Three Stress Management Tips You Can Use Today

We’ve kicked off the new year here at Primavera and you’re well on your way to accomplishing great things. But with new classes, tests coming up and plans on the horizon– not to mention staying on track with homework and having a social life– a little thing called stress can creep up on you and make things a little less exciting.

According to Merriam-Webster, stress is defined as:

• a state of mental tension and worry caused by problems in your life, work, etc.
• something that causes strong feelings of worry or anxiety
• physical force or pressure

Everyone experiences stress in their life so it’s not really something to fear, but managing stress (especially while in high school) can help you feel more relaxed and confident when the big decisions of life present themselves.

Here are three tips to help you manage stress and stay on track.

Tip 1: Get Organized

Okay, we don’t want to cause you more stress by telling you to get organized and clean up your space but the truth is that having less clutter and place to work that helps you get focused really can reduce stress. Since we’re an online high school, you have the advantage of working from anywhere, which can mean the comfort of your home or maybe a coffee shop or by the pool (all great choices, by the way), but if you’re trying to reduce stress it’s important to make sure no matter where you work you have a clean space and know where everything is that you could need to get your work done and be productive.

Tip 2: Stay Healthy and Get Enough Sleep

Staying up all night to get a last minute project done can seem like an okay thing to do once in a while, and if you’ve been putting something off, it could be the only thing to do but trust us when we say that lack of sleep on a regular basis not only can cause stress, it can also affect your health. If you’re not feeling 100 percent before the next big test, project or even job interview you probably won’t be able to perform at 100 percent and that could have a negative impact on those big decisions.

Getting too much sleep is not good either. Our bodies need to have balance and if you’re sleeping too much, that could cause other health problems so make sure you’re exercising and eating right to stay healthy.

Tip 3: Laugh it Off

Things are not always going to go our way and that can be stressful. But sometimes it’s not up to us. No matter how hard we work or how much we do to get something close to perfect, we will have bad moments in life that are out of our control. The key to managing stress in these situations is to “laugh it off” and move forward. We are allowed a time to express our feelings –vent– and even feel bad about it because we are all human but for our own good we need to spend more time looking for the positives that may have come from that situation and consider next time will be better.

If you’re getting ready to take AIMS tests, don’t stress too much. Instead, make sure you check out our tutoring resources and math questions of the day to help you prepare and feel ready for the test when the time comes.

The guidance counseling department is holding a stress management adobe in February and they also have other available Primavera resources that can help you. Contact your guidance counselor for more information.