work

You know that feeling, where there’s so much you have to do that it feels like you’re suffocating?

Or when people are all relying on you, and you worry that you can’t live up to their expectations?

Don’t worry, you’re not alone. The truth is, we’ve all experienced a type of this feeling, and I can safely say that it’s not the most fun.

Stress can impact our lives by making us more messy, and less careful and attentive. When we feel overwhelmed, we may end up cheating or skipping parts of our work just to finish. All we want is that feeling to be gone.

Unfortunately, there’s no magic solution that can rid us of stress immediately while working under pressure, but there are ways that we can learn to cope with it, and turn it into something more beneficial.

#1. Give Yourself Time to Breathe

We’ve all heard this one, haven’t we? “Just give yourself a break, and trust me, you’ll feel better!”

You might roll your eyes, saying that you aren’t able to do this, because you have too much work to do to even have time for a break. But when I say this, I don’t mean take a vacation or have an hour long bubble bath.

Just take a moment, – 10 seconds is even enough – close your eyes, and take a deep breath. In your mind, go through everything you need to do, every plan you have for the day.

Make it a goal for your to start working right when you open your eyes again. Don’t even hesitate for a second before standing up and doing what you need to do, or else that might just give you enough time to decide that you’ll wait until tomorrow.

#2. Perfect Timing

Once you’ve finally decided what you need to work on, the best thing to do is to write down a schedule of what you’re going to do for the day.

Give every task a designated time, so that you know exactly when you’ll need to do something.

When you write a schedule with certain times for every task, your mind will be able to see what you need to do more clearly, and it won’t all be a jumble of words in your head anymore. Organization will help calm the storm.

#3. Think Of Why You’re Stressed

Why are you stressed?

Is it for a multitude of reasons? Is there so much going on that you don’t know where to start?

Have you been procrastinating while the piles of work keep getting higher and higher, and now you don’t know what to do?

Are people relying on you to do something and you don’t want to disappoint them?

Working under pressure is never easy, but finding the reason behind the stress can help you see what needs to be done first, and what steps you need to take to get there.

#4. Stay Focused

It’s easy for your mind to wander off, or find things that it could be doing instead of the task.

That’s why it’s extremely important for you to make an effort to stay alert and pay attention to what you’re doing.

When you feel yourself dozing off and notice it, then snap your attention back to what you need to do. It’s easier said than done, but with enough practice, you’ll be able to work under pressure with pure focus.

#5. Don’t Neglect Your Body

If you aren’t feeling motivated, then I recommend taking a short nap, going for a quick run, or grabbing a glass of water and a bite to eat. We all need to fuel ourselves.

How else will we finish the tasks well if we aren’t taking care of our brain and body?

You should never neglect your health so that you can have more time to do work. Your energy levels will decrease, you won’t be as efficient, and you’ll feel horrible. Taking care of yourself will benefit your work pace and focus.

#6. Encourage Yourself

Telling yourself that it’s too hard will only make matters worse. Put effort into reminding yourself that you can do it, and that you’re strong enough to finish.

Remind yourself that it’s achievable, and you’ll probably see a difference in your attitude toward the task. Sure, it’s hard, but not impossible. If you keep trying, you’ll eventually find a way to finish it.

Think about how you’ll feel when you finish; you won’t be so stressed about it anymore!

#7. Treat Yourself

When you’ve finished all or even just part of the task, make sure that you reward yourself for your accomplishment!

Whether it’s something from eating a chocolate bar to going out with friends as a reward; it’s up to you.

Give yourself a goal to work towards so that there’s something fun to look forward to when you finish!

You know the feeling; your motivation is gone, and you’re unable to focus on finishing your work.

You keep telling yourself that you’ll do it later, when you’re able to concentrate. Then, you just spin yourself in an endless cycle of worry and frustration.

Staying alert when studying can be difficult, but these 15 tips and tricks will help you fix this issue, and become a studying wizard!

#1. Avoid Your Phone

One of the biggest things that can distract people from staying focused is the internet and social media.

If having your phone or any other distracting technology around you can take your eyes off the prize, and keep you from finishing your work.

A good way to keep from going on social media is to set a timer for however long you like, and until that timer ends, you aren’t allowed to check or even touch your phone.

You can also find somewhere to hide it that will be hard to reach, or give it to a family member and make them promise not to give it back to you until you’re finished.

#2. Get a Good Sleep

We all know that a lack of sleep will make it harder for you to focus on your studies the next day, which is why the right amount of sleep is important for every person to get.

An adult needs an average of 8 hours of sleep each night, and children and teens need longer in order for their brains to function well the next day.

Create a schedule of when you should fall asleep and wake up, so that you’ll never run into this problem again!

#3. Eat Right

What you eat greatly impacts your energy levels. To become more focused (and have better overall health) be sure to only be putting healthy and nutritious things on your plate.

Make sure you get the right amount of vegetables, protein, and fruit each day, and soon enough you’ll be feeling happier and more energetic!

#4. Enough Exercise

Just like eating the right foods, having a healthy exercise routine can make you more energetic and focused.

In fact, exercising doesn’t just change how you look, but also how you feel, act, and perceive things!

Try to exercise every day, even for a short while, and eventually you’ll see a change in your body and your attitude.

Remember to incorporate different areas of exercise, like flexibility, cardio, and strength, to feel an overall change.

#5. Water, Water, and More Water!

Staying hydrated will increase your energy levels, complexion, and productivity.

The average amount of water a person is supposed to drink is roughly eight glasses per day.

Be sure to fill you body up with water to look and feel healthy, and to give you the energy to pay more attention to your work.

#6. Have a Workspace

Having a designated workspace will make you more focused when you have to do a task.

You know that when you sit down at this desk or go to that place, you’re meant to be working and nothing else.

Make sure that your workspace is comfortable, clean, easily accessible, and has all of the materials you might need.

#7. Look Over Your Work

Take a look through everything you have to do. Looking at what you need to study all at once can be overwhelming, so be sure to break your work into smaller tasks and work from there.

Once you see all of the things you need to do, you’ll have a clearer idea of how to get started.

#8. Create a Schedule

A helpful tip for studying is to create a schedule for you to do every day.

This can be a list of things you need to do each day or week, and also be sure to add a checklist of all the things you need to complete.

Having a schedule will help keep your time organized, and over time you’ll find it easier and easier to keep this habit.

#9. Take Frequent Breaks

Staying focused for a long time is really difficult, especially if you aren’t motivated in the first place.

If this is the case for you, I recommend working as much as you can for 45 minutes, and then taking a break for 15 minutes to take a quick walk, talk with a family member, or grab something to eat.

Breaks will help us stay focused for longer, since doing a task for a long time can tire your brain out and make you want to stop. Taking a break will make you excited to get back to doing your work!

#10. Always Take Notes

It’s so hard to focus when you have to read through pages and pages of information, so a great idea is to take notes as you read!

Get a designated journal for each subject or used lined paper, and write down all of the key points in bullet point form.

Taking notes forces your brain to actually think about the information that you’re learning while you’re writing it down. This way, you’ll be able to retain more information and stay engaged in your task instead of getting side-tracked.

#11. Work in a Group

This tip varies from person to person. Some people are more motivated working by themselves then working in a group.

Don’t decide to do your work in a group of distracting people, and only do your work with people that are motivated like you. The worst thing you can do is be distracted from your task by a friend.

Working alone is also a great option if that’s what you prefer, but working in a group can give you a bigger reason to do what you’re supposed to, since you don’t want to be the only one who’s slacking off.

#12. Look at Inspirational Quotes from Successful People

People that we admire can greatly influence our mood and preferences. Find someone of good influence and read some of their famous quotes!

When you learn more about how famous people got to be where they are, you can start to develop your own ideas for what you want to do and where you want to be.

Remember to only do this for a short while, since you want to get started on your work as soon as possible!

#13. Use Goals to Motivate You

When do you want to get these tasks done? Where do you want to be in a year, and how will completing this help you get there?

If you don’t do something that could help you in the future, there will most likely be a point where you’ll regret that choice.

#14. Record Your Progress

Have you become more motivated since yesterday? Have you done more work than you were expecting?

Write this down in a journal so that you can record your progress and see how your doing.

You should also record how you’re feeling each day, since if you’re unhappy, there could be certain things impacting this that you should start avoiding.

#15. Start Right Away

Without a moment’s hesitation, the best solution to starting something is to start right now. Telling yourself that you’ll do it later is not the answer.

Stand up, walk over to your workspace, and get started!

Image: Photo by Green Chameleon on Unsplash