All work and no play can wreck havoc on stress levels.

#1 Get a good night’s sleep – at least eight hours of sleep a night is crucial if you want to function properly the next day. Getting up at six a.m. after you’ve spent most of the night studying, writing, watching reruns of Sex and the City, or other shenanigans will start to have long-term wear and tear effects on your body.

#2 Prioritize – getting things done last minute when you know you could have had it done earlier is a giant stressor for most people (including myself). Procrastination is not a routine you want to fall into, you can try to run from it, but inevitably it’s always going to be there waiting for you.

#3 Eating right – I know it’s late and your stomach was rumbling so you decided to rummage through the fridge like a raccoon in a dumpster in the middle of the night, but you must resist. And those late night 7-11 runs after you’ve stayed at school or work longer than you should’ve and now you’re starving, or need a coffee, is a big no-no. Aim for three healthy meals a day combined with vegetables, lean meats and fibre – and don’t forget to stay hydrated with water!

#4 Exercise – Keeping fit is not only good for you physically, but mentally. If your enemy is the stairs, try to make them your new best friend for your own health and use every opportunity to use them instead of the elevator.

#5 Breathe –This may be the most obvious, but sometimes people who suffer from anxiety can forget the most helpful tool. Just breathing deeply and slowly (eight deep breaths) will help reduce the stress hormone in your body immediately.

#6 Unplug from gadgets – With everyone so tuned into their Smartphones now, it’s no wonder that there’s less face time (no pun intended) with people. It’s important to turn off your phone, TV, radio at least once a day and just be surrounded with silence sometimes. You may even find yourself picking up a book or catching up on some sleep that you’ve missed.

#7 Surround yourself with positivity – Anyone that tries to bring you down in life is not a friend, or someone you should be around. Those people are called life-suckers and will truly drain you, if you let them. Being around uplifting people who support you is very important for your self-esteem.

#8 Find your “you” time – Was there ever a time you felt you needed to reflect on life? Go back to your younger days? What would the younger “you” say or do now? Sometimes it’s easy to forget what the important things in your life were as times goes on. If painting in the park made you happy years ago because for that hour you were tuned out from everything, then go pick up a paintbrush and reignite your passion.

#9 Change up your routine and try something new – Take a new route to school/work whether you’re walking or driving your vehicle just to explore something different. See a new jacket or bold coloured lipstick that you like, but don’t think you have the confidence to pull it off? Try it on anyway – you may just surprise yourself.  Crank up your workout routine and try a high energy cardio class if your usual is the same old, boring walk on the treadmill.

#10 Take a mini vacation to “recharge your batteries” – (And no, I don’t mean your new iPhone 5 battery.) It’s important to be able to have “get away” days, even if it’s for a day or two to Waterton, or somewhere close, yet far way enough from the city just to clear your mind with the new change of scenery.