I want to talk to you about stress. It's a jerk! It creeps up on you at the worst possible time leaving you feeling anxious, oxygen deprived, and oftentimes sleepless at night. I know the feeling all too well. Being a recent college graduate (and former student) who HATES responsibility and homework (ew...homework) I oftentimes procrastinate and end up stressing myself out. All too often I would end up having to do so many assignments all at once because I waited too long. Or, I start the assignments on time but I still stress about it because I'm scared I'll get a bad grade and then my GPA will drop and then I will lose my scholarships and then and then and then....I lose my mind. I have to remind myself that as long I try to manage my time wisely and do my work diligently the rest will fall into place. In fact, writing this is helping me stop stressing about a huge work project I have coming up. With this post I want to give you all some stress relief tips that have worked for me, as well as some time management tips that help me keep my day scheduled efficiently.

First, breathe. Just step back from whatever is causing you stress and walk away from it for a minute. Trust me, it will still be there when you get back to it but now you can tackle it with a cleared mind and a better perspective. During your few minutes away from your stressor try to do an activity that makes you happy. For me it's going for a run with my headphones in. I would have never said that a year ago! I used to hate running and then one day I was so mad about something that I had to somehow physically remove the anger and stress from my body, I ran and ran and ran (on a treadmill so technically I didn't get very far) until I was sore and tired. And all of that anger had simmered down. I also love watching Ellen videos (I mean who doesn't?) She really gives me perspective with all of the good she does for others. And her humor is an added bonus, of course. Your mind clearing activity may be different, explore around a bit and see what you like best.

Second, make that to-do list, or write out your schedule on a dry erase board, or sticky note your room until your wall is a rainbow of notes. Whatever your preferred method, use it! It's so helpful when I write things I need to get done on a piece of paper because I know that I won't be rattling my brain later trying to figure out if I forgot to do something.

Next, I prefer doing the easy and/or least relevent stuff first. With college it's all relevent but some assignments take less time than others and I prefer knocking those out of the way. That way I can have more time to focus on larger assignments. And then in between those assignments I slip in some more Ellen time or other YouTube videos. Be careful though! One video can very easily turn into hours of mind numbing binge watching. Don't let that happen! You could watch some TV instead and set a sleep timer so the TV will automatically shut off after your designated time is over.

Lastly, breathe again! You can do this. You're not alone in this and you definitely are not the only who is feeling overwhelmed. Just breathe and focus on the positive things in life. Also, remember to stay hydrated and eat plenty of fruits and vegetables to keep your body properly nourished. Too much stress can weaken your immune system and you need to eat properly to keep your body functioning at it's best.