As we end off the fifth week of classes, we’re finishing up the first exams of the semester. If you’re a new college student, you may be worried about how much harder your exams were compared to tests in high school or at a loss for how to study for the next one. Even if you’re not new to college, you may be stressed about all the other exams you need to take or finishing all your assignments on time. Striking a balance in your academic life can be difficult. One key thing to remember, though, is that you aren’t superhuman. We all need to give ourselves a break.

Oftentimes, the reason we are so stressed is because we aren’t great at scheduling in time to take care of ourselves. We pack our days with classes and school work and then by the time we come back home, all we want to do is sleep. Scheduling your day out in advance may be key to your stress level management. Just as you dedicate time in your agenda to complete an assignment or study, you should also factor in at least a few minutes for self-care every day. You can start with the most extreme option—time blocking your entire day.

Time blocking is a time management technique which allows you to clearly see what task you are doing at every waking moment. First identify the tasks you must get done for the day then slot them into open time windows on your calendar. For example, you would schedule how much time you’ll give yourself in the morning to get ready and by what time you need to leave for class. You can carve out specific time to work on your assignments and, most importantly, a period of time in which you will do something nice for yourself. This could just be 20 minutes of journaling or a five-minute walk outside. While this method may seem over the top—and it’s likely you won’t follow this schedule exactly—just the practice of intentionality is very important to securing time to take care of yourself.

Putting it bluntly, many students at Case Western Reserve University are tryhards who default to pushing back self-care day after day in favor of getting a higher exam score. This mentality is compounded when we surround ourselves with people who are willing to work hard to accomplish their academic goals. But this goes the other way as well. We don’t want to constantly be around a group of people who only care about academics to their own detriment. This can just lead to more stress. If you find that just the idea of going to study with your friend group stresses you out, it may be time to take a step back and think about a new method.

Rather than living at the Kelvin Smith Library, you should make a point to get your head out of your books—at least for a couple minutes. Take breaks in between studying or set aside some dedicated time to visit Wade Lagoon and maybe even take your friends with you.

It’s likely that you’re sick of hearing this, but the average college student spends nearly nine hours a day on their phone, not even including the work we do on our computers or iPads. Being on our devices for so long can increase our anxiety levels and isolation, making us feel trapped in a cycle of either avoiding work or being stuck in it. A more valuable use of our time, then, may be going outside while the weather is still nice or reading a book.

You’ll eventually need to accept that A’s are not everything. Grades should not determine your self-worth; rather, they should be something that you take the time to congratulate yourself for achieving. It is likely that you’re used to getting high grades, maybe even without trying that hard. College may come as a shock, then, when the first grade you get is lower than expected. This is normal. Most of us have been through this exact culture shock, and we know how crushing it can feel to realize you may not have been as prepared as you thought you were. This is where accepting that grades do not decide your worth is integral. If you don’t do well on your first exam, there’s always the next one. If you don’t do well in the class, there’s always the next one. Truly, what is the worst that can come from getting a grade you don’t like on an exam? Figure this out to remind yourself that whatever the worst case scenario is, it’s not the end of the world because you will always have another chance.

Being in an often high-stress environment can be difficult for many reasons, but if we don’t take the time to adequately care for ourselves, then our anxieties can snowball into a bigger deal than they need to be. Make sure you’re taking care of yourself. That’s the best way to stay ready for incoming challenges.