Saved by the Bell

With the end of June looming, all of us students are reminded that the start of school is just getting closer and closer. Although we at shakeoffstress are insistent upon waiting until the last minute to start back to school prep, we thought that having a handy guide to avoiding school stress would be helpful even in summer. That way, you can read these tips now, store them in the back of your brain, and bring them back up or reference this post if you need it during the school year. With that said, bring on the tips!!

First of all, let's talk organization. Having a way to organize all of your assignments, extracurriculars, and responsibilities that works for you can help you to shake off stress. If you're a visual person, a calendar might be a great way for you to do this. There are many different calendar templates that are free to print out online, or you could even draw your own. If writing everything down isn't for you, there are a variety of different online calendars that are easy to use and free to access.

If you have a gmail account, Google Calendar comes with it, free of charge. You can add events, tasks, or reminders to your calendar with notification alerts that remind you when they're happening. In addition, you can create multiple calendars, so that you know what category an event belongs to. For example, if I had a game for my lacrosse team, I could type it in as an event on my lacrosse calendar and it would show up blue. These calendars are also collaborative, so you can share your calendar with someone and they can share theirs with you.

Your phone also most likely has a calendar app, where you can add events and set up notifications, just like Google Calendar. I find that being able to see all of the things that I have coming up during the month helps me to avoid being overwhelmed. I always have time to prepare for different events, and notifications to remind of them if I forget about them. With all of commitments that school requires, a trusty calendar has been very helpful for me!!

The next thing we thought would be important to discuss is time management. Sometimes it just doesn't seem like there's enough hours in the day to get everything done. Apps like Focus Keeper or Eggzy are here to help you fix that. Focus Keeper is based on the Pomodoro technique, which is a popular method for staying focused and making the most of your time.

You can set the timer for any length of time, dedicated to studying. The recommended amount of time for each study session is 25 minutes. After the 25 minutes are up, you get a five minute break. Although it may seem counterintuitive to take a break every 25 minutes, I find that this method helps me to stay on track and is better than getting distracted and taking an hour long break from studying on accident. However, if you feel that a 5 minute break is too long/short, you can make the breaks as long or short as you want.

Eggzy is a similar app, but it's centered around staying focused and avoiding picking up your phone. You get to choose the amount of time you want to study for, and then you have to flip your phone over. If you turn it over to check it, you have 10 seconds to flip it back over or your study session is "failed." I like this app because you're rewarded with hatching a new animal if you stay focused for the entire study session. It seems silly, but it's definitely kept me on track during finals!

Next, let's talk about staying motivated. School is hard, and burn out is normal. Dedicating a couple hours a week to doing something for yourself can help to prevent burn out and keep you feeling great. This could be anything that makes you feel good: taking a walk outside, watching a new video your favorite Youtuber posted, texting your best friend, etc. Mental health is important, and I always feel like I do better in school if I'm taking care of my own.

Physical health is also important to preventing school stress. Incorporating movement into your day, having a regular sleep schedule, and eating regularly can help you to do better in school and in general. If you're looking for ways to maintain a healthy sleep schedule, check out our April blog post "Catch some Z's."

Finally, let's talk resources. Teachers and counselors can be great people to reach out to if you feel that your stress is unmanageable. Emailing a trusted teacher to talk about falling behind or needing help is nothing to be ashamed of, and having good communication with your teachers can be helpful even when you don't want to talk about your stress. In the end, they are there to see your succeed and help you learn. Counselors are also at school to support you, and can provide a variety of different resources to manage stress.

We hope these tips will be helpful to you when the school year starts up again. If you have any additional tips, we would love to hear them! We here at shakeoffstress hope this article was informative and gave you some information about how to shake off school stress. Thanks for reading :-)

Comments? Questions? Leave them down below!!