Every student has experienced the feeling of stress. We all have it, whether or not any of us admits to it. Stress happens for several of reasons. My reasons for stressing are very simple for college students. I mean, if you really look at how much it costs a single student to attend college, it almost seems impossible; especially for working maybe thirty hours a week on a minimum wage pay. I don’t need to go into specific numbers and crunch out how much I really pay for college, but I can tell you some ways I try and unwind so that the stress doesn’t weigh on me as much.

Now we all know that most students have college tuition to pay for, grocery bills, phone bills and some other utility bills, but the amount of bills that I have might shock some (keep in mind I’m only 21). Of course I have tuition that I need to cover. I have a rent payment plus 4 utility bills. I have my phone bill, I recently just bought a vehicle and financed it into my own name that I now have to pay for (luckily my parents are great and cover my car insurance for me), and I also have my health insurance covered under my own name that I am now responsible for. That is quite a bit for someone my age. Can you imagine the amount of pressure? I know that there are many more students who fret over more than just bills, but I’m writing this to share some of my tips to make the stress easier!

My 4 major tips:

1. Stay organized!

This is my number one because it is the most important. If I’m not organized I will feel like things aren’t in their place, I haven’t done what I needed, or I’m missing something. For example, my daily planner has everything in it from party dates, to birthdays, to school meetings, to homework that needs to be done. I can find just about everything I need to know in my planner. It’s always easier to keep organized.

2. Never procrastinate.

I am the absolute worst at procrastinating. I would rather curl up in my blanker watching Netflix rather than do work. I do, however, have a trick that always makes me feel like I need to get things done more on time. I use sticky notes. And lots of them! I will post a due date and what needs to be done by that day and I always stick them in places where they will get in my way. My purpose for that is if these darn sticky notes are getting in my way everywhere, I eventually do that task so I am able to peel them away.

3. Always have a back up plan.

Having a back up plan always puts me at ease because I know that if the first solution doesn’t work then the next one will. A back up plan can be for just about anything! I even sometimes have a back up plan for my first back up plan. Say you owe a $60 phone bill and you just realized you spent that $60 on gas and food for the week. It is always smart to have keep at least $100 extra in your checking or savings account in case something like this were to ever happen. Then once your paycheck comes in at the end of the month, you just replace whatever money you took out.

4. Have a good support system.

This could easily take every bit of stress you have away if you have the right support system. It’s the best feeling in the world knowing that there are people who will make you feel like your problems don’t matter. They can make you feel like you’re not the only one going through what you may be experiencing. It’s the feeling of someone taking the weight of the world and putting it on his or her shoulders, just to take away some of that pressure. Even if you may not have someone to do that for you, you will always have that one friend or family member that will stand by your side and tell you that it will all be okay. This is something that is very close to my heart because the support system I have has gotten me through my hardest days and it’s something that will always keep me going.

So to all you college students out there, I sure hope you find this writing helpful. These actions have gotten me through my first three years of college.