1. Treat yourself

You may have already been showered with gifts during the holidays, but it doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to get a little something of your own. Whether it’s binging on chocolate, getting that new video game or finally splurging on those shoes you really wanted, take a break from giving to other people and buy a little gift for yourself.

     2. Maximize comfort

Transitioning from lounging in lazy sweats over the holidays to being semi presentable to the public at school can be a hard transition for any of us. Help release some of the tension during your early morning routine by toning down your appearance. By easing up the pressure to look perfect, you can devote more time and energy to academic survival.

     3. Get a head start

Though the thought of doing homework may make you sick to your stomach, you can avoid nausea by using this transition period as a chance to get a jump start on homework. By working on homework now and even getting ahead on some assignments, you can stretch your workload out into manageable pieces each night. Having your work done can make the school day a little less stressful.

     4. Spend time with friends

With most of your vacation was probably spent at home with family or traveling abroad, you may have fallen behind with your social life. Take school off your mind by getting together with your friends and discussing your adventures over break. Reconnecting with friends over coffee is a great distractor to the dark cloud of academic pressure hanging over your head.

     5. Don’t worry about the future

Though it’s important to plan for the future and have long term goals, looking too far ahead and anticipating all of the challenges ahead may overwhelm you and give you the feeling of being far behind. Don’t worry too much and just take school one week, or even one day, at a time. When those events in the far future begin to approach, you’ll be ready for them.

     6. Find time to relax

Even if it seems like school has taken over your life and that all of your time is sucked up by the constant flow of homework and tests, relaxing is essential to being productive. Though you may not feel as if you have enough time to relax with the huge workload you have to handle, relaxing can actually make the work less stressful and go by faster than if you overloaded and pushed yourself to keep at it.

     7. Sleep, eat, breathe

School may seem like your first and only priority, but sometimes it needs to take the backseat to your health. Sometimes that one homework assignment isn’t as important as getting that extra hour of sleep. Don’t allow yourself to fall into constantly eating take out food because you don’t have time to prepare a real meal. Grades are important, but your health is even more important. Preparing for tests involves taking care of yourself, not always doing every single homework assignment , and school is easier to handle when you’re not sneezing through every class.

     8. Just accept it

Sometimes no matter how you try to cope, school weighs heavy on your back and you constantly long for the carefree days of vacation, waiting with bated breath for the far off summer break. But keeping your head stuck in vacation mode and in denial about the reality of scholastic responsibilities keeps you from succeeding. To truly deal with the challenges of a new school semester, you need to shake yourself and focus on the present instead of wishing for the future. By accepting the fact that school is here and that there are things that need to be done, you open yourself up to more positive thinking and improved productivity, and your success will lessen academic stress, making it a lot easier to bear.