As many other students, I attempt to find a perfect balance between my studies and other things that comprise my work, family and friends. Certainly balancing Penn Foster studies with work and family demands' is not easy and as a result I face stress on a daily basis. After analyzing my life I realized that stress is a result of my dissatisfaction with something, which in other words means lack of control over my time. Therefore, stress usually comes from my inability to get all things done in a timely manner, especially because some things are hard for me to schedule precisely. For instance, while I may allocate a certain amount of time to my studies and homework, there is no guarantee that I will understand all the readings and that I actually get the homework done within the allocated time period. This is what sometimes causes me to stay up late, studying at night and as a result, have to little sleep, as many other students do, too. In cases when I allocate too much time for my studies and I actually do get things learnt and completed ahead of schedule, I start to experience stress again, because now I have that extra hour or two that I want to spend productively but I have nothing scheduled for that time. Usually, none of my friends is available on such short notice, so the maximum productive thing I can do is to talk with other people on the phone only to experience some stress later realizing that these two hours were basically wasted. Spending time at work and with my family can be much more easily controlled, yet, the unpredictability with respect to how much time I will spend next doing my homework or other projects, sometimes, keeps my mind occupied at work or while with my family members. Thinking about my studies while at work or with my family or friends in turn causes me to experience additional stress. I cope with stress in a rather simple and effective manner that comprises two components of stress management. First of all, I persuade myself using Elvis Presley’s approach, or convince myself that some stress is always good as it keeps me agile and energetic. Just like fire, some stress can keep me warm, while too much stress can burn me. After all, our daily life is about certain stress and stimuli: the weather changes stress the organism, the traffic does it, and even people sometimes cause stress by acting in an unexpected or undesirable way. So I persuade myself that stress is something that one will have in life just like fast food or taxes. The other way I deal with stress is through routine work of getting things done, and schoolwork accomplished in a responsible manner. I know that I really want to succeed in life and that studying, working and having great family ties and relationships with friends will make me successful. I realize that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, or that education alone won’t get you anywhere, or that being such a nice person again won’t pay your bills. It is for this reason I consciously pick a stressful path of studying well, working hard and “playing hard”, i.e. having quality time with my friends and family. In order to overcome stress and pursue my long term goals and short-term objectives I engage in a sophisticated planning process that allows me to reduce stress and spend my time in the most productive manner possible. My weekly and daily scheduling is a rather lengthy process because I strive to effectively schedule for the whole month, not just for one week. My scheduling starts with writing down on a piece of paper the things I call “known”, i.e. the schedule of my classes, quizzes, assignments, due dates, yoga classes or sessions/seminar/workshops that I plan to attend. These are the things that I cannot change or influence, so they make up the core of my schedule, around which I schedule all other things. Naturally, since I do not
