As the months of the school year continue on, the workload and difficulty of your classes increase until you eventually become so stressed that you throw your hands in the air and decide that enough is enough – until, of course, you realize that quitting is not an option.

Personally, I have been feeling the weight on my shoulders get heavier and heavier as the weeks go by, but luckily, there are a few things that you can do to help ease the stress you are experiencing.

First and foremost, you absolutely need to have good time management skills, especially if you participate in an extracurricular activity or have a busy home life. Managing your time will help you stay organized, which is key to becoming stress free. Those who do not take the time to sort out their papers or have somewhat of a schedule will probably end up stuck with a ton of unwanted hassle. As your mess of papers accumulate, so does your stress.

Now some readers are probably wondering: How exactly do I manage my time?  Well, time management is simply the process in which you plan out and organize what you are going to do and when you are going to do it (MindTools.com).

Say you have two tests, three homework assignments, and a project due the following day, and you also have a two hour practice for a sport that day. It may seem utterly impossible to complete all of these tasks in one night, but chances are you would have had multiple days to study and work on that project.

A good way to solve this problem would be to acquire a planner, a journal, or download a scheduling app such as ToDoist or My Study Life, and mark everything you have to do down. As a fellow student, I have been using an app to record all of my assignments and upcoming exams, and it has worked wonders.

Many students put on a blank face when asked if they really know how to properly study, and this lack of knowledge can often be another unwanted stress when it comes to school. Studying is so significant in a student’s life, and it is sometimes a difficult task to come to terms with.

All students have different methods of studying, and that mostly depends on the type of learner you are. Once you figure out what helps you learn the most, you can then incorporate that into the way you study. For example, if you are a visual learner, you can make flashcards or read the material multiple times.

School is always going to be a huge part of your life, whether you care about it or not. Your grades and how much effort you put into it almost always define your future. Stress is normal, but it is definitely not needed.

Below are links to websites that give tips on the best way to study based on the type of learner you are.

https://www.cowley.edu/academics/skills/tipsal.html

https://lawschooltoolbox.com/5-study-tips-for-kinesthetic-learners/

https://lawschooltoolbox.com/5-study-tips-for-visual-learners/