Stress Relieving Ideas

A couple of stress relieving ideas my friends and I came up with:

Singing and dancing with a friend:  For one the LINK meetings we decided to talk about stress.  At that night Alex and I busted out a song and dance to "Lean on Me" by Bill Withers.  We had so much fun that I was able to go back to my room that night and bust out a paper I had to write.

My friend with the 3-inch heals on. 
She is actually 3-inches shorter than me.

Trying on a pair of really high heals: A friend of mine bout a pair of 3-inch heals.  I'm one of the taller people in my suite and my friend put them one.  She ended up being my height so we joked and played around with the heals for awhile.

Spending an hour alone with nothing to do:  I love relaxing in my room for about an hour in my room or the Chapel without anyone or being productive.  It helps to clear my mind and re-energize my batteries to be productive.  I was lucky enough to have a weekend of this at the beginning of the year through campus ministry which was super relaxing.

Making a inanimate object talk:  One very random thing my friends and I sometimes do is make an inanimate object talk.  The other day I made a pumpkin talk and sing to my friend.  A couple of nights ago I made my rabbit hop in front of my friends door.  I know this may seem a bit weird but my friends and I end up laughing for a while which helps us relax.

Leaving random facebook videos on friend's walls:  Missing my friends from back home, I will leave a random video on their wall which may not be relaxing now but I know it helps them.  And sometimes I will receive one from them and it makes me laugh and I have it for any time I need a laugh.

Time Management

I would have to say my biggest problem this year would be time management.  Last year, I was good about getting all my work done and fitting in all my activities.  I think it helped, especially being away from home, to have a roommate.  Any time I saw her studying, I would feel obligated to study or be productive.  Now having a single in the suites, I don't always have that feeling - I have to make that feeling.

I believe one of the hardest things when coming to college is learning to budget your time.  Living in the dorms, you don't have a parent there making sure you do your work or help you figure out your schedule.  You pretty much decide what you are going to do and when you are going to do it.  Yes, class times and clubs are scheduled, but when you study and how long you study all depends on you.

It felt pretty easy to me last year so I thought it would fall into place quickly.  Unfortunately it did not.  I got my homework done on time and that was my main focus.  I wasn't hanging out with my friends as much because what I didn't take into account was the new routine I had to make with being in leadership roles and upper level classes.  This year I took on a leadership role with VITA and the LEAP retreat team.  I love being apart of these two programs but it is like adding other classes to my schedule, which means more homework.  I don't regret making these choices but it means another schedule to work out.

I finally had to sit down with my list of events.  I made a schedule for myself and now I have specific times for meetings and activities.  I even schedule times for hanging out with my friends.  My suggestion when starting college is to make a schedule for your classes and see where you have free time.  In those time slots think about when you would be most productive:  when you would study, when you would like to hang out with friends, or when a certain club meets.  I find sometimes staying up late one night a week (when I don't have class the next morning) and work until I catch up/get ahead.  All it takes is some time to get used to it.  Once you figure it out you will be able to really enjoy your time in college.