Assignments piling up, paper and documents floating around in the sky, it all feels like a weight crushing down on your soul and GPA. Progressing up in your school years, everything is going to start getting harder and more serious, especially when you hit high school. Going into your junior and senior years, you may not require as many materials as you did previously, maybe your workload will tremendously decrease due to all of the work you completed in advance. However, in order to keep earning those credits successfully, you must keep yourself studious and sane, here’s how!

Don’t do the hulking, your goal is to become THE hulk. Here are a few techniques to navigate your daily life and smash that stress!

1. Books: First off, take a look at your classes. Figure out your needed materials and allow yourself time to get them. Theoretically, if having 7 classes require you to have 7 individual notebooks/folders here’s what you need to do. To extract weight, buy yourself thin notebooks (70-100 pages) each color-coded and labeled to tell them apart, because having bulk notebooks will take up space in your backpack. If you have less classes that are flexible, and you don’t need a lot of notebooks, here’s a solution. To keep everything in one unit, get a binder, paper, and paper dividers (recommended with pockets). Use the dividers to separate and label your classes, so the paper in each section acts as a small notebook. This can help you keep things compacted and prevent things from scattering! Sync your studying with your supplies. Some advice for keeping notes together, if you’re listening to a lecture write down key words on a tab and stick them next to your notebook notes. Use your sticky notes to keep things simple, but complex. Use colors for everything you can, because it can help you remember things better. Release your thoughts and feelings in your sketchbook, not on your notes during class. Pay attention!
2. Pencils & Personals: Another method could be considering the size and necessity of things you’re carrying. For example, pencil bags and hygiene supplies. If you’re a girl, then this section is just for you! Here’s how to keep it minimalist and aesthetic. Look in your pencil pouch, keep everything in a capacity of 1-3. Pencils, pens, erasers, highlighters, don’t fill the pouch. You can get your sticky notes small, along with a couple of book tabs. With your classes changing you may not need supplies like glue sticks, scissors, colored pencils, markers, etc. They were more relevant in elementary/middle school. So, keep them out if you don’t need them. As for personal toiletries, there’s only one word: mini. It’s recommended that you bring things like deodorant, lotion, hand sanitizer, pads/tampons, medicine, lip gloss/ lip balm. Get everything in a mini size. Put it all in a makeup bag or any small pouch, and this will keep everything together!
3. Lunch Box: It’s a long school day of ticking clocks and repeating talks. We don’t need you to be fainting in class! As useless as it may sound, it is really important to eat because it supplies energy. Sure, you can skip breakfast, but you’ll be risking your learning abilities. So, what’s the alternative to meals? Snacks! But we’re eating healthy here, that’s the first step. Swap salty chips for peanut butter crackers. Some alternative healthy snacks could be trail-mix, cucumbers, fruit, granola bars, yogurt, and much more. Ditch the donuts, candy, cookies, and ease off the sugar and sodium. If you’re unsure about the school lunch, you could begin with packing sandwiches. You can keep your lunches small, nutritious, and avoid the school air effect. Bagels with any spread and/or a piece of lunch meat, can hold you over for some time. On bad days, pack chicken soup with a side of crackers to help boost you up. On energetic days, a simple salad can help keep your soul good and green! To eliminate space in your bag, space out the time you eat the snacks you packed between periods. Eating them all at once will make you tired. And finally, keep yourself hydrated with water and ice. Refill when you have time, so you’re not empty at the end of the day. Quick tip: if you drink coffee, start living without it because caffeine can become addictive and destructive.

All in all, these tips can help relieve some of the stress in your mind and daily life. You don’t have to worry about missing papers, spilled milk, and heavy weight. This is a good way to start with a gentle restart and clean up on your school and personal wellness. With keeping your items small, you keep your routine and rotations simple and easier. Lift the pressure and stop slouching, hold your head high.