"What is this playtime of which you speak? I know only books."

Sometimes it can all be a bit crazy. The stack of books piles up. Before you know it, there's like a million empty Lucozade bottles strewn about the room. You want to call your mum. And if you had a pet, it would look at you with those beautiful eyes, amplifying the horrible devastation life has become.

Well, that's the extreme. If you feel like it's heading in that direction we're here with some workload tips to reduce stress and improve fun. Let's go.

1. Tinker with your time

"Good time management is essential for coping with the pressures of modern life without experiencing too much stress." – Those guys at the NHS Each day write down what you plan to get done, and stick to it. Say you have two books to get through this week. Write down the time that you expect to work on these and then stick to these times. Remember to give yourself a break at various points so you can relax. If you find it difficult to manage your time, go to your academic services. They will likely have a few short courses to polish up your skills.

2. Sort out your life

"Get as much information as possible about what is expected of you, and what is available to help you with the course, as soon as possible." – The lovely people at MIND Student life can be stressful. There are a whole new bunch of things for you to learn and have to be more independent than ever. But with the right information, you'll be totally fine. Basically, there are three things you want to do:

• Have a healthy lifestyle
• Manage your money
• Get breaks and exercise

For advice on any of these issues, go speak to someone at your student services. These services are there for this very reason. It's always kept private and the teams are trained to be very lovely and super helpful.

3. Have fun with friends

"Studies indicate that social capital is one of the biggest predictors for health, happiness, and longevity." Cecile Andrews – scholar and social pro Your social life is important for your own health and wellbeing. Fact. Which is handy if you ever needed to tell your folks about the virtues of parties. Obviously, studies can get in the way of socialising. But is there something taking up too much of your time? Remember: you can always fire out an email to your supporting teachers or ask a classmate for advice.

Less stress, more life

Get these three tips together and you will find that your mood and productivity increases. You'll manage your time, you'll see your friends, and you'll do so with totally minimum devastation and totally maximum fun. And for more fun, super helpful advice check out the rest of our blog.