(Courtesy of Health Promotion and Wellness)
While winter quarter brings a clean slate, both in the sense of a new year and new classes, many students will find the start of a new quarter to be stressful. From the pressure to succeed in course work to making sure that you get all your assignments in on time, stress can present itself in many ways. Luckily there are many things you can do to help combat these feelings and put yourself at ease. Here are a few to try:Find an effective way to plan. Everyone has their own preference in planning schedules and organizing academic assignments. If you do not know how you prefer to plan, or have never made a plan before, try out different methods and use what you find works best. Regardless of how you plan, having a strategy can help you feel more organized and comfortable with what and by when you need to get tasks done.
Look ahead at your coursework. Try to anticipate when you will have more challenging or time consuming assignments and exams. If you know when to expect big or difficult assignments, it will be much easier to plan, prioritize and figure out how you will be able to successfully shift your schedule to get everything done.
Schedule time for self-care. It is always important to make self-care a priority. Have several go-to activities to take care of your physical, emotional, social and environmental health. Consider this your self-care toolbox. Having many tools in this toolbox ensures you won't find yourself without a backup plan. Make sure you are doing things every day to help take care of yourself by penciling these breaks into your schedule.
If you are looking for some personal guidance in planning for the quarter, consider signing up for a one–-one wellness coaching appointment with HPW. You can request an appointment with our online form, email hpw@depaul.edu or call (773) 325-7129.
Take Care of yourself. Take Care of others. Take Care, DePaul.