Stressors

        Stress definitely plays a large role in my life. I used to rarely get stressed, but as my workload has picked up over my senior year, stress has happily followed along. That’s what I attribute my stress towards — a heavy workload. Many deadlines in the form of college essays and schoolwork topped off with some procrastination have led to a large buildup of work, and as a result, given me a lot of stress. However, I have been able to utilize strategies that have helped me relieve this buildup of work, and as a result, stress as well.

One way I attempt to alleviate my stress is by completing my work in the most efficient way possible. By efficiently reducing my workload, I not only can eliminate my stressors but also create free time for myself too. A typical work session for me begins with 30 minutes of work, followed by alternating 15 minute breaks/15 minute work sessions. I begin to chip away at my workload with a concentrated effort, and since each session is such a short period of time, I don’t get burnt out from keeping this up for long periods of time. This is especially effective on weekends when I have longer periods of time to work. For example, on a typical weekend I can have a work session spanning from 1pm to 5pm, and working/taking breaks in 15 minute intervals allows me to stay focused.

On the other hand, I have also noticed that much of the stress I experience comes from a lack of organization in the things I need to get done. For instance, one night I may have an essay to write, math homework to complete, multiple history readings, and additional miscellaneous work. It seems like an excessive amount of work, but it usually doesn’t take as long as I would anticipate. By listing out everything I have to do, and estimating how much time each task will take, the total time to complete all of my work tends to come out to less than 2 hours, which is a reasonable amount of work on a typical night. I then try to complete this work with my aforementioned system of 15 minute work sessions, efficiently relieving me from stressors.

A third thing I do is try to focus on one task at a time, instead of worrying about all the work I have to do as a whole. This way, my workload appears more manageable, and I don’t feel the collective pressure of many things on my to-do list. In addition, focusing on one task at a time allows me to concentrate on those specific tasks, completing them more efficiently. Overall, stress plays a large role in my life, but by adhering to an organized and rigid schedule, I am able to ease the stressed feeling. 

Comments

  1. Miriam AOctober 21, 2021 at 12:56 PM

    Having a to-do list and being able to check off boxes as I work helps me stay on track too and try not to procrastinate as much, but whenever I do end up procrastinating on anything, my stress level shoots upward. I found it interesting to read the way you deal with stress and the way your strategies have helped to alleviate some of your stress. It was helpful to read about the way you deal with stress by staying organized and taking breaks every 15 minutes, which is something that I might try in the future. Great post!

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  2. Ekam GhotraOctober 25, 2021 at 1:21 PM

    I relate to a lot of the things you mentioned in your blog. Stress lately has seemed endless, and I too employ a method that splitting up work time and break similar to you. Also I kind of approach work in the same way as you, by not thinking always about the big picture of everything I have to do and more so focussing on the most important task that is next up.

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