There are 24 hours in a day. However, sometimes 24 hours don’t actually seem like enough for students. After school, there’s homework, meetings, jobs, practices, and rehearsals that must be attended to. Whether you’re overwhelmed with one or all of those things, the bottom line is this: high school can be overwhelming.

So what if we told you that there are little things you can do to make it all a little more bearable?

Ever wonder why shows like “Tidying Up With Marie Kondo” became so popular? All Kondo did was ask her clients to thank their belongings for their time together and throw them away. But when her clients and audiences alike saw how clean their house had become, how organized their drawers were, their tidied-up homes became symbolic of new, fresh starts. They could finally let out a breath of relief. Seeing that relief made other people want to throw their things away and to fold their clothes like Marie Kondo and to chase that tranquility for themselves. To have their surroundings let them relax, too.

Maybe you can’t do something as drastic as throwing all of your old clothes away every time you feel anxious, but altering your environment really can benefit you. Whether sitting on the floor helps you relax while studying for a big math test, or you really can’t focus on reading in a certain room in your house, you can take control of your environment to find what’s most advantageous for you.

Your environment is not limited to the inanimate objects around you, though. People are a part of your environment too, so communicate with them. You can ask your teacher if something is confusing you, and your friends will understand if you want to stay in for a night. Take control of your surroundings to make you the most successful you can be.

That’s why it’s so important for teachers to be aware of their students’ needs as well. A bare, bleak room can suggest sterility, like a hospital, making it hard to be comfortable and focus on the subject being taught. Teachers who aren’t approachable won’t be asked any questions, no matter how much their students are struggling. Nobody has to completely change their personalities, but attempts to make a students’ learning the slightest bit more pleasant through the class’s environment will be noticed and appreciated – probably more than the teacher will ever know.

Of course, it’s not always going to be that simple. Sometimes you’re so stressed out that lighting a candle won’t do much. But maybe just the act of lighting that candle will help to remind you that you haven’t completely lost control.

While you might not be able to control how many hours are in a day, how much homework a teacher gives you, or how many hours you have to work that week, there are small things in your life that can be controlled. Drink some hot tea. Listen to music. Take a deep breath. Do whatever you need to do to make life even a fraction easier to handle. Because in the end, all of your stressing and worrying about the future will be for nothing if you can’t even be happy in the present.

There are 24 hours in a day. It’s okay to take some of that time for yourself.