4 Ways to Reduce School Stress

Statistically, today's teenagers are more stressed about school than any other generation ... ever. I'm sure we've all seen that Tumblr post about American high school students today having higher anxiety levels than mental asylum patients in the 50s.

Why exactly is probably a question for another day. But the fact remains that, if you as a student want to keep yourself from imploding within your own head, you probably need some tactics. Here are the ones that worked for me.

#1 - GET YOURSELF ORGANISED

Picture of an open planner, phone and pens

Yes, yes, I know. The most unoriginal, thrown-around pieces of advice to ever be given. You've probably been hearing it since you were old enough to hold a highlighter and apply it to any kind of planner.

But that's because it works.

I mean, I'm not judgemental. We've all been in the situation where we're doing homework the night (or morning) before it's due. But when that situation is constantly repeating itself, it becomes a mutant shadow that hangs over you at all times. You become isolated because you can't make any plans to meet your friends - or you constantly have to cancel them to do some project you'd forgotten about. Pretty much every adult in your life is cross with you pretty much all the time - and you're always stressed.

Thankfully, this is avoidable with a little bit of organisation. And I seriously mean a tiny bit of the easy kind - just WRITE THE HOMEWORK DOWN, FRIENDS. Literally just having a list that you can cross off really helps. (If you want to break out a fancy planner and cover it in colour-coded notes, then great, if it helps you. It's just not mandatory.)

Yes, there will be times when you do homework the night before, but the general aim is to make those times less frequent. That way, the stress is compartmentalised to individual nights and bus journeys, rather than becoming a constant presence that affects your entire life.

Yay.

#2 - REFRAME YOUR MOTIVATION

Picture of various picture frames in different colours

For most hardworking Gen Zers, their worst critic is their own inner voice. The snippy thing in the back of their heads that they rely on to push them to higher grades and higher standards - "you're not good enough", "you're a lazy idiot", and "come on, stop being so pathetic" are the favourite phrases of mine. And I understand that this isn't true for everyone, but even when your stress is coming from outside sources - parents, teachers, friends - it often helps to change the way you think about studying, because you are better able to process and dismiss the pressure.

(With that said, don't feel bad if re-wiring your thought patterns doesn't help. It's not for everyone. Personally, I just found that this brings me out of my own head a little.)

Sit yourself down and write out a list of motivations for study. They don't all have to be perfect and it doesn't even have to be that long. But every single one of them has to be positive. No "because everyone expects it of me". No "because I'll fail if I don't". Think about the hard work your past self put in - don't you owe it to them? Think about the sense of accomplishment you'll have when you finish. Even imagining the beautiful notes page you'll end up with or the TV show your Mum will let you watch afterwards can help. 

GIF: Spongebob eats popcorn while watching TV

Then, keep the list with you. Maybe stick it in the front of your planner or copy it onto the notes app on your phone. Every time your inner voice starts getting snarky, you can argue with it. Use as many as your new motivations as it takes and add more as they come to you. This might seem stupid at first, but eventually your brain will start to spit them out automatically.

The thing to remember is that you don't need to beat yourself up in order to study. It's actually possible to stay motivated and be nice to yourself now and again.

#3 - LET GO OF PERFECTION

Picture of a little girl pulling a face on a city street

Great, I hear you cry. She's starting to sound like a self-help book again.

But I don't mean this in the wishy-washy, perfection-doesn't-exist sort of way. I mean, it's true, but I've always found it near impossible to apply to my everyday life, so I come at it another way.

When I'm studying for a test (or revising, as we say in the UK) the first thing I do is tell myself that I probably won't remember every single word of the content perfectly. Don't get me wrong, I'll give it my best shot, but my main aim is to raise my own confidence about being able to do well. I tend to spend way more time on past paper questions when I'm thinking like this (when they don't exist, I write my own questions and use the ones in revision guides ... if you did the new 9-1 GCSEs too, then you know the struggle) and that's great because statistically more exam style questions = better grades.

Your focus when revising should be to raise your confidence in knowing the material, so that you walk into that exam room feeling like you can deal with whatever happens, even if you get a little bit blindsided. For me, it works better than the "must memorise material" mentality, and it's a hell of a lot less stressful.

#4 - IF YOU'RE STRUGGLING, TELL SOMEONE

Picture of two friends talking on swings

It's not usually that difficult to realise you're struggling at school. But having the guts to tell someone who can help? It took me years to build that skill, but without it I honestly don't think I'd survive exams nowadays.

For some people in some situations, telling your parents or someone else who cares about you is enough - and if that's you, great! But don't be afraid to approach a teacher. You might perceive some to be more friendly than others, but not only are they the best people to help you since they know the day-to-day workings of the school, they are all humans who actively chose a job looking after the best interests of their students. You're unlikely to be dismissed, and if you are it's their fault and not yours.

So take a deep breath. You don't have to choose a designated pastoral teacher - a head of year, a tutor or whatever - if you don't feel comfortable. You don't even have to ask for any help, if you don't think you need it: just admit that you're struggling and ask if they wouldn't mind checking in with you now and again. It helps so much, I promise.

And failing that, you can always just burst into tears in your favourite teacher's lesson. Worked for me!

FANCY A FREEBIE?

I made a list of positive motivations for you guys! Or ... two. The first one is a prettified graphic of my personal list. The second one is a blank version which you can fill in with your own motivations.

Good luck! I hope this technique is as helpful to you as it has been for me over the years.