Stress Management for Students 

In this over-schedule world, it' s no wonder that stress management for students is an issue.  Questions arise about how to handle the academic pressures, personal responsibilities and other living demands and still maintain a sense of sanity.  In today’s society, education matters and the degrees, certificates or licenses can make the difference in the job you hold and the amount of salary you can command.  With so much riding on your success in schooling, it is no wonder that student stress is an important topic.  Here are three ways to manage the stress.

Create a Realistic Use of Time

Developing an accurate assessment of how your student spends the waking hours of the week gives an honest view of the time management challenges.  Start with one week and create a written list of everything that has to be done.  Listing all appointments, assignments, personal responsibilities, along with any employment obligations is an essential way to get a handle on how time is spent and what commitments are included in each week.  Using effective time management strategies is helpful part of handling stress management for students.

We like to work from weekly and daily schedules when designing a time management strategy because it represents a manageable chunk of time and activities that need to be addressed. Divide projects into subparts to make the work manageable and chunks can be completed to give a feeling of accomplishment.  A monthly planner is a good tool for that. The major concern is that the student not become overwhelmed by looking too far ahead and thinking that the amount of stuff to accomplish looks impossible to complete.

Establish Realistic Goals

With many demands placed on your student’s time, it can be difficult to determine which commitment to handle first.  We know that setting goals is important and creating SMART Goals is a valuable tool in this process.  Setting goals is effective stress management for students because it provides a sense of direction and there is comfort knowing where to aim and in feeling a sense of accomplishment.  Work with your student to create both short term and long term goals so that even if some issues are not addressed in the immediate time, there is a sense of these long term goals not being forgotten or ignored.

Allow Time to Recharge

Your student needs time to get involved with things that allow a replenishment of energy.  Studying is hard work and can be mind draining.  With the monthly and daily planner, build in study breaks and activities with friends. Schedule breaks for alone and recharging times.

Provide opportunities to enjoy music, arts, sports and socializing to balance the stress your student finds in other aspects of her busy life. Eliminating pent-up stress also will allow your student to have more productive energy. Reducing stress from daily life by taking a break from work will help recharge your student's energy. Stress management for students requires a healthy balance of work, relaxation and planning priorities.

Time Management Tips for Students

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