Stress Management 101

Get Control of your Schedule!

PROBLEMS

Scheduling too much

                 •I end up ignoring my schedule
                 •I never finish anything

Scheduling too little

•Things keep coming up that I didn’t schedule
•Projects always turn out to be bigger than I thought

Rebellion

                 •You can’t tell ME what to do!!!

SOLUTIONS

I. The Big Picture

      Visual aids

•Vertical, week at a glance, style of schedule book*
•With hours into the late evening
•Vertical week allows grasp of all evenings, etc.

      •Include weekends for full effect

•Keep a regular monthly calendar in some prominent place with only attractive items on it, (breaks, concerts, other fun stuff)
•Sticky notes – for optional or important stuff

      •List all areas of life that are going to go into schedule

      Balance

      •Group the items on list by simple categories – 4 is enough

School
Job (if applicable)
Health- rest, food
Recreation

•Look for balance here – if you don’t build in the balance, it will assert itself through rebellion later.

•Are you quantity or quality driven?

Perfectionists may need to choose which one to judge themselves by. 

•Seek balance across the week, between categories of activites.

Planning for the unexpected

•Expect change – Use pencil with a good eraser
•Stay flexible about all this so not to  inspire rebellion
•Anticipate common interferences, think ahead what to do
•Keep list of “fill-in”tasks for unexpected blank spaces

II. The Fine Focus

•Gain a realistic understanding of what’s involved in each task
•Acknowledge time it takes to get places and get set
•Know what increments of time you work best in
•Know times of day or night you work best
•Limit-setting, Concept of “Good Enough”
•Ability to see big picture when bogged down in fine focus

III. Planning for and re-directing rebellious impulses

      •Delaying

      •Bribery/reward

•Getting back on the horse vs. Now I’ve gone and done it….
•“Something is better than nothing”
•Notice chronic rebellion – what times, what issues trigger it?
•Change something to correct for this

And remember…

•If you are discouraged when you look at the day ahead of you, look at the week or month
                    to see where breaks occur,  and to remember the overall goal.
                •If you are discouraged when you look at the week or month ahead, look at just the day in
                    front of you.
                •Learn to control your focus – it’s one of the few things that are in our control.

To get personal help with these concepts contact Colby College Counseling Services #4460

*email jmunroe for a model page of this that you can photocopy.