Life will constantly throw challenges at you. It sometimes seems like it will send many problems at you at once.

This semester has had a lot of trials for me. I may not have passed them all with flying colors, but, as a human, that would have been impossible. However, prioritizing your problems and managing your time can help you focus on the major problems and at least make sure those are fixed in a satisfactory way.

First, do not procrastinate too much. If the weight of an assignment or problem is bearing on you, get it out of the way as quickly as possible, even if it might be unpleasant. Otherwise, the effects of this stress could run into other areas of your life.

When you are overwhelmed, you may need to look at which areas of your life are not giving back what you put into them. I would normally not advise breaking commitments, but if you have to drop a class, give up a position in a club or otherwise change what you do to focus on more important parts of your life, do it. Prioritizing is key when you are overwhelmed.

Make sure you are not expecting too much from yourself. Maybe this semester you cannot get all As, but you can make sure you try hard to do your best in the classes you have for your major. You cannot put everything you have into everything you do. There is not enough of you to go around.

If anyone in your life seems to be pushing you to work harder despite your stress, sit down with them and have a talk. Tell them all the things you are doing. Tell them how much time these things take past what they might assume. Tell them the sacrifices you have already made to maintain your workload. When presented with these pieces of information, oftentimes they will come around.

Generally, anyone who pushes you while you are under a heavy stress does not realize what you are going through. If they do not back off, take satisfaction from the fact that you are working very hard and you know that.

Remember to take care of yourself. Eat regularly, and try to eat a couple of healthy foods. Sleep, because without it, the quality of your work will suffer. Schedule some time to relax, or else you will get far too wound up. Find people you can talk to about your problems. They will help you stay social and chill out.

Lastly, learn from your mistakes, and keep yourself from becoming overwhelmed again. Take on fewer responsibilities next semester if this one was really bad. Cut back on your credit hours if you know one of your classes will be really hard. It’s easier to keep yourself from being overbooked before it happens, so try to prevent it if you can.

Life can get tough, but if you prioritize your problems and remember to take care of yourself, you can get through it.