"Stress Management Journal Prompt"

Step 1: Reflection
Think about how well you manage stress. (For instance, do you know what your early warning signs are and whether you tend to pay attention to them?) Briefly discuss your stress management strengths and weaknesses. In a paragraph or less, describe how you plan to handle stress differently this term, if at all, after working through the activities in this unit.

When the time of having to pay bills comes I tend to stress more than usual. This time is usually at the end of the month. I notice that I am stressed because I start breaking out and I sleep less then usual. I manage this stress by relaxing and sitting down in my kitchen table. I usually have a notebook, calculator and a calendar in front of me so I can organize myself and get a total amount of how much I have to pay and the dates I need to send the payments. This has also affected me in my school work because when I am stressed I sleep less and I am always nervous. This makes me not only stressed outside of school but in this school because I loose concentration easier when I am stresses. I have tried to fix this by organizing myself before the bill payments our made. One of my strengths is that this has made me stronger as a person and I get to realize that I am a better person because I am getting to the point were I can finally control my stress management better then at the beginning when I started school and I had to start paying bills. Now that I have worked through these activities I found some new ways that I can deal with my stress. Some of these things are reading, talking to people and as simply as just setting myself to a better time management and this could help me to slowly release my stress. I know that if I think about it less and view it as a regular assignment I can grow through it and handle it better then just over reacting to me reality of stuff that I must do.



Step 2: Goal Setting
Set one long-term goal to manage your stress more effectively this term. Then, set two short-term goals that support the long-term goal. Remember to use SMART goal guidelines. If you need a review of SMART goals, visit the Student Resource Center and find the SMART goals link.


One long term goal I have set myself to doing is plan my stuff before hands. In this case I am going to plan and save the dates that I have to make the payments before hand and it will save me more time at the end of the month to do any other activities I have to do as well. This is including any type of homework assignment or any studying that has to be done for school. I should see results within the time goes by and the way I start to gain more sleep and how I could newly start to concentrate more in my classes. Not only is this going to help me mentally but physically as well. Two of my short term goals are to set my self a resting time and time for myself. This will help in not to get as stressed and to have more time to do more stuff. Therefore this is going to help me achieve my long term goal in many ways such as the way I handle the stuff and the way I could start finding the time to do my long term goal.