How to reduce stress through becoming the best version of yourself!

As someone who can get stressed quite easily, I’ve learnt that trying to plan too much can make me even more stressed rather than helping me keep on-top of everything. Therefore, this year I’ve taken a more relaxed, optimistic approach with regards to handling my workload. Although I’m revising the same amount as last year, I’m getting better grades (which is great as this year actually counts for me)! The following tips have really helped me:

Don’t put yourself down

If you’re talking to yourself negatively, stop. Negative thoughts cause negative feelings and I’ve noticed that if I think in terms of “I can’t” rather than “I can”, I feel demotivated and see tasks as harder than they are. When I started Warwick last year, I thought I didn’t fit in as everyone studying Economics seemed smarter than me and I noticed a lot of people finding work easy which I really struggled with. I now realise I shouldn’t have been comparing myself to others because I always compared my weaknesses to their strengths. Everyone struggles with concepts and topics; otherwise there wouldn’t be much point being at university. I’ve learnt that if I feel down from not being able to understand stuff, I spend more time worrying about doing work and hence less time focusing on completing tasks. This year I’ve completely changed my approach and believe that I’m as smart as everyone else as long as I have the right attitude and approach to my work. Everything has fallen into place much easier and I really think that this is to do with believing in myself and approaching my degree from a more enjoyable, relaxing perspective.

Don’t compare yourself to others

As Theodore Roosevelt once said:"Comparison is the thief of joy".

It’s so important to enjoy and focus on your own life. Everyone else may seem like they’re doing better and have huge achievements but that may be their main focus and there will be aspects of your life that others view as such amazing accomplishments. When comparing yourself to others, you’re normally comparing their strengths to your weaknesses; not the other way around and this unfair comparison can lead to a fall in self-confidence. It’s so easy to do this without even realising it so when I notice that I’m comparing myself, I’ll just stop and change my train of thought. It’s important to focus on our strengths and learn to love ourselves for our own achievements; they’re so many more than we may initially believe. Learning to be optimistic has really made my life happier (and I’m definitely a friendlier, better person to be around).

Multi-tasking isn’t always ideal

I assume that this will be different for everyone, but I perform better when I focus on one task and get that done. If I multi-task, I jump from one task to another and don’t get much done, whilst left feeling drained. If I do one task at a time I can focus on completing it and know I’ve at-least accomplished something productive today. Multi-tasking makes me realise how much I have to do and when I’m switching from job to job, I’m not really doing anything to a high standard. I also find it better effectively revising one topic rather than revising lots of topics briefly. Also, don’t get stressed if you’re behind on work as everyone seems to be behind what they intend to get done. I also recommend starting with the most important task first!

Have a study buddy!

This won’t work for everyone but every day during term three I meet up with my friend on the same course and we work extremely productively together; unfortunately this isn’t the case with our other friends who distract us way too easily! We work through problems and questions together but it works so well as we both have the same work ethic and are always at similar stages in our revision journey!

Don’t worry and be happy is easier said than done but hopefully these tips can help you progress towards a more relaxed and optimistic work ethic to reduce stress and worry. A book I’ve just finished reading is how to stop worrying and start living by Dale Carnegie, and I’d really recommend checking it out for any more advice!

See you all soon 🙂 x