Upon request, I was asked to write about how to deal with stress. Whether it is with school, work, friends or life in general, these tips can be useful to anyone. Here are 10 ways on how to deal with stress.

1. Manage your time. This is a big one. During my first year of University if I wouldn’t have managed my time it wouldn’t have been good and I would have been very stressed. During my first year I was going to University full time, 5 days a week, and on the weekend I would work 13 hours. I was basically working 7 days a week. If I wouldn’t have managed my time well I wouldn’t have been successful in University. Instead of spending time doing wasteful things, like go on Facebook for an hour, I would have to focus and dedicate the time to doing homework instead. I would recommend doing the things that need to be done, and then do the fun things. Or if you need to take a break, you could read a book or go on Facebook for 15 min, but don’t prioritize Social Media or hanging our with friends, before your homework is done, or don’t procrastinate until the night before when you have a big project due.
2. Take short breaks.  Some things could include going for a walk, or reading part of a book. It should be something you enjoy.
3. Write down things that make you stressed. Do this for a few weeks and then you will be able to see the things that make you stressed, and possibly move away from those things.
4. Make lists. This way you can have figured out what you need to do for the day. This way you don’t have to stress because nothing is just in your mind. It is all set out for you so that you can see what you need to do.
5. Be thankful. This may seem weird, but if you are stressed by school or work, be thankful that you can be going to school or that you do have a job. There are many people who wish they could be going to school or wish that they could have a job, but don’t.
6. Positive self talk. Positive self talk can help you be at ease and lower stress. Negative self talk will increase stress because it will feel like everything is going wrong.
7. Talk to someone. This can also tie in with positive self talk. Sometimes stress can block your judgement on the things going on in your life. Talking to someone can also relieve stress. This week I’ve talked to a few friends, and they have been able to put things in perspective for me. Without talking to them I probably would still be stressed/upset.
8. Smile. I know that just because you smile it doesn’t mean that you’re always happy. But sometimes our face can be connected with our emotions. I know smiling doesn’t always work, but smiling could remove some of the tension and stress that you have.
9. Sleep. Try to get the same amount of sleep each night. I know for me lately it takes me forever to fall asleep, sometimes over an hour, just because I have so much on my mind. Things that you can do before bed so that you will not be stressed is you can read a book before going to bed, take a warm shower. For me I relax so that when I want to go to bed, that time is part of the hour that it takes me to fall asleep. (Sometimes that works for me and sometimes it doesn’t.)
10. Don’t worry about what other people say/think about you. I know lots of my stress lately has been coming from what people say/think I should be doing, or what I think people are thinking about me. You don’t need other people to approve what you are doing in your life. The sooner that you don’t worry about what other people think, the less stressed you will be.

Here are my 10 tips for dealing with stress. This is not an exclusive list. There are many more things that can help you manage your stress. I hope this list is able to be of help to you.