Most of us at eLearners are probably working adults. Many of us have families, bosses, work deadlines, spouses, household chores, possibly pets, possibly children, personal obligations, friends and all of the other people and demands in our lives that pull us in multiple directions at once. All of this plus school obligations, papers, deadlines, etc which added together equal stress. Now I am one of those people who can perform under stress, but at times even I begin to sink into the ocean of despair that can quickly spring underfoot whenever one bites off more than they can chew. So here is a quick tip guide to keeping your head above water (so to speak) and maintain some kind of equilibrium in your life.
1.) Time has got to be one of the biggest stress inducers of any online student and professional. Eliminate a large portion of this by making a personal schedule and don’t forget to stick to it. The key to managing time is self discipline. If you are one of these people who is “fashionably late” to everything, then you may have a problem with the stress caused by mismanagement of time. There are literally hundreds of books on managing time; I’ve even gone over some scheduling tips in my previous blog posts if you want to search there. But recognize that time is a valuable and diminishing thing. You must control it.
2.) Personal obligations, such as family, friends, church, weddings, birthday parties, dinner with a significant other, all take away from item number 1, which is time. Learn how to prioritize and say no when you have to. I’ve gone over this before but it bears repeating.
3.) Money, oh yes, the almighty dollar, or lack thereof can induce stress as well. Have you figured books and supplies into your budget? What about those little emergencies that pop up like a computer dying on you in the middle of the week? Do you have an emergency fund? No? Then get one, the amount is determinant upon your individual needs, but I would be prepared for a worst case scenario, like a hard drive taking a dump on you in the middle of your finals.
4.) Do you know the sources of stress in your life? No? Well then it’s time to take stock. Sit down with a pen and pad and write down everything that causes stress in your life, you may notice that some of the things that cause stress are things you enjoy, no matter, list them then prioritize them in order of importance to you. Then schedule them by order of priority and necessity.
5.) Learn your school policy on extensions or late assignments. Hoping, praying and begging for an extension after the fact can be a huge headache. Know what your school has to say about extensions and the criteria for them. You don’t want to finish a paper to hand in late only to have it kicked back with a “0”. By the way, extensions should be used rarely if ever, don’t make a habit of them.
6.) Know your personal breaking point. Personally I get migraines when I’m pushing it to hard and that’s my sign I need to take a breather. I know that if I go beyond that point, I start acting out of character (ask my wife) or become fatigued, burned out and start to lose my tenacity. Knowing your breaking point isn’t enough, you need to stop when you hit it until you’re refreshed. At times this may put you a little behind, but you did read my blog post on making sure you had a 2 day off cushion right? No? Well okay, brief recap, be sure when making your schedule you always, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, schedule 2 days off for yourself. This is to be used for a break, which you will need tough guy/girl, and to be used only in case of emergency when you fall behind due to, uh, um, well, an emergency of course. Note that this keeps those dreaded extensions/late assignments at bay as well.
7.) Get a stress breaker in your life if you don’t have one. This is something you enjoy doing that relieves stress, like painting, pottery, playing music or even video games. Something preferably that you can do on your own, on your own time, anytime needed even at last minute notice. This generally can speed along the recovery needed after hitting that breaking point I was talking about earlier. Generally after about 2 hours of playing guitar I feel like a new man.
8.) Exercise. Okay, the fat guy is one to talk right? Anyways, exercise ,while it can act as a stress breaker, should not be your only one as too much exercise has been known to increase stress or lead to fatigue, besides, it should be done as a matter of lifestyle anyways. Did you read my post titled “Does Exercise Make You Smarter”? No? Well read it. In short, it does and it also changes your body chemistry to where you are affected less physically by stress than otherwise. Ladies, I know you are familiar with the physiological reactions that chemistry has upon your overall attitudes and stress levels but men, we are less inclined to believe it, rarely giving chemistry a second thought. Well, Macho Man, hit the weights (or Yoga if that’s your thing) for 6 weeks and report back whether or not your stress level has reduced.
9.) Sleep better. Don’t sleep too much, don’t sleep too little. Make sure you are getting the right amount for you. Good sleeping habits equal less stress. I know for a fact that stress induces fatigue and insomnia; I have suffered from both personally. By following the other tips I’ve mentioned above I’ve normalized my sleeping patterns a little more and I do feel more energized and ready for whatever any malicious professor has for me that day.
10.) Lastly learn to let things go. That’s right, keep a big picture focus and let the little things in life go. So you had a rude customer at work? Leave it there, heck you can even talk about them like dogs to your peers, but then be done with it. Don’t carry the burden around with you all day. You got a lower than expected grade on an assignment? Learn from it then let it go, don’t let that hang over your head as you work on the next assignment, keep the overall picture in mind. Missed a deadline? Hey, it happens, don’t dwell on it, a low grade or angry boss is enough without you beating yourself down about it as well. Learn to let things go.
Hope this helps. ---Cajun