By: Brenna McDermott

    Many Oak Hills students are very stressed, but have little to no knowledge about how to manage that stress. Seniors are stressed because of scholarships, applying to colleges, and keeping up with seven classes. Juniors are stressed with balancing school and work. High school can be a stressful time, but I am here to offer some hints to help you out when you are stressed.

Tackle One Thing at a Time

You will feel less stressed if you handle one task at a time. You will be able to polish your work more and possibly get a better grade on an assignment. Try to limit your multitasking.

Write Everything Down

When you have a lot of assignments due within two days, your mood can plummet, especially if you are juggling seven classes that have assignments due on the same day. If you write everything down, you will remember it better and free up some brain space for other important things.

Keep Your Daily to do list very Short

    Most people are stressed because they have so much to do but so little time to do it. Narrow down the most important tasks that you have to do, and if one of the assignments is due the next week, wait a little. This tip helps because it will keep you from getting stressed out and will allow you to try and breath.

Don’t make Mountains out of Molehills

    A lot of people aren’t just stressed about schoolwork, but also about something that could have happened during the day. Don’t make the smallest problems bigger. You don’t need unnecessary mountains in your life and you have much bigger things to think about.

Spend 80% of your time focusing on a solution

    That other 20% is focused on the problem that isn’t that big of a deal. You will open up your mind more and feel less stressed if you just focus on a solution for a problem or even the end result.

Ask instead of guessing

    You know what I’m talking about. When the teacher is teaching something new and no one understands, many of us will just guess. You may be wrong, and may spend the whole class stressing over the topic when you could have just asked for the teacher to explain again. Usually there is another person in the room who doesn’t understand either.

Pack your bag before you go to sleep

    I know I am guilty of leaving my binders and books all over the table when I am done with homework. Right after you are done with your homework you should pack your bag up, because you will be less likely to forget something in the morning. This is especially important if you are always running late in the morning. You will save yourself some time to sleep as well, and we all know we like to sleep.

Balance Fully Focused Work with Complete Rest

    If you are a junior or senior, these are probably the most stressful years of school. You have to balance work, school work and sleep. Try working for 45 minutes on something then taking a 15 minute break. This can reduce the likelihood of stress and can help you relax from your day.

Make sure you take time to do what you love to do

    Whether it be catching up on some sleep or listening to music, you need to take time out for yourself. If you are doing something that you love then you will be less stressed. Think of yourself every once in awhile and have fun with life.

I hope that these ten tips help you with your school day and school year. I hope you are less stressed!