May is upon us and to most of us this will be a time filled with deadlines and dissertations, exams and preparations. If you are anything like me, I have to battle the stress that comes with it all. 

Personally, I am seeing three deadlines and four exams and even the thought of it has got me anxious. I need to find my way around balancing the work,  life, and health. I’ve broken each section down to some personal tips that I hope will help you in some way.

1. Balancing Work: 

Time management is not an easy skill to acquire. When you see your to-do list all filled up it is hard to ask yourself where to begin. I suggest you make your to-do list as realistic as possible. And if you don’t have one, try to start one. Break it down into daily and weekly to-do lists than an extensive big one. It sets a timeframe to what you should focus on here and now. If daily feels too hard, break it down by time of day or by hour. Simply, get it on paper so you can visualise what you need to focus on. If one work is not working out well, take a step back, have a break, and step onto something else. Whatever it is, as long as you can keep going… keep going. 

2. Balancing Life: 

This time can easily allow us to slip into work mode and neglect other areas of our lives, whether it is our family, social, religious, health, love, and/or other factors. It is good to be driven and focus, but these factors which demand your time and attention, are positive ways to set a break. Instead of taking Friday afternoon to study or wallow in struggle when a concept is not getting through… simply stop and focus on something else. Call your mother, take a nap, grab a coffee with a friend, do some meditation! Maintaining these areas of your life brings you away from the stress of work and gives you a second to reset and recharge.

3. Balancing Health:

Stress can disrupt our sleeping, eating, and calming routines. It can take toll on our physical and mental wellbeing. It’s hard to get rid of stress, rather we can alleviate it. A little stress can be good, but we don’t want to overload our bodies. Keeping our health in check is key. Keep moving, take a walk, a run or do some exercise. Breathe in fresh air. Take a moment to pray or meditate, or have a minute of your day dedicated to breathing exercises. Setting 20 mins of each day to such practices can immensely improve how you feel. Routine your sleep and ensure you have plenty of food and water to store energy that your body can use.

This month can be tiring. So we have to take things day by day. Do what we can and try to the best of our abilities. We will be able to get through it. I wish you the best of luck with all your work and exams! You got this. We got this.