Stress Management

I have never been a big fan of the month of February. With February comes dark, dreary days, snow storms, and most of all high levels of stress. As a university student stress levels soar in the month of February due to the “midterm season”. I always thought if I can get through February I can survive this semester. Unfortunately stress is always a factor in life, and to this day I still am not a big fan of February because now I have replaced midterm stress with busy season stress. I have learned it doesn’t matter where you are in your life stress will always follow... so here are a few stress management points, that we should all keep in mind as we all try and get through February...

 

1)      Make Plans: Even in times of stress it is important to plan other activities, plan ahead, make the necessary arrangements to allow your schedule to work and have something to look forward to! This could be a Friday night hockey game, a concert, a weekend trip, or something as simple as dinner out with a friend! Make sure you keep a balance, you can’t completely forget about your personal life or your stress levels will continue to soar.

2)     Exercise: We all take breaks at some point, from studying or working. The problem is we tend to rationalize that were so busy that it justifies for that break to include sitting in front of the TV...that we just don’t have time to get to the gym and back (me included!). Well exercising can be the best stress reliever and everyone should make an effort to ensure exercise is in their weekly routine. Whether this means walking outside, taking a gym class, or running on a treadmill, any form of exercise will help to blow off steam!

3)     Plan your work and work your plan: If you can’t tell there seems to be a common theme? Make a schedule, not just for school work but for everything in life and STICK TO IT!

4)     Bed Time: We all require sleep and lots of it, so stop depriving yourself! Everyone needs time to recharge their batteries, to get ready for the next task, the next obstacle and at the very least the next day. It is very important to ensure you get the right amount of sleep because if not you will lose focus, motivation and this will affect overall performance.

5)     Focus on the positive: Everyone needs an outlet, a time to allow for ranting, venting and stressing, but make sure you don’t focus on this all the time. Ensure you try and find the positive side, and keep smiling because if your attitude is positive the experience will be too!

 

Happy Stress Management, may we all become less stressful more relaxed individuals who ENJOY the month of February :)