Welcome to the third quarter! This time of year is known for brand new semester courses, busier schedules, longer days, and—oh yeah, stress.

It’s a universal experience. Everything’s normal, you’re doing completely fine, and then it hits you. For whatever reason, school, sports, clubs, work, and home become seemingly impossible to manage. Sometimes you don’t even realize how stressed out you are until every single one of your hours is filled with obligations.

If this feels familiar, then you’re in luck. As an amateur at dealing with stress, I wanted to share a few of my tips for making life a bit easier when things get difficult.

Everyone’s different, and many of the things that work for one person won’t work for another. For that reason, I wanted to include a few standard methods along with some more unconventional tips. If you’re more traditional, then this first list is for you!

Make checklists. No matter how small the step, include it on your list. Sometimes seeing everything that you need to do can be daunting, but it’ll help you stay organized, which is crucial. When you check off tasks, you’ll feel relieved. Checklists are a good way to keep yourself on-track and accountable, and you can also reward yourself with a small break after each task gets completed!

Balance your study hall time. If you have any study halls, divide up the period between talking to friends and doing school work. Multitasking is hard, so spend a few minutes working, and then a few for a break. Then keep repeating until the period is over! If you don’t have any friends in your classroom, then you could listen to music or draw a small picture. You’ll prevent yourself from feeling drained by having some fun while also using some of your valuable work time. The less work you have to complete when you get home, the better you’ll feel.

Exercise. Exercising is scientifically proven to be an effective stress reliever. Exercise stimulates the production of endorphins, which are brain chemicals that manage mood by relieving pain and reducing stress. Exercise also can distract from the things that cause you stress. You could hit the gym, jog, try some yoga, or jump in the pool, or just take a brisk walk.

Balance your diet. Although you should never feel obligated to entirely change your diet, sometimes modifying the food you eat can benefit your physical and mental health. Foods that are rich in nutrients fuel your body. Eating good foods can improve your ability to focus and reduce mood swings. In addition, eating unprocessed foods can even reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety. With that being said, it could be helpful to add fruits and vegetables to your diet, as well as nuts, seafood, and milk. Although they are processed, drinks like orange juice can reduce stress too because they are high in vitamin C.

Listen to music. Listening to some calming music can help you to feel relaxed, no matter what genre of music you listen to!

Minimize screen time. Even if you don’t always feel it, for many people social media adds stress with the pressures of constantly staying up-to-date and conforming. Sometimes it’s better to turn off the phone and let yourself rest instead of consuming seemingly never-ending content stream.

If you’re looking for something new, or if you’re a bit unconventional, then some of these ideas might be a better fit for you.

Bake or cook. If you have a little spare time in your busy schedule, try baking or cooking anything you’d like. Sometimes having the opportunity to be creative and work with your hands helps relieve stress. Plus, once you’re done, you’ll have a treat to share with friends or family, or just for yourself to eat.

Spend time with a pet. Whether you have a dog, cat, hamster, or even a lizard, spend some time with them. Petting dogs and cats can bring you back down to earth by reducing stress hormones, which is the reason that therapy animals exist! Pets offer unconditional love, and it can be relaxing to be in their presence.

Have a warm drink—on the floor. I don’t really know why this one works, but it just does. Trust me. Something as simple as drinking hot chocolate in a different space in the house might change your routine enough to make you feel better.

Keep a journal. Writing down your thoughts can be an effective way of organizing the thoughts inside of your mind, objectively assessing problems, and hopefully letting go of some of the negative emotions attached to them. You can include a plan to combat some of your stressors, write about how they make you feel, or even write in a diary style. Somehow, just writing down those thoughts can lift a weight from your shoulders.

Squeeze a stress ball. Although this isn’t designed to reduce the stress, it can make coping with it easier. If have anxious habits like bouncing a leg or foot, chewing your nails, or picking your skin, having something to do with your hands can help to break those habits. If you don’t want to use a stress ball, there are hundreds of other options for you that are sold almost anywhere.

Watch your favorite TV show, movie, or read your favorite book. If you have some free time on your hands, you could always spend it with your favorite pieces of media. Rewatching or rereading something you love can be relaxing.

Hopefully a few of these tips will make your third quarter more manageable. Keep in mind that you’re absolutely capable of working hard and achieving your goals, but you should allow yourself to take breaks when needed. Take care of yourself, and good luck with the second semester!