A lot of us lead extremely busy lifestyles, and I happen to be one of the people who really enjoys the rush of a weekday schedule. Sometimes, however, everything gets a little too overwhelming, and on top of the usual busy lifestyle, things can start to feel constricted and constrained, and all too uncomfortable. This past week was one of those weeks for me, a week that brought me physical pain, emotional duress, and anxiety levels soaring through roofs that didn’t belong to me.

The cherry on top is the volatile weather outside that makes sleep an extra hurdle to cross, thus making this week an ice-cream sundae disaster. These are the type of weeks that you certainly start to feel the weight of the world upon your shoulders, and often times I find, myself and the people around me want to crawl into bed, skip the week, and start fresh next Monday instead of finding ways to get through the week.

Unfortunately, that’s not a very realistic option, and quite frankly it isn’t a great option either, but I find there are certain things everyone can do to remind themselves that it will get better, and if I could make it to Sunday so can you. That being said, here are five tips to help you get through a stressful week:

1. Start viewing the week in small tasks rather than end goals

What I mean is, on a week that is extra stressful, viewing your checklist as a list of small goals per day or hour that you can fulfill makes a huge difference in confidence levels as opposed to looking at all the things you have to do in one week and worrying about it.

Obviously, don’t just forget important things you have coming up, but take it day by day. How could I possibly finish the things due on Wednesday if I start worrying about everything due on Friday on Monday?

2. Take a break every now and then

This a huge reminder to myself. As I stated before I tend to like the rush of being busy the majority of the time, but off-weeks provide extra stressors such as being ill, or not getting sleep, or forgetting to eat properly that make business all the more evident, so take a break every now and then.

I took Tuesday off, it killed me to do so, but if I hadn’t I think I might have crumbled, and in hindsight there really is nothing wrong with just taking a day off to decompress.

3. Spend time with people you really love

My schedule makes it really hard for me to see the people that contribute to me being heart-healthy often, and sometimes I forget how impactful people are in our overall stress levels. Take some time and go to the gym with your friends, sure you’ll be kind of sore afterward, but boy have I ever felt so good.

4. Read some great books, or watch light-hearted shows

Ok, this one is kind of a call-out post to myself because as an English major, I primarily read materials that I don’t exactly call “favorites.” These texts are interesting, and I love dissecting them, but they can get dark, and depressing, so put down Goethe for a while and read something light-hearted, even better, put on Bob Ross and paint some happy trees and valleys.

5. Get your sleep

It is hard to do so sometimes, and I am a great example of someone that finds sleep difficult, but I can feel my body shut down when I’m running on four hours of sleep a week, so I think it is safe to say that even if it means taking little 20 minute naps during the day, get some shut-eye.

Again none of what I mentioned guarantees anything, nor do I advocate for people reading my writing to get advice over taking the advice of professionals, but I find that these are five things that help me live through a stressful week, and I’m hoping they will benefit some others too.