Stress is not always a bad thing. It can be the driver that pushes us on to achieve things, whether that is a qualification we have always wanted or finishing a unit assignment.
But just like stress in life, when stress over your studies become too much it can overcome you and lead to real problems.
Controlling stress means identifying what triggers it and what preventative measures can be taken to stop it engulfing your studies. Don’t let stress squeeze all of the enjoyment of the course you are completing.
As a leading provider of online courses, we have gathered many hints and tips over the years from our students and our tutors about how stress and studying can be controlled.
Here we give you five of the best ideas and tips.
ONE – Organisation
The first tip is to get organised. Being organised is more than just shuffling papers; it is about being proactive in managing every aspect of your studies.
Organising and planning study time, organising your work environment, organising materials and even keeping your desk or work area clean and clutter-free are just some of the tips students say help them to keep stress to a minimum.
TWO – Exercise and Fresh Air
When an assignment is due, it can be tempting to put head down and stop taking breaks so that you get the work done as quickly as possible.
But sometimes ‘less haste, less speed’ is the solution, because speed doesn’t mean you are producing your best work or are grasping the content of what you are learning.
As counter-intuitive as it seems, taking a walk in the fresh air or simply sitting outside for 20 minutes is ideal for gathering your thoughts and pushing stress back down to acceptable limits.
THREE – Distractions…
Distractions are annoying. Someone tapping away on a keyboard or someone clicking their pen can be the stressors that push us over the edge.
But here’s the thing – mindfulness experts and experts on Neuro-linguistic courses tell us that our attempts to block out these annoying habits and distractions can actually make us more stressed.
The solution is to tune into these distractions and you will be amazed at what happens! The distractions disappear.
In other words, stop working so hard at thinking about your distractions and how much you hate them. Accepting that they are there (and not becoming embroiled in hating them so much) actually loosens their grip over you. Try this method and let us know how it works for you.
FOUR – Talk
Studying for a qualification is a challenge. No one said it was going to be easy, but from what our students tell us, this is part of the learning journey.
Studying at home in your own time, whilst balancing family, work and life will see you find and hone new skills. Organisation is one key to successful study, and identifying problems and finding solutions is another.
But there are times when it can seem like just too much, and you will start to feel stressed. Talking to someone can help – you just need to find someone who is a good listener.
This could be your partner, your friend or a fellow student. You may also want to have a chat with your tutor, as they too have been in the same position. They may have pearls of wisdom and advice to impart.
FIVE – Change your outlook on stress
As we said at the start of the article, stress is not necessarily a bad thing.
Stress triggers a reaction within the body that causes us to either run away from the problem (flight) or stay and deal with it (fight).
If you want to gain a valuable qualification, flight isn’t an option. But when stress overwhelms you, it can be hard to stay and fight, simply because you don’t know how to fight against this particular challenge.
Understand how stress makes YOU feel – we all react differently to surges in stress. Do you find it difficult to sleep? Do you feel the quality of your work suffers?
We are also used to being told that stress is a negative thing. But, there are studies that show people who are exposed to positive messages about stress learn to deal with its effects much better.
Neuro-linguistic programming is about changing how we think and view certain things in life, stress being one of them. Why not take a look at how NLP can help you in your studies, as well as in life in general?
What tips could you offer fellow students for dealing with stress and their studies?
It sounds an ideal solution – studying at home whilst still working, ferrying the kids to school and after school activities, cooking tea, the shopping… the list goes on.
The truth is, we are all busy people and it can seem like there is little or no capacity for extra commitments such as studying. But many people have begun successfully studying at home and you can too.
There does need to be a dose of realism however, and that means understanding that in order for your home learning to be a success, there needs to be a few changes.
Here are five tips that our students tell us work and have been contributing factors in successfully studying from home.
#1 Distractions
Top of the list are all the distractions that you face.
It takes time and determination, as well as establishing a routine to be able to commit to your course.
Think of a household chore you hate doing – unblocking the hair trap in the shower, vacuuming, cleaning the drains etc. – and now imagine you have a choice: write the tutor-mark assignment for the module you have just studied or unblock the drains. Which would you choose?
Surprisingly, you would rather do anything, like clean drains, than sit at your laptop or PC typing out your assignment!
Distractions are everywhere. Despite our best intentions, they can and do get the better of us. But what do our students suggest?
Overwhelmingly, the answer was to identify what potential distractions there are, that could prevent you from completing your home learning course.
They are different for everyone but a few of our students mentioned: switching off mobile phones and not checking emails when working online. They also talked about how limited time can be the driving force behind getting work completed.
#2 Time
It has a habit of slipping away with us or, when we are doing something we least enjoy – like sitting in an exam – the minute hand seems to tick very slowly.
But you can use it to your advantage when studying at home. There is one tool that may be of help to you: a stopwatch. Some people are happy to read, study, write and so on for hours on end but others find this unappealing. They use a stopwatch or timer.
Try this: set 20 minutes on a timer – use your phone or a kitchen timer – aim to get as much done in that time as you can. Take a break for five minutes once the time has elapsed and then start again for another 20 minutes.
Many people find this a great way of getting the most from their study time, as well as a fantastic study habit that helps them in the future.
#3 Support
Starting something new and as important as furthering your skill set and education requires support. And this can come from various sources;
- Family – work out a schedule or a timetable for when you study, uninterrupted and make a rule that unless it is a real emergency, you are left to work during this time.
- Friends – a great source of enthusiasm and support, friends can provide a load of support from kind, supportive words to ‘favours’, such as looking after the kids for an hour or so etc.
- Other students – although you may prefer to study and learn in the comfort of your own home, there is nothing like the support of other students when it comes to study and how difficult it can be sometimes.
#4 Space
For anyone considering home learning, this fourth tip also comes direct from our students. You must have space for your work too.
You may enjoy reading on the sofa, making notes on course materials and so on, but there does come a time when you need to have space to complete your work. This means sitting at the kitchen table, or investing a desk and a lamp for late night essays.
Starting something new and as important as furthering your skill set and education requires support
Your studies are important; give it the space that it deserves.
#5 Commitment and Determination
It takes time and determination, as well as establishing a routine to be able to commit to your course when studying at home.
This means ‘making’ time and space to work. It can also means forgoing some things, such as instead of the latest best seller, you read a text book or academic journals instead.
But the commitment, the dogged determination and the struggle – there will be moments of struggle, as well as great triumph – will result in success and an enormous feeling of achievement.