To be prepared for stress, you will need strategies. In this post (and the next) you will find various types of strategies to help you before stress happens.

These strategies are considered to be “proactive” because you are doing something ahead of time. The opposite of being proactive is being “reactive” which is when you often have to scramble to do something quickly, and often not as well as you would have done otherwise.

When you haven’t done something that needs to be done you may worry about it, feel anxious, and/or not be able to concentrate. As your deadline for getting something done gets closer, your stress will likely get more intense because, suddenly, you have less time to get it done.

Some good old fashioned time-management skills can really help take the stress out of your life. Did you just stress and go, “What??!! What Are THOSE???” Don’t stress… here are just a few:

• Do you have a social, family, and/or academic calendar that you use? If not why not? Schedule events so that you remember them and don’t over-book your self (too much stress)!

• Do you make to-do lists? Making a list helps you to remember them and helps keep them organized for you, helping you to prioritize all that you need to do. Every time you do something on your list… cross it off (it feels good!)!

• What does your calendar look like, your room, your closet, your desk? The more organized you are the easier it is to find things. This is literally less stressful on your brain!

Besides being organized, a little research and understanding of a topic or situation is a proactive measure and will also help to decrease stress.

For example, if you are moving to a new town and start to feel stressed about it, ask a few people you know who have moved before about the experience. Research the place to where you are moving… what clubs and organizations are there? Does the school have sports teams? How will you get to school? Inform yourself. The more you know ahead of time the more secure you will feel when you get there and the less stressed!