Feeling the pressure when it comes to school?  

You’re not alone! Academic pressure starts for most teens long before college, sometimes as early as grade school. Whether you’re struggling with peer competition, worries about SAT scores or college applications, homework overload, or pressure from your parents, academic performance is a huge source of stress and concern for many young people. 

Implementing good study habits early in life can lead to long term benefits in your career when you’re older. Here are a few tips to help make life a little easier if you’re feeling overwhelmed from academic pressure.

• Find a good study space to get your work done. If home is too noisy or there are too many distractions, find a place that is more conducive to studying. This can be a coffee shop with good Wi-Fi, a library, or even a park on a nice, sunny day. 
• Get ahead of yourself - if you know you have a big game or performance coming up where you will be out for long practices or rehearsals, work ahead so you aren’t stressing to finish everything at the last minute.
• Eat well and get enough sleep! We really can’t can’t stress this enough. If you don’t sleep or eat well, it increases your stress, which makes it hard to focus on your schoolwork, and this can become kind of a vicious cycle for some people. 
• Ask your teachers for assignments for the days you won't have sufficient study time.
• Make friends with people who care about their grades. Hanging around people who prioritize their studies can rub off on you, and it’s always more fun studying in a group and preparing for tests with each other. 

Think of implementing one or more of these tips into your regular study routine as doing your future self a favor. These simple steps can go a long way in helping you relieve the pressure when it comes to academics. Good luck!