Time Management is a Key Element
By Richonna Conway
Do you ever have a hard time concentrating? Do you easily get angry, irritated or nervous? What about your sleeping pattern? Is it abnormal? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you may be stressed. Luckily, you’re not alone.
Stress is a feeling of emotional and/or physical strain. Studies from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) show that about 40 million Americans stress as often-as daily. Situations that cause stress, better known as stressors, are mainly caused by everyday life circumstances such as school, work, and family or social related issues. According to the American Institute of Stress, 8 out of 10 students experience a very high level stress within their first two years of college.
Considering that such a high number of college students tend to be stressed, the key factor would be pointing out the cause and thinking of ways to overcome or at least manage it. Brittany Conway, a first year student here at Tri-C East, states that the workload from both her job and her classes are what stress her. “It’s kind of hard for me to focus on school especially when I come straight from work to it,” says Brittany. “I barely can concentrate due to me being so tired. Not to mention I rarely have a social life outside of the two because I’m so busy.” Another student from the Eastern Campus, Caryauna Brewer, says that, “sometimes it’s hard for her to understand her classwork and it can become overwhelming.” She states, “It’s like the teacher’s speaking a different language! Then when the work piles up I get so nervous that I can’t keep up and I might fail.”
Teresa Egan, Ph.D. and Student Counselor for the Eastern campus say’s that a major problem that contributes to stress for many students is time management. “Making time for both school life and social life can be very overwhelming,” says Teresa. Learning to manage time would definitely relieve some of the stress. Arranging an agenda of your daily routine would be a good start. That way you’ll know when certain things are due and you’ll be able to be ahead of schedule. Another issue that attributes to stress is the workload. Again time management is key. If you feel that school is becoming too much, take a break. Listen to music or go for a walk. Even talking to one of the counselors on campus would help. Tutoring is also available to help keep you on track.
Stress can become a part of your daily life, but it can also be overcome each day
