If you are reading this and are in the middle of planning for college, there is a good chance that you are ready to take a vacation. However, college planning shouldn’t be that stressful. In fact, it should be a smooth process and a calm transition.

Unfortunately, the way things are set up – with the limited space and competitive application process – you are almost guaranteed a stress breakdown. This is why it can help to have a few tips and tricks for reducing the stress. The key is to separate all the moving parts of the application process, so that you can really focus on one thing at a time. Also, you want to have a plan of action for what you need to do before you pack up the car and head to campus. Here are five ways to reduce college planning stress.

5 Ways To Reduce College Planning Stress

  1. Create a Schedule and Stick to it

In life, sticking to a schedule can help you manage your life, especially if you are busy. If you are constantly running around without a plan, you are bound to get stressed out and fed up. If you are applying to a lot of colleges, tying up loose ends in high school and making sure you have everything you need for the college journey, you’ll want to keep a tight schedule and not deviate too far from it.

  1. Compartmentalize Your Planning

On top of scheduling, you also want to compartmentalize. This means that you want to focus on one thing at a time and not worry about all the other little things you need to get done. The more you can train yourself to compartmentalize and focus on one thing, the more you can really relinquish stress and purely focus on the planning. This is the case if you are applying to Northeastern University or even Marymount in Los Angeles.

  1. Focus On Only What You Are Passionate About

If you aren’t passionate about the college you are going to, or the field of study you are going into, the planning process will be awful and you won’t be motivated. If you aren’t motivated, you won’t want to get anything done. This is why you want to take your time and choose a college carefully.

  1. Spend Time with Your Friends and Family

It will also be important to spend time with your friends and family. If you are focusing on planning the entire time, you may lose sight of yourself. Spending time with friends will be especially important, because you may be going in separate directions next year. Regardless, though, hanging out with the people that love you the most will give you the opportunity to let go – even if it’s only for a moment.

  1. Speak with Someone Who is Going Through the Same Process

On top of everything, you may want to have a chat with someone who has gone through the same planning process. The person may have some really great advice – not only for overcoming and reducing planning stress, but also for how to plan more efficiently. In the end, planning efficiently is also the best way to level out your stress.