stressed you’ll be!
Get & Stay Involved in High School and College
High school students should remember they are competing against students all across the country to get into a good college. Community service, awards and being involved in clubs and organizations can be the tie breaker to get you into a good college over someone with similar grades as you. Getting involved also prepares a high school student for college and helps gain experience working, interacting and socializing with other people. This helps build leadership experience and proves you can work well with others.
Getting into the college of your choice should not end your involvement. Not only will your involvement on campus help you to make friends and overcome home sickness, it will also allow you to put a couple more bullet points on your resume. Building your resume through clubs and student organizations is a great way to stand out from the crowd when applying for graduate school or your 1st job. Working on community service projects or clubs within your major will give you hands on experience and shows you work well with others. You can take it one step further and run for a seat as an officer in your club; this shows that you are a leader.
No matter what grade level you are, start looking for ways to get involved in school and within your community. Just a couple hours a week will greatly benefit your future.
Making Time
Does it seem like there's never enough time in the day to get everything done? Feel like you're always running late? Here are some tips for taking control of your time and organizing your life.
1. Make a "To Do" List Every Day.
Put things that are most important at the top and do them first. If it's easier, use a planner to track all of your tasks. And don't forget to reward yourself for your accomplishments.
2. Use Spare Minutes Wisely.
Get some reading done on the bus ride home from school, for example, and you'll kill two birds with one stone.
3. Its Okay to Say "No."
If your boss asks you to work on a Thursday night and you have a final exam the next morning, realize that it's okay to say no. Keep your short- and long-term priorities in mind.
4. Find the Right Time.
You'll work more efficiently if you figure out when you do your best work. For example, if your brain handles math better in the afternoon, don't wait to do it until late at night.
5. Review Your Notes Every Day.
You'll reinforce what you've learned, so you need less time to study. You'll also be ready if your teacher calls on you or gives a pop quiz.
6. Get a Good Night's Sleep.
Running on empty makes the day seem longer and your tasks seem more difficult.
7. Communicate Your Schedule to Others.
If phone calls are proving to be a distraction, tell your friends that you take social calls from 7-8 p.m. It may sound silly, but it helps.
8. Become a Taskmaster.
Figure out how much free time you have each week. Give yourself a time budget and plan your activities accordingly.
9. Don't Waste Time Agonizing.
Have you ever wasted an entire evening by worrying about something that you're supposed to be doing? Was it worth it? Instead of agonizing and procrastinating, just do it.
10. Keep Things in Perspective.
Setting goals that are unrealistic sets you up for failure. While it's good to set high goals for yourself, be sure not to overdo it. Set goals that are difficult yet reachable.
Consider these tips, but personalize your habits so that they suit you. If you set priorities that fit your lifestyle, you'll have a better chance of achieving your goals. Implementing these strategies will help you to be more successful in high school and in college and eventually in your career.
Posts
