How to Effectively Deal with your Back to College Stress

Maybe everything was sunshine and rainbows when you were thinking about going back to college in early August. You were most worried about your new wardrobe or which colors of pens to purchase.

But then reality set in. Only a few weeks into the semester and your stress is already building.

Yep, I get it. I may be on the "other side" as a college professor, but being on this side of things helps me see your perspective. So many papers to write and so many deadlines. Your professors expect a lot out of you, you want to spend time on your social life...not to mention juggling work and thinking about your future career. It's a lot to deal with all at once! Especially if you had a nice break this summer.

The good news is you are not alone and there are many strategies that can help.

Many other college students feel the same stress - I can promise you that. Maybe they don't look like it in class, but many of your peers are dealing with the exact same feelings. Do you hang out with the people who feed into your stress, just constantly talking about it? Or do you DO something about your stress? Well you must be ready to take action since you're reading this blog post! Surround yourself with people who are ready to take action and actually do something about their stress.

Map out your entire semester by weekly tasks and activities.

This sounds like a lot of work, but just a few minutes mapping out your semester can help you see the bigger picture. You can draw something simple or make a fancy Excel file. Either way, visualize the semester and the weeks in front of you. Do you have three exams in one week? Or a big project due before November? Map it out so you can see where the most "stressful" times will occur. 

Now can you dial back on some of your other activities during the most stressful weeks? If week eight looks like it will be jam-packed with exams,  papers, and projects, then can you find a way to work less at your job that week? Or make sure you have no ambitions to binge watch something on Netflix? Knowing that a big week is coming up helps you plan ahead. You can also warn others around you about your most stressful week. Tell your long distance friend that they might not hear from you until week nine or ten. Mapping is a great tool that helps you break down projects and the semester into manageable pieces. Think of that classic saying - you have to eat the elephant one bite at a time...and you'll be taking your semester one day or week at a time.

Schedule "worry sessions" for yourself.

A lot of times our stress is caused by the worry we have. You worry about your future career. You worry about what you said in class. Or how you reacted to a friend. Or what your sibling is up to back home. The list of things you might be worrying about is endless. But thinking about all of that worry all the time wears you down. And leads you to say, "I'm stressed out." Some of the worry is manageable through action steps, like we talked about above. But other times the worry just doesn't seem to go anywhere.

So what if you scheduled a "worry session" each day for yourself? You could say, "Between 8:00-8:30pm I am going to just sit and worry." The idea is that as worries start to pop up in your day, you say, "I'll save these for later," instead of stewing about them throughout your day. Try it out. See if it helps with the rest of your day. Now you might want to follow it up with a session of mindfulness meditation or relaxation. But "saving" your worries for later may help you recognize that your day does not have to be consumed by them.

* And if you deal with any anxiety disorders, please follow your counselor's or therapist's recommendations for your care. Of course!

Spend ten minutes writing about why you value your education.

I know, more writing in your life is just what you need! But hear me out. Writing out your personal values has a lot of research behind it. So let's tailor it to your education. Why are you working on your degree? Why are you in college at all? List out the reasons and hang on to the list. Revisiting the list from time to time can help remind you about your core values related to education. You'll get through this stress and this semester. Especially because you value it.

So those are some quick tips for you to effectively deal with back to college stress.

What else do you use on a regular basis to help deal with your stress? Share below in the comments!

How to Create a Productive Summer for College Students

So you've had some time off from school, enjoying sleeping in or focusing on your job without papers to write or exams to take.  It's a glorious feeling, until you start to realize that time is already flying by and you have a list of things you want to accomplish this summer.  How can you possibly be productive with all of these distractions and sometimes unlimited free time?

When I was a student, I would feel the same way.  Often I would stay up late, sleep in, and wonder what I was going to do with my day starting around 12pm.  I would try to set big goals like applying for as many jobs as possible without clear deadlines.  And all too often, I would get sucked into some TV show or something to read on the internet.  My days slipped by and I wondered why I was able to get more done during the school year, when I was really busy.

Sound familiar?  You don’t have to have that kind of summer!  I wish I had followed this advice when I was in college.  Here are a list of three actionable items to help you create the productive summer you want:

1.  Set a consistent bedtime.  Yep, I’m serious.  Going to bed at the same time every night helps you wake up at the same time every day, so you feel well rested and ready to schedule your day.  Sometimes I hear people say, “I want to go to bed at 2am and wake up by 6am so I can be productive!”  That’s not going to happen.  You’re going to keep hitting snooze and then start your day feeling guilty, wondering why you didn’t get up.  Consistent sleep can change your life – figure out what could be stopping you from sleeping at night.

2.  Make your summer goals SMART.  SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely.  Instead of saying, “I’m going to apply for as many jobs as possible tomorrow,” make it SMART.  Say, “Tomorrow I will apply for three jobs already on my list by 5pm.”  This makes the task easier to accomplish and gives you a time frame.  Instead of spending your entire morning avoiding applying for jobs, you know that if you complete three (as you said in your goal), you’ll be done for the day.  Then you can cruise YouTube videos without any guilt and prevent the cycle of feeling miserable for not accomplishing anything. 

3.  Use apps to help you focus your time.  Feel like you spend too much time on Pinterest?  Or any other website?  Instead of beating yourself up for getting sucked in, create external barriers.  I have a daily time limit on Facebook for 30 minutes.  No, I don’t track that time myself.  I use an app called StayFocusd, a free extension on my browser.  I get to choose all the settings.  But once my time is up, it’s up.  Something else is preventing me from spending too much time on a website.  No willpower required.

So what do you think of these three tips?  What else has been useful for you in creating a productive summer?