In the last Stress Busters, (click here for Part 1 if you haven't read it yet or if you just want a review), we prepared for final exams.  Now as many of us are finished with finals, I want to explore some stress busters that are necessary for ending the school year right and planning effectively for the next one. Remember: To reduce stress, start planning for the school year before it begins.  

Here are 3 more Stress Busters:

4.  Reward Yourself After Exams--Just as hard work has to become part of your routine, so does relaxation.  Giver yourself a mini-vacation.  In college, after a week of final exams ended, I would go straight to the movies.  The movies, ice cream, and pizza became a ritual for me.  So every time midterms and finals rolled around, it wasn't as painful because I knew I had something great I was looking forward to.

5.  Pick Classes Now--A lot of people pick their classes as late as possible like at the end of the summer or in September.  If you wait until the very end, many of the classes you want may be taken.  Even if they are not taken, you may end up choosing unhealthy combinations of classes under the pressure to turn in your choices in on time.  If you do struggle with intermittent depression or a mood disorder like bipolar, choosing  healthy combinations can really make a difference in reducing the severity or frequency of depressive bouts by reducing the amount of stress in your life.  Look at all the classes you still have left to take–-prerequisites, requirements for your major, requirements for graduation, etc.  Then, add in the classes you feel compelled to take--"the wants."  Now, add labels to all these classes––E, M, H.  E = Easy, M = Medium Difficulty, and H = Hard.  To assign these labels, simply use your knowledge of you.  If Math has always been hard for you, then it's safe to guess that Calculus is an H.  If you hate writing papers, then the English class with 20-page papers is going to be an H.  If course critiques are online, which are reviews of teachers written by students, those may also be helpful in labeling classes.  

Now, Spread the classes out.  LIsten, if you take all easy classes one semester, this means you will eventually have a semester full of all hard classes. I've seen seniors who spent their last semesters in agony because they procrastinated all of the hardest classes.  Yikes!  S-p-r-e-a-d  i-t  o-u-t. Healthy Combinations reduce stress in the short AND long term.  Unhealthy combinations lead to more stress, which leads to more depression.  Suppose you are required to take 5 classes in a semester, here is a sample of good and not-so-good combinations.

 Healthy Combinations: [2 E + 2 M + 1 H], [ 3 E + 2 H ], [  1 E + 3 M + 1 H ], [ 2 E + 1 M + 1 H ]

 Unhealthy Combinations:  [ 5 E ], [ 5 H ], [ 4 E + 1 H ], [ 4 H + 1 E ]

Healthy Class Combo --> Less Stress --> Less Depression

Unhealthy Class Combo --> More Stress --> More Depression

6.  Prioritize Tasks with Stars (or Asteriks)--When a depressed student looks at a laundry list of things to do (8-page paper on Crime and Punishment, 10-question Problem Set for Calculus, Biology Lab Report, 3-page essay on the French Revolution, get iPod problems fixed at Apple store, get Gina birthday present for Sweet Sixteen party), he/she feels overwhelmed.  I'm sure many of us have felt like this.  It's like, Just let me hide under the covers already!  I don't want to come out until...until homework is forever banned from the earth!  Barring the possibility of President Obama legalizing a ban on homework, we have to prioritize.  Let's use the aformentioned list as an example.  As an illustration, let's say it's Monday, May 9th.  Let's write down the dates for each assignment or task:

--8-page Crime and Punishment paper due 05/18, Wed

--10-question Calculus problem set due 05/10, Tue

--Biology Lab Report due 05/12, Thur

--3-page essay French Revolution due 05/16, Mon

--get iPod fixed by Apple people due whenever--personal task for maximizing pleasure

--get Gina present for her Sweet Sixteen party, which is on 06/04, Sat

The most immediate, burning tasks that MUST be done today get 4 stars = ****  Tasks due in two days get 3*** and tasks with no urgency get No asteriks.  Let's break this list down using stars:

--8-page Crime and Punishment paper due 05/18**

--10-question Calculus problem set due 05/10****

--Biology Lab Report due 05/12***

--3-page French Revolution essay due 05/16**

--fix iPod

--get Gina's present for party on 06/04

When you prioritize your to-do list, things are no longer overwhelming.  Homework is doable.  Life is doable.  Everything is going to be okay.  Not everything can be done in one day.  But thankfully, not everything has to be done in one day!  

Until the next Stress Busters, when I unveil 3 more strategies for busting stress, keep fighting the good fight.  

--Jessica