When you are a college student, it is normal to experience stress. From the perspective of college student, I can say that stress is like our companion during four years of college life. Some students may feel stress due to an overload of courses taken during the semester, while others can feel stress due to participation in an excessive number of clubs or activities beyond their time availability. I remember when I was starting college; my parents gave me advice that a “person who respects the value of time, then time will respect us because time and opportunity waits for no one in life.”

I didn’t understand the real meaning behind my parent’s advice until I started college and started living on my own. During my freshman year, I learned the meaning of time management because class schedule, along with clubs and an on-campus job, demanded discipline and a sense of awareness from me. I enjoy doing various activities, but the key to balancing all those activities lied in managing proper time and not feeling exhausted.

There were times when I felt stressed out, but when I applied my mantra for stress relief, I would feel more confident in approaching all the situations which came my way.

So, here are four steps to reduce stress, which I apply once in while:

1)      Make daily to-do list which can help you in managing time properly. One of the easier ways to stick with a daily schedule is through treating yourself after finishing your daily task. I usually treat myself with cookie or ice cream when I finish big class projects on time.

2)      Eat your meals on time and try to eat healthy foods, like green veggies instead of high-fat-content varieties. Findlay’s dining service does a great job in providing students with a  lot of selections for healthy food.

3)      Drink lots of fluids. Some may misunderstand “fluids” as coffee or other beverages. But here, fluid means water. It has been scientifically proven that water helps in keeping our skin glowing and helps us stay fit and healthy.

4)      Make a weekly plan to go to either the recreation center or, if you are into yoga and meditation, then try to do it for some time. I am more into yoga and meditation because in India, yoga and meditation are seen as traditional remedies to keep ourselves healthy and fit.

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