STRESS MANAGEMENT

Stress:
Stress is an adaptive response to an external situation that results in physical,
psychological and / or behavioral deviations for organizational participants”

A state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding

circumstances.

It is the internal response of the mind and body to the external environment.

Pressure or tension exerted on a material object is called as stress.

An example of stress is the pressure to finish three large projects by the end of the
day. An example of stress is discomfort and pain in your arms from carrying too heavy
of an item. An example of stress is hypertension, which can result from a reaction to a
situation in which a person feels threatened or pressured.

Symptoms:
 Headaches, muscle tension, neck or back pain
 Upset stomach
 Dry mouth
 Chest pains, rapid heartbeat
 Difficulty falling or staying asleep
 Fatigue
 Loss of appetite or overeating “comfort foods”
 Increased frequency of colds
 Lack of concentration or focus
 Memory problems or forgetfulness
 Jitters
 Irritability
 Short temper
 Anxiety

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 Work related stress:
Well-designed, organised and managed work is good for us but when insufficient
attention to job design, work organisation and management has taken place, it can
result in work-related stress.

Work-related stress develops because a person is unable to cope with the demands
being placed on them. Stress, including work-related stress, can be a significant cause
of illness and is known to be linked with high levels of sickness absence, staff turnover
and other issues such as more errors.

Individual Stress:
A stressor is an individual or event that causes the stress to occur.

Stress is understood today as an imbalance between demands on a person and his /

her coping abilities. Stress means that a person, at the moment of such demands, does
not feel able to handle them. These demands or expectations may come from the
exterior environment or from the person them self.

Reducing Stress:
1. Avoid Caffeine, Alcohol, and Nicotine. ...
2. Indulge in Physical Activity. ...
3. Get More Sleep. ...
4. Try Relaxation Techniques. ...
5. Talk to Someone. ...
6. Keep a Stress Diary. ...
7. Take Control. ...
8. Manage Your Time. Etc…

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 Sources of stress:
 Long hours
 Heavy workload
 Changes within the organisation
 Tight deadlines
 Changes to duties
 Job insecurity
 Lack of autonomy
 Boring work
 Insufficient skills for the job
 Over-supervision
 Inadequate working environment
 Lack of proper resources
 Lack of equipment
 Few promotional opportunities
 Harassment
 Discrimination
 Poor relationships with colleagues or bosses
 Crisis incidents, such as an armed hold-up or workplace death.

Consequences of stress:
Illness can be caused due to chronic stress, especially if the stress occurs in tandem
with familial, environmental, hereditary and personal factors that encourage its
presence.

Such illnesses can arise in a variety of areas:

 dermal (eczema)
 cardiovascular (hypertension)
 cognitive (memory problems)
 pulmonary (asthma)
 psychological (anxiety)
 neurological (frequent headaches)
 immunological (infections)
 gastrointestinal (ulcers)

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Burn out:
Burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion caused by excessive
and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed and unable to meet
constant demands. As the stress continues, you begin to lose the interest or motivation
that led you to take on a certain role in the first place.

So here you are.

You have all signs of burnout. You’re stressed, overworked, frustrated and
unmotivated. Hating the job you previously loved. Having no idea what to do to revive
the spark of passion that led you to this place.

Luckily, the cure is within your reach.

The first step is to understand that you’ve been under pressure. Your second step will
be changing your habits so you can balance work with your personal life.

Burn out symptoms:

1. Exhaustion

A clear sign of burnout is when you feel tired all the time. Exhaustion can be emotional,
mental or physical. It’s the sense of not having any energy, of being completely spent.

2. Lack of Motivation

When you don’t feel enthusiastic about anything anymore or you no longer have that
internal motivation for your work, there's a good chance you're experiencing burnout.
Other ways this manifests? It may be harder to get going in the morning and more
difficult to drag yourself into work every day.

3. Frustration, Cynicism and Other Negative Emotions

You may feel like what you’re doing doesn’t matter that much anymore, or you may be
disillusioned with everything. You might notice that you feel more generally pessimistic
than you used to. While everybody experiences some negative emotions from time to
time, it’s important to know when these are becoming unusual for you.

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4. Cognitive Problems

Burnout and chronic stress may interfere with your ability to pay attention or
concentrate. When we're stressed, our attention narrows to focus on the negative
element that we perceive as a threat. In the short term, this helps us deal with the
problem at hand, Dr. Ballard says, "but our bodies and brains are designed to handle
this in short bursts and then return to normal functioning. When stress becomes chronic,
this narrow focus continues for a long time and we have difficulty paying attention to
other things."

This "fight or flight" tunnel vision can negatively affect your ability to solve problems or
make decisions. You might find that you’re more forgetful and have a harder time
remembering things.

5. Slipping Job Performance

Not sure whether you're burnt out? Compare your job performance now to your
performance in previous years. Because burnout tends to happen over an extended
period of time, taking this long-term view might reveal whether you're in a temporary
slump or experiencing more chronic burnout.

6. Interpersonal Problems at Home and at Work

This tends to play out in one of two ways: (a) You’re having more conflicts with other
people, such as getting into arguments, or (b) you withdraw, talking to your coworkers
and family members less. You might find that even when you’re physically there, you’re
tuned out.

7. Not Taking Care of Yourself

When suffering from burnout, some people engage in unhealthy coping strategies like
drinking too much, smoking, being too sedentary, eating too much junk food, not eating
enough or not getting enough sleep. Self-medication is another issue and could include
relying on sleeping pills to sleep, drinking more alcohol at the end of the day to de-
stress or even drinking more coffee to summon up the energy to drag yourself into work
in the morning.

8. Being Preoccupied With Work ... When You're Not at Work

Even though you might not be working at a given moment, if you’re expending mental
energy mulling over your job, then your work is interfering with your ability to recover

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from the stresses of your day. In order to recover, you need time to yourself after the
actual task stops ... and time when you stop thinking about that task altogether.

9. Generally Decreased Satisfaction

This is the tendency to feel less happy and satisfied with your career and with your
home life. You might feel dissatisfied or even stuck when it comes to whatever is going
on at home, in the community or with your social activities, Dr. Ballard says.

10. Health Problems

Over a long period of time, serious chronic stress can create real health problems like
digestive issues, heart disease, depression and obesity.

Burnout vs stress:
Burnout

· It is characterized by disengagement

· The person’s emotions are blunted

· It gives one a feeling of helplessness and hopelessness

· It makes one lose motivation, ideals, and hope

· It leads to detachment and depression

· Its primary damage is emotional

Stress

· It is characterized by over engagement

· The person’s emotions are over reactive

· It gives one a feeling of urgency and hyperactivity

· It leads to loss of energy

· It leads to anxiety disorders

· Its primary damage is physical

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Model of stress-strategies for coping stress:
Six strategies for dealing with stress
Unfortunately there is no magic wand that will remove the impact of stress on your life.
Controlling stress is an active process which means that you will have to take steps to
limit its impact. However, there are some very simple steps that you can take to do this
which may help your stress levels work for you instead of against you.

Step One: Be careful about what you eat and drink

Try to eat a well balanced diet, eating at least three regular meals a day. Eat foods
which will release energy slowly and are likely to have a calming effect. Food or drink
high in sugar may give you instant energy, but in the long term may wind you up leaving
you feeling more nervy and edgy than you did before.

Limit your consumption of caffeine particularly found in tea, coffee, fizzy soft drinks and
"Proplus" tablets. Excess caffeine tends to heighten arousal and increases "jittery"
feelings; it can also impair your concentration and may keep you awake at night.

Try to also limit your use of alcohol and to avoid all use of non-prescribed drugs. These
may make you feel better in the short term, but can prevent you from sleeping properly;
they can also impair your ability to remember the work that you are trying to revise.
Some people drink alcohol and / or smoke more to control their stress levels, but it
would be a good decision to try to develop more healthy ways of controlling your stress.

Step Two: Get enough sleep

Make sure that you get plenty of rest; six to eight hours a night are recommended. If
getting to sleep is a problem, ensure that you have at least a half an hour break from
your revision before going to bed. Use this break to do anything relaxing which will take
your mind off your work such as:

1. having a soak in the bath;

2. chatting to your friends;
3. writing a letter;
4. Listening to some music.

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Step Three: Take regular exercise

Exercising regularly will not only help to keep you physically healthy, but also uses up
the hormones and nervous energy produced when you are stressed. Exercise will also
help to relax the muscles which become tense when you are stressed, and, as exercise
increases the blood flow around the body, it can help you to think more clearly.

You do not have to take up a strenuous sport: try swimming, walking, cycling or
dancing. Anything that gets you moving around and is enjoyable is beneficial, especially
if it involves spending at least half an hour in the fresh air every day.

Step Four: Control your breathing

If you notice that you are starting to feel very stressed, for example as you wait for the
examination to start, try to regulate your breathing by concentrating on breathing out to
a slow count of four; the breathing in will take care of itself. It will be helpful if you
practice this exercise when you are not stressed so that you are very familiar with the
technique when you need actually need it.

Step Five: Make time for fun

Build leisure time into your revision days and the days that you sit your exams. Get
involved in a non-academic activity, such as sports, crafts, hobbies or music. Anything
that you find relaxing or enjoyable which will give you a break from thinking or worrying
about your exams will be beneficial.

Step Six: Improve your study skills

Effective study skills can reduce stress by making you feel more in control of your work
and more confident that you will succeed. Check out the Student Learning Centre's
guide to Revision & Exam Skills; attend one of the Centre's exam skills workshops or
review your approach in an individual consultation with the Centre's adviser. (Details of
how to contact the Centre are provided in the resources section at the end of this
guide.) It may also be useful to talk to your course tutor to get subject specific advice to
help make your revision more focused.

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 UNIT II

TIME MANAGEMENT:

“Time management” refers to the way that you organize and plan how long you spend
your time on specific activities.

“Time management” is the process of organizing and planning how to divide your time
between specific activities. Good time management enables you to work smarter – not
harder – so that you get more done in less time, even when time is tight and pressures
are high.
Failing in manage your time damages your effectiveness and causes stress.

One of the most effective skills you can have in life is powerful and effective time
management. If you're not managing your time well, there's no way you're going to
reach your goals at work and the life outside of it. Sure, you might make some progress.
But your time management will be an uphill battle if you don't take your time seriously.
For people who squander and waste the precious little time they do have, they know all
too well how difficult achieving even mildly difficult goals can be.

Time management techniques:

 Creating and keeping deadlines.

 Delegation.
 Decision making.
 Managing appointments.
 Team management.
 Project management.
 Making schedules.
 Stay Away From the Bad Distractions. ...
 Get Some Tech Help. ...
 Never Procrastinate.

Failing to manage your time effectively can have some very undesirable consequences:

 Missed deadlines.
 Inefficient work flow.
 Poor work quality.
 A poor professional reputation and a stalled career.
 Higher stress levels.

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Importance of planning the day:

Planning ahead is something that nearly everyone would agree is important. Whether it
is for school, a job, or retirement, we have all learned or even experienced first-hand
how efficient planning ahead can be. Still, most people ignore the positives and shrug it
off as too much work or pointless. Take a closer look at planning for retirement and see
just how important and advantageous thinking a few steps ahead can be. 

The first benefit of planning ahead is that it helps with stress. The quickest way to see
this in action is to ask any college student while they are studying for final exams.
Chances are, they put off studying until the last minute, and ended up more stressed
out than they needed to be. Imagine if they had taken the time to make a studying
schedule a few days prior. They would be much more at ease. Potentially, they could’ve
ended up studying better . . . which leads us to the second benefit of planning ahead:

Benefits of planning the day:

 Greater productivity and efficiency.
 A better professional reputation.
 Less stress.
 Increased opportunities for advancement.
 Greater opportunities to achieve important life and career goals.

Prioritizing Beginning at the start:

All projects—especially large, complex projects—need clear priorities. Easier said than
done. You can count on technical projects, no matter how well-planned, to involve change
orders, re-prioritization and the regular appearance of surprises. It’s just the natural order
of things.

But still. Knowing how to prioritize work affects the success of your project, the
engagement of your team, and your role as a leader.

One of the biggest challenges for project managers and leaders is accurately prioritizing
the work that matters on a daily basis. Even if you have the best project management
software on the planet, you’re the one who enters information into the tool. And, you don’t
want to fall into the role of crying “top priority” for every other project that comes down the
pike.

Just as you have to be diligent and have the right kind of project insight to ensure that
nobody’s working on yesterday’s priorities. It takes a lot of practice to get this right.

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To help you manage your team’s workload and hit deadlines, here are 6 steps to
prioritizing projects that have a lot of moving parts.

1. Collect a list of all your tasks.

Pull together everything you could possibly consider getting done in a day. Don’t worry
about the order, or the number of items up front.

2. Identify urgent vs. important.

The next step is to see if you have any tasks that need immediate attention. We’re talking
about work that, if not completed by the end of the day or in the next several hours, will
have serious negative consequences (missed client deadline; missed publication or
release deadlines, etc.). Check to see if there are any high-pri dependencies that rely on
you finishing up a piece of work now.

3. Assess value.

Next, look at your important work and identify what carries the highest value to your
business and organization. As a general practice, you want to recognize exactly which
types of tasks have top priority over the others.

4. Order tasks by estimated effort.

If you have tasks that seem to tie for priority standing, check their estimates, and start on
whichever one you think will take the most effort to complete. Productivity experts suggest
the tactic of starting the lengthier task first. But, if you feel like you can’t focus on your
meatier projects before you finish up the shorter task, then go with your gut and do that. It
can be motivating to check a small task off the list before diving into deeper waters.

5. be flexible and adaptable.

Uncertainty and change are a given. Know that your priorities will change, and often when
you least expect them to. But—and here’s the trick—you also want to stay focused on the
tasks you’re committed to completing.

6. Know when to cut.

You probably can’t get to everything on your list. After you prioritize your tasks and look at
your estimates, cut the remaining tasks from your list, and focus on the priorities that you
know you must and can complete for the day. Then take a deep breath, dive in and be
ready for anything.

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Techniques for conquering procrastination:
The action of delaying or postponing something is called as procrastination.

The act or habit of putting off or delaying, especially something require immediate
attention.

Procrastination is defined as the avoidance of doing a task that needs to be

accomplished. It could be further stated as a habitual/intentional delay of starting or
finishing a task despite its negative consequences.

How to deal with procrastination:

Procrastination eats away at your momentum and is what keeps you from making real
progress. It may not be a problem for you right now, but be sure it will pop up one day
when you least expect it.

Use this list to tackle your procrastination head-on today. Imagine how much better
you’ll feel when you can do more with the time you have. After all, we all have the same
amount of hours in the day.

1. Create a To-Do List with Specific Deadlines

Making a to-do list is simple. You organize everything you need to do in the immediate
future in an order that makes sense to you. This will make your workload seem much
more manageable. Instead of a dark forest of trouble, you’ve now have a guide to help
you get through the work, pointing toward the light at the end of the tunnel.

But a to-do list filled with tasks is not enough. It’s important to add specific deadlines to
your tasks. This will help you build a sense of momentum. When you know that step
one needs to be finished by noon, this sense of urgency will help propel you forward.
You’ll finish one task after another and learn how you work best.

2. Break Bigger Projects into Manageable Chunks

Breaking down tough jobs into easy pieces is the quickest way to make sure that they
actually get done. When you’re looking at a massive project, it’s easy to become
overwhelmed by the sheer size and feel defeated before you even begin.

But when you take that project and split it into small, easily accomplished steps, you’ll
be able to see the pieces falling into place as you go along. You’ll feel a sense of
progress while still working and you’ll be able to gauge your productivity on the way.

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If you’re still procrastinating, break some of the steps down into even smaller pieces.
Before long, you’ll have the tough work completed and you’ll be able to look back at a
long, filled out checklist marking our progress.

3. Set Aside Time and Space for Work

This step is all about allowing yourself to truly focus without distraction. It’s important to
choose a part of your day to hunker down and truly get to work. Maybe you work best in
the mornings. Maybe the afternoon is when you feel most productive. The point is to
hone in on that time and to block it out. Keep it as a work-only time.

Next, carve out a little space to do purely work-related tasks. If you work in an office,
your desk should suffice as long as you remove distractions. If you work from home,
choose an area to reserve solely for work.

Whether it’s a specific room or just a specific desk or table, there’s a big psychological
boost that comes with having a space made just for getting your work done.

4. Remove Distractions

Removing all distractions seems easy at first, but it takes some real consideration to
strip out all the little ways in that make it easier for you to procrastinate.

Take note of the ways your attention wanders. Maybe you’re drawn to Facebook or
Twitter. Maybe you’re prone to talking with coworkers. If you work at home, maybe there
are too many tempting games, books, or even pets around you.

Single out these distractions and eliminate them from your workspace. On your
computer, make sure to never open a browser with social media pages. At home, stay
inside your work zone. Use headphones and soothing music to stay isolated from the
world.

Whatever works best for you, keep at it.

5. Tackle the Hard Stuff First

A lot of very smart people think that you’re most productive first thing in the morning, so
you’ll want to get started on your toughest project first.

Why? When you complete the biggest part of your workday first, this will give you a
serious confidence boost. You’ll feel incredibly productive having the hardest job
finished, and the rest of your work will feel easy in comparison.

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6. Do One Thing at a Time

The cold truth is that multitasking is a myth. We humans can only truly devote our minds
to one task at time. Take advantage of this limitation by sticking to a single job until it’s
done, then moving on.

Every time you decide to focus on a single task and work on it until completion, you’re
building up your resistance to procrastination. Because the brain is a muscle, consistent
workouts will make it better at accomplishing things.

7. Reward Yourself with Breaks

On a long enough timeline, focus will be impossible to maintain. You can’t single-
mindedly chip away at a project all day with the same energy and attention that you
began with. Eventually, you’ll find yourself seeking distraction.

This is where breaks come in. Strategic breaks will help refresh your mind and quench
that desire for distraction, allowing you to resume total focus once you return to work.

8. Try the 2 Minute Rule

Sometimes you’re faced with a task that you just really don’t want to do. But once
you’ve broken it into smaller chunks, consider whether you can get the first piece done
in two minutes or less.

This is a great psychological trick. No matter how tough work might be, the idea of
facing it head on for only two minutes can relieve a ton of pressure.

When you think about doing this dreaded task for only 120 seconds, it doesn’t seem so
bad. Grit your teeth and push through! You’ll be surprised how relieved you feel after
this tiny little slice of time.

9. Let Go of Perfectionism

Perfectionism is what keeps us from moving forward with work and life in general. We
have a hard time letting things go when they aren’t exactly as we pictured them.

It’s important to be detail-minded sometimes, but unless your current workload

demands absolute perfection, letting yourself focus and then quickly move on can work
wonders.

Keeping momentum is more important when it comes to getting everything on your list
done, so finish individual tasks, tick off those boxes, and keep going. At the end of the
day, you can always go back and check out the details to see if anything was missed.

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 10. Make Yourself Accountable

We tend to feel more motivated when we’re held accountable to something outside
ourselves, so take advantage of it. Maybe you’ve got a work friend you can regularly
check in with. In this case, try to set up a system where you see how far along each
other are. You can get high fives for progress or chastise each other for slacking off.
The pressure to achieve will feel instantly palpable!

Following these steps will get you off and running so you can leave procrastination in
the dust. All it takes is the desire to do better in your work, and the intentionality to
improve your life. The results will come as you continue to move forward.

Sensible delegation:
Delegation involves assigning responsibility to another person for a task for which you
are still ultimately accountable. At the core of delegation are the opposite concepts of
autonomy and control. How much autonomy the delegate has to decide how to
complete the task is negatively correlated with how much direct influence you choose to
exercise over how the delegate will do the work.

Benefits of delegation

 Develops new competencies and skills in your staff, which helps them feel more
satisfied in their job and feel more engaged (translation: they’ll be less likely to bail)
 Develops more self-sufficiency and autonomy in your staff over time, which helps them
feel good and relieves you of having to spend as much time providing support and input
 Builds trust between you and your staff (it goes both ways)
 Allows your staff to have a wider variety of experiences and makes them more well-
rounded and satisfied
 Improves service to clients – more qualified employees and faster/more efficient
processes are possible when you share the work and remove the backlog
 You become less overwhelmed and can feel less overworked (imagine that!)

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THE PROCESS OF DELEGATION:

 Analyze your time and tasks

 Choose a delegate
 Brief the delegate
 Monitor and encourage
 Evaluate

Why Breaks Are Necessary

Here are 5 reasons why it's important to schedule breaks into your work day:

1. Improve concentration. Intermittently shutting down your cognitive processing helps

your brain to reset and refocus. In the "7 Habits of Highly Effective People,"Stephen
Covey refers to this as "sharpening the saw." He tells the story of a woodcutter whose
saw gets duller and duller as he continues to cut wood without resting. If he took time to
stop and sharpen the saw, he would be able to cut much more wood in less time. 
2. Quiet the noise. When we are in the middle of chaos, we don't even realize how
draining it may be until we are out of it. Stepping out of the chaos of the workday gives
our minds and sensory systems a much-needed break of quiet.

Try controlled breathing, use an app such as Headspace or Insight Timer to do a brief

guided meditation, or listen to some calming music. The "Focus" genre on Spotify has
great playlists to help you focus and re-center.  

3. Refuel in a healthy way. Without planned breaks, we eat without thinking, we don't

drink enough water. and we don't refuel our brains properly to keep moving along. Your
nutrition significantly influences your productivity. The best foods include foods high in
Omega 3's including fish and eggs, dark chocolate, nuts, seeds, and whole grains.
4. Get your body moving. If you've been cranking at your desk for 3-4 hours straight, it's
time to get going. Your blood needs strong circulation, your joints need movement, and
your muscles need to activate.

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 Try taking a 5-minute walk, run the stairs in your office building, or do a set of push-ups
in your office. 

5. Get outside to connect with nature. Steve Jobs used to insist on walking meetings. It's
proven that being outside in the fresh air increases productivity because it improves
short-term memory, decreases stress levels which block creativity, increases
concentration skills, and improves our moods.

How to Take Effective Breaks

Dan Pink shares 5 guidelines for scheduling breaks:

1. Something beats nothing. 5-10 minute "micro-breaks" are better than no breaks at all. 
2. Fully detached beats semi-detached. Be 100% committed to your break. Drop the
multi-tasking and leave the phone at your desk.
3. Moving beats stationary. Pink shares that "hourly 5-minute walking breaks boosted
energy levels, sharpened focus, improved mood throughout the day, and reduced
feelings of fatigue in late afternoon." Micro-breaks were proven to be more effective than
a single 30-minute break. 
4. Social beats solo. While alone time is good, taking breaks with people we enjoy is even
better.
5. Outside Beats Inside. Even if it's for 5 minutes, a shorter nature break is better than a
longer indoor break.

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Start and Finish Times
Set specific start and finish times for your activities and stick to them. You will then learn
how much work makes up a working day and so become more effective at managing
your time and putting a value on it. Always finish promptly at the time you have set for
the end of your day.

Feed Yourself
Take a regular break for lunch. Have a set time and duration for it and ensure you take
time to do something totally unconnected from your current task. You should never work
through lunch; you need the time to nourish your body, and your mind!

Short Breaks
Schedule into your day other short breaks of perhaps 10 minutes at a time. This is
particularly important if you are working at a computer or doing other work requiring high
levels of concentration. It will boost your energy and improve your concentration levels.
And it will ensure that you stay healthy!

No Unplanned Breaks
Avoid taking unscheduled breaks. It is essential that you are able to avoid interruptions
and you must set rules accordingly. For example have set times for checking emails
and stick to them. You must also ensure that your family, friends, and work colleagues
understand when you are working on a particular task and cannot be interrupted.
Instead agree with them that you will have time set aside for them during the day. Your
breaks must always be planned!
Making time for yourself will help to boost your levels of concentration and keep you
focused on the tasks that you have to complete. It will also help to keep you healthy and
so enable you to work effectively at all times.
So take a break!

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Learning to Say No

Saying no is not always easy, although it is vital to time management. Telling your major
professor that you do not have time to write a literature review for his or her upcoming
manuscript because you have to study for your comprehensive exams will be really
difficult. It might even be harder to tell your best friend that you cannot make it to his or
her birthday because you have to grade papers.

Time Management Tip: Learning When to Say No

It’s hard enough to say no, but it can be even harder to learn when to say no. When
trying to decide whether or not saying no is a wise choice, you should consider the
potential consequences and missed benefits of saying no. For example, how might your
major professor respond to you declining to work on a research project? Based on your
work together, do you think your professor will be supportive, or might your professor
respond poorly to you saying no? Would working on one extra project open doors for
further collaboration and potential publications in the grand scheme of things?

Time Management Tip: Learning How to Say No

It may also be difficult to learn the language of saying no—especially when you are
saying no to someone who is in a position of power, such as a faculty member. When
saying no, you should convey a message such as the following: “This is a really busy
time for me right now, and I am not sure if I will be able to dedicate myself to this in the
way that is needed.” As you can imagine, this has a much different tone than something
that conveys a message such as the following: “No, I don’t want to.” In many instances,
the people in your life will understand and respect your decision not to take on
additional responsibilities if you are unable to do so. Learning how to prioritize your
activities, homework, and responsibilities is very important to ultimately graduating and
earning your degree.

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