As a senior in high school, I must make a lot of decisions for the next steps in my life. The questions people always have for me these days are; “How is senior year going?” “Do you know what you want to do or where you want to go?” I always reply that I am ready to be done and move on to the next chapter in life! Or that I plan to go for political science, but I do not know where I am enrolling yet. This is a very draining time in my life, and I often find myself having to juggle various aspects of my life all at once. Luckily though I have found ways to go through a day and reduce any stress that could come at me in this moment of my life.
An effective way to reduce stress every day is to have a schedule that works with your life – not against it. For some, this may be a lot harder than it sounds, but if you can make it work, I assure you that it will help. Having to attend two AP courses at school with a full schedule, then working at a law firm remotely after school, I knew I would need a method to both de-stress and to get my schoolwork done. Wanting to get ahead of each day, I was able to plan a study hall/work period first thing in the morning and a second one for my last period to make sure that I could get my schoolwork done in school and hopefully leave it there, if I can.
I find that having dedicated time to myself greatly helps me get through my day. Whether it’s drawing, playing with my dog, or reading the recent OG+S blog posts, finding time to unwind allows me to continue to get my task completed. I know that not everyone makes the time to relax and unwind every day, but it is important to find some time in the week so that you do not become overwhelmed or stressed. Even something as simple as taking ten minutes out of your day to do some relaxing breathing between projects will help.
A Forbes article shows that focusing on one task at a time increases productivity and reduces stress. The article said that human brains are not meant to multitask and that working on one project at a time was more effective at the end of the day. It makes people more efficient and effective with their work because they had their sole focus on that one project. Clogging up your mind with multiple tasks only increases your stress and makes you and your tasks feel chaotic. Take the time to finish one project. Then move on to the next one. You will feel better about what you are accomplishing and free up your mind!
If you can do at least one of these each day, each week will be better, and you will be more productive as a result. Thanks for reading – Carter
This is our administrative assistant. He often joins our meetings where we talk about being productive and effective at work and at life. Clearly, he’s listening! Here’s some of the blog posts that might have impacted his thinking on this: