It鈥檚 official: classes are online. Now what? As we work through changes to our school and home lives, we may begin to feel stressed or unsure as we adjust to a new normal. Here are some tips to help you manage and overcome stress.
Check in with how you鈥檙e feeling/doing
Start by writing out a list of everything on your mind. This could include things like figuring out your new schedule, upcoming tests or quizzes, projects, job stress or relationship issues.
Listing your stressors out on paper will allow you to be more mindful about which is causing the most amount of stress. It鈥檚 also okay to take a deep breath, step away and come back to your list at a later time. Being mindful doesn鈥檛 always bring a sense of calm or bliss 鈥� it can actually cause us some discomfort. In the end, though, it鈥檚 important to be present and understand all the things that are going on in your life that may be causing unneeded stress in order to move forward.聽
Be honest about how your list makes you feel (anxious, tired, excited, etc.). Acknowledge those feelings and remind yourself that all of these feelings are temporary. Ask yourself why these things make you feel that way.
For instance, if the most stressful item on your list is an assignment, ask yourself why. Maybe it feels like there鈥檚 too much to do and not enough time to do it, maybe you鈥檙e feeling stuck or are confused about the directions. Once you鈥檝e determined the causes of stress for the items on your list, start breaking them down into smaller tasks to tackle. It could be as simple as emailing your professor with questions you have, doing a half hour of research or writing an intro paragraph.
Prioritize your needs
When we feel overwhelmed, even simple tasks can take a hit. Check in with yourself using HALT: are you Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired? If you answer yes to any of those, take care of those needs first.
Imagine you鈥檙e feeling hungry, but you decide to put off eating in order to study longer. In the long run, this will likely cause more stress. You鈥檒l get hungrier, and the last stretch of work may become unbearable or you鈥檒l start to lose focus. If you鈥檙e tired, your priority should be getting some rest even if it means that you鈥檙e not able to finish an assignment until tomorrow. Pushing ourselves to the limits and ignoring our basic needs is a quick way to experience burnout, which could slow us down even more. Taking care of yourself will not only help you, but it will also empower you to accomplish the other items on your list.
Do the next right thing
If you鈥檙e looking at your list, your mind is racing or you鈥檙e feeling overwhelmed, try focusing on the 鈥渘ext right thing鈥�.
This means focusing on the next simple step that is going to move us forward. Sometimes that means dealing with your basic needs (HALT); other times it means tackling one of the items on your list.
If the next right thing feels too hard to pin down, check in with yourself again. What feels the most overwhelming? Can you break it down into pieces? Can you tackle a small piece of it right now? Most importantly, have you done a HALT check-in and taken care of your basic needs?
Repeating this check-in process any time you鈥檙e feeling overwhelmed can help you identify the next right thing.