Too much anxiety and stress

[crazlunatic]

This will be a long read, so I thank you all in advance for reading my post. And if this is in the wrong section, please forgive me and move it for me =)

Well I'm in my 3rd year of high school now and I'm getting busier and busier. I'm just going to list a few of the things I do:

-4th year advanced functions math along with 2 sciences (basically that means 20% more time spent on work than others who are not taking 3 sciences or 2 sciences and 1 fourth year math course).

My main problem is staying focused and getting things done. It is so easy for me to do my homework and then resort to something else such as go on the internet. Even worse is if I unplug my internet, it will be something else like Solitare or talking to my brother. What can I do to keep me focused and motivated to keep on finishing tasks?

-Piano: Basically this is an average of 45-75 minutes of practice per day.


-Vice president of the DECA clubFor those who don't know what DECA is, DECA is a marketing organization of students that focus on marketing, entrpreneurship, and management. Anyway, I'm VP and it requires quite a bit of commitment as well.

There are a few problems with this. One, it requires quite a lot of commitment so I do have to dedicate a good number of hours into it per week. The main thing though is I feel I do not deserve this position. Although I am probably capable of leading people and getting things done because I know what needs to be done, I am not entirely confident with what I do. I'm not quite a good talker so thats a problem too. It seems that people do not necessarily always listen to what I say and speak over me instead. I also do not feel like a VP whatsoever, even though that is my title.

-Have to write a 30 page business plan
The 30 page business plan is for the DECA competition and will be about founding a new wealth management and investment firm. I know pretty much nothing about this and have only been recently introduced to the topic by my friend and his stepdad. The thing is at the dinner, I probably undrestood 20 percent of what he said and I feel so lost. I made a really bad impression since I said pretty much nothing at this dinner due to me being SO LOST. I really want to do this and go to ICDC (finals). I can dedicate my time, and I think I have the writing skills to contribute to my team of 3 members. But at the same time, I'm unsure of doing this simply because of my already clumsy time management. As well if I am having so much trouble understanding the topic, I don't want to be a drag to my team. My team has already approached me and asked me how sure am I doing this project with them, and I told them to give me a week. I will do more research on this topic and see how things go. I have a feeling that they may start to believe that I won't be up to the task simply because of lack of knowledge and understanding. This is giving me a lot of stress.

Please give me some advice on how to deal with these problems and manage myself. I feel so overwhelmed. Each time I think about it, its as if I'm walking at the bottom of an ocean...

Looking forward to the responses. I appreciate it =D

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by crazlunatic

-Have to write a 30 page business plan
The 30 page business plan is for the DECA competition and will be about founding a new wealth management and investment firm. I know pretty much nothing about this and have only been recently introduced to the topic by my friend and his stepdad ....... I will do more research on this topic and see how things go. I have a feeling that they may start to believe that I won't be up to the task simply because of lack of knowledge and understanding. This is giving me a lot of stress.

Well, no promises, but if you PM me with more specific questions about the above, I can probably give you a few tips. I work in investment banking; hold certain qualifications in capital markets and financial advisory services; and am an investor myself.

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by crazlunatic

The main thing though is I feel I do not deserve this position. Although I am probably capable of leading people and getting things done because I know what needs to be done, I am not entirely confident with what I do. I'm not quite a good talker so thats a problem too. It seems that people do not necessarily always listen to what I say and speak over me instead. I also do not feel like a VP whatsoever, even though that is my title.

Oh, don't worry too much about it. I can think of a few vice-presidents of entire nations who probably feel the same way as you do.

[crazlunatic]

But that's a whole different scenario =(

[Zukin]

Do you like being a part of all the activities you're involved in, or do you feel you have to do them for some reason? I gave up playing the piano a few years ago and never regretted it since.

Can you use a template for the business plan? You can just use Google and search for "business plan templates" and find a bunch of results.
These are some good templates:
Template Gallery

Steve's time management articles are good as well:
http://www.stevepavlina.com/articles/do-it-now.htm
http://www.stevepavlina.com/articles...oductivity.htm

If you want to be a better leader, read this book:
Amazon.com: The Leadership Challenge, Third Edition: Books: James M. Kouzes,Barry Z. Posner
It's one of the few leadership books based on empirical evidence and surveys of thousands of people on what makes a good leader.

[eblight]

Just remember that you are only young. This is your breathing in time and it will continue for some years yet. You will make mistakes, you will feel lacking in confidence, you will feel under pressure. These are all the experiences of life. It sounds as though you are already a leader and respected. Keep building on your positive qualities, take real time out to enjoy yourself and just be young and fun loving, and when you screw up just remember that you have a lot of life left to put it right. Go well.

[kai9]

hi crazlunatic,

it seems like you are overwhelmed with duties and tasks, some of which require skills and knowledge more than what you currently possess.

to stay focused, try listing down the tasks to complete. then work through them one at a time. go to an environment without the distractions, where you discipline yourself to complete the task at hand. you could also practise time chunking where you divide your day into blocks. designate each block to complete a certain set of tasks (e.g. morning block - work on your school work, afternoon block - work on your business plan).

as for the VP and business plan responsibilities, prioritising and getting clear on why you have taken them on will help you sort out how to allocate your time. learning to say 'no' and dropping tasks which you don't feel excited about will lighten your baggage and reduce anxiety.

if it is logistically impossible to drop any responsibility at the moment, make the best out of them then. instead of seeing them as hurdles which you struggle to cross, see them as opportunities to learn and improve yourself. you'll probably have more fun as you learn to cope with them.