Includes: tips, resources, and step-by-step advice!
When I say Iâve been dealing with school-induced anxiety throughout my whole academic career, Iâm really being serious - my parents told me I used to ask them all the time if it was difficult to learn how to read and write, and worry if Iâd ever get the hang of it like my older sister had done. Soon enough I started stressing about homework, exams and extracurricular activities, and it hasnât changed much since, but I learned how to overcome it.Â
I admit I get good grades, and the reason I work so hard it is because I worry about my future. Therefore, being concerned about your performance is a crucial part of succeeding, but once that concern turns into obsession and something that often overwhelms you, it means that itâs become something unhealthy - and that is whatâs going to damage your performance. This kind of anxiety has become a big thing not only among college students but also the younger ones, who are still struggling to graduate and get into university, and unfortunately, most donât know how to manage it.Â
Anxiety and stress can lead to major health problems such as depression, fatigue and many behavioral, sleeping, respiratory and mood issues. Personally, Iâve been dealing with insomnia, mood swings, chronic migraines and some other things due to school-induced anxiety and stress, but thankfully Iâve been feeling much better once I decided to do something about it and care more for my well-being by building new healthy habits and getting rid of bad ones.
Todayâs education system still has a lot to improve and we do need desperately to talk more about mental health in schools, but for now, lâd like to share some tips that have personally helped me how to stay on my feet and keep my head held up high despite the many bumps on the road.
Keep organized all year long
The one thing that will save you that one week filled with deadlines and exams is your level of organization. How do you store your notes, scored past exams and completed exercises? These are crucial during a revision session, and if theyâre not in hand once itâs time for that, it can further worsen your mood. Having everything in place for when you need it will make you feel in control, which is exactly how you want to feel. Hereâs a few steps to help you putting everything in their rightful place:Â
Keep a thin plastic folder on your bag, and whenever youâre given a sheet, place it inside the folder at the end of the class.
Once you get home, organize all the sheets inside the folder. You can do it every other day or every weekend if itâs troublesome to do it every day. If you use a binder for the corresponding class, place it there. If you use a notebook and donât like gluing papers onto the pages, consider buying one of those thick folders with multiple compartments - this way, you can place the sheet in the classâ compartment and find it easily once you need it.
Regularly throw away papers you donât need anymore - having useless stuff around might cause even more stress.
Have a space in your room which is exclusive for your books, binders/notebooks and all other school material so you always know where to put things and where to find them.
I want to stress the importance of a pencil case - it might seem like silly remainder, but I know a lot of people who just donât have them. It doesnât need to be fancy; some of my friends use ziplock bags as pencil cases, and they work just fine. It just helps you keep your pens, pencils, highlighters and whatever else you need in one place.Â
Keep up with your calendar
This is like the second part of the whole âkeep organizedâ tip. I seriously canât stress this enough. Dates are important; please keep track of them. The best way to do so is by having a calendar on your wall and a planner with you all day.Â
Again, it doesnât have to be anything fancy. Iâll have some free printables of calendars and planner pages below, but you can make your own monthly calendar out of a A4 sheet (which is what I usually do), and you can find some pretty cheap planners out there.
Just to make sure itâs clear, Iâm talking about planners, not bullet journals. While bullet journals are great to keep up with tasks and such as well, the advantage of planners is that you can write down things that will happen in weeks by turning a few pages since the dates are already printed for you. While you can write down reminders in the bullet journal, you might forget to check later, while the planner will remind you once you get there. The calendar on the wall is also a great way to keep up with reminders.Â
Like mentioned above, even though itâs not essential, keeping a bullet journal is an awesome hobby, and can be a really good friend if youâre serious about boosting your productivity and keeping up with daily tasks. Iâll leave some in-depth posts about it below as well!Â
Remember to write down everything on your planner: when your homework/essay/project is due, the date of your test, any holidays, etc. It will be super helpful once you need to plan your study schedule before a exam season.
If you prefer having an app that can do that for you, I highly recommend the My Study Life app.
emmastudiesâ 2019 yearly calendar printables
emmastudiesâ 2019 monthly calendar printables
emmastudiesâ weekly planner printable
studydiaryofamedstudentâs printables (habit tracker, weekly planner, meal planner, month planner)
jackiejapaltureâs exam study kit printables (exam schedule, finals week schedule, weekly planner, essay planner, definitions sheet, notes sheet)
bullet journal tutorial by studypetals
You donât have to lift heavy weights or run a marathon, and you donât have to exercise every day either. Try to exercise three days a week, the way you like the most. Exercising is an extremely efficient way of releasing stress and maintaining a body that is body healthy physically and mentally. If done in the morning or before a study session, it can even improve your concentration.
You can go on walks outside! Create a playlist with your favorite songs, put on some comfy sneakers and just go. It can actually be quite pleasant and not difficult at all.
You can enroll on a gym if you donât like walking outside, and maybe even ask a friend or a family member to start going with you if you donât like being on your own.
If neither of those ideas sound appealing to you, you can try doing some home exercises. There are plenty of easy workout videos for you to follow online. These include pilates, yoga, but also some pretty intense bodyweight and cardio ones.Â
Yoga is one of the best physical ways to release stress. I donât do it regularly but my sister convinced me to try it a few times and itâs amazing. There are a bunch of yoga videos online, such as morning and bedtime routines, that have really helped me start the day in a good mood or manage to help me sleep once itâs over. There are some that are even targeted to when youâre feeling very anxious or stressed.
Yoga for anxiety and stress
Apartment-friendly cardio workout
Eating healthy doesnât mean you have to go on a diet or try to lose weight. I know plenty of people that are quite thin or donât really want to lose weight, but who eat really crappy food. Eating bad food can have several bad side effects other than making you gain weight, such as acne, low energy, mood swings, insomnia, and many other things. That doesnât mean you canât eat that cookie daily, but eating processed food for every meal definitely wonât do you good on the long run. Here are some practical tips:
Try to have lots of veggies with at least one of your meals
Try leaving junk food and soft drinks exclusively to the weekend
Eat your favorite fruits for snacks
Sometimes buying your breakfast instead of making it when you âdonât have the timeâ itâs even more time consuming; Iâll leave some really good and ridiculously easy recipes bellow!
5 lazy, quick & healthy meal recipes (vegan)
5 healthy lunch ideas for school & work
Again, so important! Keeping your body hydrated has so many advantages, especially when it comes to your mood. You need to replace the huge amounts of water you loose everyday by drinking it all back, and help maintain the balance of body fluids - theyâre responsible for things such as digestion and transportation of nutrients. And so, drinking water can help you relieve fatigue, keep concentrated and think more clearly, which are essential things for a student.
It can be hard if youâre not used to it, so you can start small, with 1 liter (33 oz).
Try to slowly increase you intake to 2 liters (which is about eight 8-ounce glasses of water, and hence why people say you should drink about 8 glasses of water per day)
Measuring the quantity in glasses can be quite troublesome sometimes throughout the day, so what I like doing is bringing my water bottle everywhere. I have a 600ml bottle and my goal is to drink 3 liters daily, so I have to drink 5 bottles.Â
To keep on track and remember how much Iâve already drank, I use the Drink Water app. Itâs really simple to use, and you can adjust your goal accordingly! Iâm not sure if itâs available for Android, but you can easily find similar apps for any phone!
If you think you need it, please open up about whatâs been going through your mind to someone you trust. If you donât feel like talking to a family member of friend, look for a teacher you trust at school. You can even search for your schoolâs psychologist - most have it, and theyâre generally the nicest people out there, and would be very happy to hear what you have to say and give really good advice.Â
Finally, please consider seeking professional help. Therapy really does help; talking out loud with a professional who knows exactly what to do to help you will certainly be a good option. When my anxiety was really bad, I used to go to a psychologist weekly and she helped me made the right decisions and keep going! I donât need her assistance anymore, but Iâll always be grateful for her help, and proud of myself for deciding to keep visiting her even when I didnât feel like it.Â
Sometimes the healthiest way to put yourself back together is taking a few steps back and letting go for a while. Maybe a day. Maybe an entire weekend! Take the time to read a book, hang out with your friends, binge-watch your favorite TV show⌠the ideas are endless. Just donât do anything school-related.
Of course, if youâre near exam season this would be hard, but if you keep organized all year long, Iâm sure an opportunity will arise - to take it!
Never forget that you can do it! No matter how difficult it seems, you can always keep going as long as youâre not overworking yourself and seeking unhealthy coping mechanisms. By keeping organized and taking care of your health, youâll see that your daily routine will become easier and your mind will clear up, so donât give up!
âWhen you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.â â Franklin D. Roosevelt
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