Feeling Overwhelmed? Here are Four Ways to Handle Stress
We all have days, weeks, and months where we feel overwhelmed and stressed with too many tasks to complete. This can be from school, work, or even our personal lives. When we have too much on our plates, it’s usually harder to focus and stay on track. From the outside, people think you have it all together, but they can’t see what is going on in your head. Stress occupies your mind and fills your thoughts and emotions more often than you would think. The pressure of getting things done within a certain time frame is intense and overwhelming. Although the feeling of stress is inevitable, here are four methods to handle stress that I have found helpful.
- Accept help from others
There is a reason why office hours, tutors. and peers exist. These resources are to help you maintain your stress levels and can help improve your mood while preserving your mental health. For example, when I have an exam coming up, I always ask my peers for help studying so we can talk about any confusing topics from class. If they can’t help, I go to office hours and seek help from the professor to see if they can explain concepts I am struggling with in a different way. There are multiple resources that can help you in times of stress, so remember in the future that it is okay to go out of your way to utilize everything that is given to you to make things easier.
2. Time management
There is seemingly never enough time in the day to complete your work, yet people still manage to finish it. This is because those people have good time management skills. “Time management” refers to the way that you organize and plan how long you spend on specific activities. It is important for your personal and professional life to have strong time management skills because it teaches you how to manage your time effectively and make the most of it. There are many resources at your fingertips that help manage time better like reminders, calendars, and planner applications on your phone to make everything more convenient. If you prefer the old school method, there are physical agendas and planners that help you organize your daily tasks. Personally, I prefer using a physical calendar and planner because technology has a lot of distractions that paper does not.
3. It is okay to say no
The most important word you can say to reduce stress is “no.” Saying no to the small things you are asked to do but are not mandatory creates clarity on what you need to focus and spend your time on. It also helps to regain your energy and gives you time to relax. The word “no” has a lot of power in terms of mental health because it saves you from burnout and overload.
4. Identify the major priorities
Not being able to set your priorities straight results in having too much on your plate. No one realizes how much one has on their plate until they check their agendas. For instance, someone could have a new presentation to give by the end of the week or a report they need to write, but they might forget about these tasks if they are not written down in a planner. These are major tasks that need to be done within a deadline and knowing when it is due can help manage the stress that comes along with them. Planning in advance of when to work on these tasks can make it less stressful to complete them and allocating time for yourself in between working on these tasks can help too.
There are multiple ways to manage stress, and it can take a while for you to learn what works best for your individual lifestyle. However, once you start using these tips, they will make a difference in your organizational and time management skills. I recommend using these tips and taking the time to see what works for you!
