# data[].attributes.body
my own expectations
I know people do have expectations of me, like my lecturers and stuff, but I filtered it before setting expectations for myself, so that it is more relatable, closer, and more realistic.

# data[].attributes.body
the most effective way to shift my mind from something, would be to find another thing to focus in

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•Is it a story your interviewee told you or an observation you personally made?
 Don’t rephrase or summarise.

# data[].attributes.body
So let me give you an example, I am not a tech-savvy person and within this small group that I’m in who are one year younger than me, they just automatically assume that I’m good with computers.

So, when they found out that I didn’t know certain things, they were super shocked in a way that I feel embarrassed you know, like they belittle me – there’s just lots of belittling me in my skills you know.

But it makes me realize that age gap does make a difference.

# data[].attributes.body
I want to make enough money to travel around the world, retire early, live comfortably with my family.

# data[].attributes.body
Going back to fitness, I think running is really one of my most umm active activity that I’ve been doing. In days when I feel the most stress or the peak of my emotional state, that is when I run.

# data[].attributes.body
Second, is sleep because through my semesters I really have little, like few hours of sleep and I think that is really unhealthy.

At that point of time, sleep to me was a form of weakness. But I soon discovered that sleep is really the number one important thing in everything – it is the foundation of everything.

It is the engine of your thinking; it is the engine of your day you know. So, getting at least 6 hours of sleep is my goal right now.

# data[].attributes.body
feel pressured to keep up with my friends sometimes. Especially When I see like other people studying very hard, I sometimes feel I’m not doing enough.

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•Does it trigger ideas on ways you can help your target user?
 Use interviewee’s words.

# data[].attributes.body
•Does it tell you more about the motivations and needs of your target user?
 What is the interviewee saying?
Look out for
"I need", "I want", "I feel"

# data[].attributes.body
Umm, I’m 19.

# data[].attributes.body
Um, I’m 18 years old this year and I’m currently studying in Singapore Polytechnic, in the course of media and, uh, Experience in communication design, yes.

# data[].attributes.body
I am fifteen years old this year.

Right now, I’m a secondary three student studying at Queenstown Secondary school.

# data[].attributes.body
I umm, I study in Nanyang Polytechnic.

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I am 19 years old. I enjoy going to the gym in my free time.

# data[].attributes.body
I am currently studying in Singapore polytechnic and I am in the mechanical engineering course.

# data[].attributes.body
Cuz for my course, I don’t have exams right, but 50% of my grades depend on peer evaluation.

# data[].attributes.body
my course right we don’t really have the privilege of choosing our groups all the time. So um, I think the most stress part would be like having to communicate with people that I am not comfortable or familiar with

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If I have CCA after, like I will have to bring that baggage of emotions with me to CCA and yeah and like its, like, it when you start a day wrong, the whole day just doesn’t feel right, you know.

So when like such things happen during school hours then when I move on, go along, continue with my day yeah then like that negativity follows along as well

# data[].attributes.body
Mm, okay I think the root of this negativity comes from the fear that because of this certain misunderstanding, or this like certain disagreement, like work cannot be done.

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because at the end of the day, they only look at the grades, they don’t see how well you get along right.

Yeah so I think maybe by completing work, it gives me the sense of security that would, like be much greater

# data[].attributes.body
So, I always feel that my course always assumes that because we have no exam, that’s why assignment is much easier.

So, that’s why I feel they have been piling up without actually [pause] empathize with the students, on how they are actually feeling.

# data[].attributes.body
it is possible for me to have multiple stress factors at the same time, so if I can turn it into motivations, why not right?

# data[].attributes.body
When was the last time I was frustrated, well, recently I attended an entrepreneurship workshop and we were put in groups of five okay, so basically we had an activity where we were supposed to come up with a business idea, alright so we had to do it together you know as, as a group okay, because it was a group project

the leader was you know, she was super headstrong and like she decided that, no that didn’t make sense, she found faults with, she found a fault with every idea that wasn’t her own and you know just went along with whatever she wanted to do regardless of what the others thought. So that really frustrated me the most and yeah.

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It plays a huge role on my appetite. At first, it makes me want to eat more, like in year 1. But as it goes, it just makes me not want to eat anymore because of the overall feeling, I would say.

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I don’t know how to identify burnout. I really do not know myself, but mentally drained I do, I do feel that a lot.

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To be honest, the period of time when I feel the most emotionally drained out, was during my exam week.

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I always strive to be the best at all of the, all of my subjects because well, I have, I have done it before like, I am actually quite used to being the top in my subjects so I would expect the same for every other exam that I take

, my teachers are used to seeing my name you know, at the top of the list of whichever subject and they would always not say pressure but it’s kind of a subtle pressure they put on me that they wanna, they wanna see me at the top again and again like at least top three, yeah.

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I really like to eat food that is good for my body.

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So, on a typical day I need to make sure that I get my certain amount of fruit servings and as well as a colourful plate of food, basically a balanced meal.

And if there are days when I am hungrier then I need to really [pause] think through whether it is emotional hunger or am I actually really hungry.

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Because if you think about it meteorically right, its like running away from your problems and it really really helps in like releasing the stress. Especially because I’m a person who really doesn’t like to be chased, so having a lot of people running behind just makes me want to run faster.

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Okay what about me, what about the things that I find important, school work, school work is definitely #1, and other things that I like, badminton. then I can think about other things like my relationshoip with people, that will come below.

# data[].attributes.body
So I cannot just ignore sch work uk, like it is a factor, but I cannot do much about it, but just do the work ah, like I cannot really change that.

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So I can try to remove other factor of stress like social media, so I think for that period of time, I took, I didn’t use a lot of social media platforms like last time

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I think at that point in time, I tried to like, sleep longer hours.

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And also, umm sometimes a way I use to completely stop thinking about it is through listening to podcasts. So, I listen to podcasts a lot and because they give a lot of insights and talk a lot about their opinion, I just automatically shut down my own thoughts and just you know truly listen to what they have to say.

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I have high expectations for myself, I want to do things perfectly 100% of the time if I can.

I have high expectations for myself, I want to do things perfectly 100% of the time if I can.

I would treat myself to the foods

I felt burnout was just recently. Its my fourth semester in poly, I feel more pressured to do well since my gpa now is not good enough

I make sure to take a few days off from studying and relax to replenish my battery. When I feel that it’s draining me constantly, I would take small breaks in between studying.

I prioritize things that takes me more energy or thinking to do, usually the hardest tasks first in the day so that progressively throughout the day when I get tired, I can keep up by doing easier tasks.

I try to motivate myself by watching others who’ve accomplished their goals

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I think the last time I suffered from a burn out would be from last year sem, like y1s2, im currently y2s2, so it was like a year ago. And at that period of time, it didn’t hit me that I was going through a burnout, cause at that point in time, I didn’t feel anything

at that point of time, I everyday just do work, like do work do work do work do work do work, you know but like at some point I realized that I was going through a burn out, like it was quite scary actually

I was going home, and I was on the bus, and I, don’t remember,like I don’t remember falling asleep, but at some point, I fell asleep without myself knowing.  because it happened quite a lot of times at that period of time. So I would just like unknowingly fall asleep and like suddenly wake up, you know. Which is like quite dangerous ah

I think it’s a sign, that I should just take a break, or not my body’s gna shut down I mean it’s already on sleep mode

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in my head, in my mind, in the list of things I need to do, like falling asleep randomly is not one of them. And I don’t remember

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So, we will have, I don’t know, up to like 3 to 4 meetings at night. Because normally the people that I am grouped with they are the people that tend to think clearer at night.

So, of course as the only member who would disagree with this, has to compromise with them. To be honest it gives me a lot of headaches. Like at the end of the meeting right, my mind is just all fogged up.

So, it just feels so heavy that, it’s not because I’m tired that I want to sleep – I mean yes, I want to sleep, but at the same time it’s just so many things going on at once, that I can’t really [pause] like think clearly anymore. And yeah, it’s like emotionally heavy.

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That’s why I do get anxious every now and then and also because when I do assignments that is really not my cup of tea or it really challenged my skills, it definitely makes me feels even more anxious about my future.

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Like sometimes I would just do halfway of my work, and I would say “Why actually am I doing it for?”, like “What is my objective of being in this course in the first place?”. Like definitely a deep self-reflection would happen.

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It definitely does affect me because when you are lost in the direction of the future, it just makes you feel as if you are going to be nothing you know.

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Struggles I currently have, well, since I will be taking my O Levels next year, some struggles I have will be um, doing well in my subjects and like um, you know because every, everything is getting more harder as I’m progressing in the subject so it’s kinda hard to cope with everything especially since I take like about seven? Six or seven, around seven subjects so yeah it’s a bit hard to cope

I’m still uncertain about the future like, I’m not even sure whether I plan to go to Poly or JC so yeah, kinda uncertain about the future as well it’s some struggles I have.

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I feel more pressured to do well since my gpa now is not good enough. The pressure to do well as mst’s are approaching is causing me to feel exhausted.

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I have school on 3 days in a week but other days I have online learning and assignments to do weekly. It gets tiring in school days cause the day is packed from 9-6pm and when I reach home, I am already exhausted. Other days I have to complete tutorials and do group projects.

Some of the struggles that I face is having a good sleep schedule, I would always sleep at irregular times, sometimes at 12 sometimes at 3 and it can really affects my energy level the next day. In school I would always sleep in class. I also struggle with progress in the gym.

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How I practise self-care, um, well, I do like to journal so basically what I do is um, anything that frustrates me for that day, I would pen it down, I would pen down my thoughts and like, you know what bothers, what, what was bothering me at that point in time and like, what, how I felt. How that helps me is by you know, venting it out,

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What I do to relieve stress is by actually doing the things I like, for example, reading. Uh how reading helps me destress is by, cause’ by reading I get to, I, get to you know, escape my problems because whenever I read, I’m reading about the life of another character with a whole new set of problems so I don’t really need to care about mine you know, so it helps me destress,

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Because I have been staying in room so often, I do feel lonely and I really want someone to talk to, but at that same time I don’t feel like talking to anyone as well.

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Well i would like to prioritize perhaps strengthening of relationships for example with my family and friends. Like usually, especially during this covid period I don't have that much time to spend with my relatives you know I haven't visited my relatives in quite some time, mostly because of the covid situation so we are not allowed to leave the house very often. But I do get to spend time with my family members in my household but usually I keep to myself in my room so maybe I could change that

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So how I make myself calm down and really fully relax in a slow pace is that I would do activities that require a lot of time.

For example, like baking or like simply drawing, like drawing a huge portrait – or like painting a huge portrait. That takes a lot of time because painting you need to mix you know, the colours and stuff.

And also, I would challenge myself to use whatever ingredients that I have in my fridge, to make a gourmet dish, you know. Like I think time really just keeps me in place and keeps my sane as well.

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What do i do to relax umm i think maybe i think sleep would help me to relax because umm usually when i feel emotionally drained or tired especially physically lah ok if im physically tired i would go and take a nap i will take a nap and then when i wake up i feel more i feel more energised

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because at the end of the day, if I can to do my part, then I wouldn’t be as worried that I cant like get anything done, so like being able to do that, is a way that I will be able to relieve that stress

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So, I wouldn’t say it’s my family but other than academics mainly just relationship wise, like friendship and families.

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I make sure to take a few days off from studying and relax to replenish my battery. When I feel that it’s draining me constantly, I would take small breaks in between studying. like after a long day in school, I will a nap or relax on the sofa for a bit before studying again.

# data[].attributes.body
And at the same time, I think communicating with my family is also another sign. Like when they check up on me, I [pause] I would not talk further than two sentences, or I would genuinely just not want to talk at all.

And I think to them, they also can sort of umm, find out that, maybe I was mentally drained out. And I didn’t know this until my family confronted me.

# data[].attributes.body
Hmm, because like I mentioned previously, I have a planner. So, when I look at time, it motivates me to want to complete, that’s when I look at my planner. So, it goes hand in hand. So, these two are the main reasons why I could keep my things going as per schedule.

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social media, I think social media is this bubble, of like unrealistic expectations

we’re very into these kind of things, yeah but it’s not that healthy, cause its not very realistic. Why don’t I have the body of this person? Why like, why like this person keep winning first place, but I’m nowhere near there?

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I try to motivate myself by watching others who’ve accomplished their goals, look back at their journey and see how far they’ve come. I would then feel more motivated to work towards my own goals. In school, I try to study together with my friends and reward myself when I do well.

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Oh, what do I look forward to? Well, since I spend quite a lot of time in school, I really do look forward to meeting my friends you know, spending some time with them like, also lessons actually some, uh, it’s not common to hear a student saying that they are look, that they look forward to their lessons but I genuinely do

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My mom has always been a pillar of support and talking it out has always been our way of umm handling our problems or in managing our problems.

So normally I would talk it out to her, but I would not give her the full context of it because I don’t think it is necessary, but I would just give her like the gist of it, so that I could get like a bit of advice from her.

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I need to make sure that I meet the expectations. There is no way that I cannot meet the expectations.

Because if I don’t right, I feel that [pause] it’s just that, I would just feel disappointed because there is something that ii can do about it.

So, if I don’t do it, it means that I simply don’t care or that I’m not taking full responsibility of my work and I would definitely be really disappointed in myself.

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I have high expectations for myself, I want to do things perfectly 100% of the time if I can. My family wants me to go to a well known uni. so that I can get a good job in the future.

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I think that um everybody would have their own expectations of themselves, and then theres social media where, social media, I think social media is this bubble, of like unrealistic expectations

we’re very into these kind of things, yeah but it’s not that healthy, cause its not very realistic. Why don’t I have the body of this person? Why like, why like this person keep winning first place, but I’m nowhere near there?

You know cause I don’t work as hard as that person, what that person been through, I definitely haven’t been through there.

social media is really a place where like people show the results, they don’t really show the process, because of the results they see, and the results they want to achieve, not considering what goes behind these results.

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And third is fitness. So, to me exercising is very very important and it plays a huge part of my life. And it’s not just because I exercise to look good but is to keep myself fit as well, like I mentioned.

And keeping myself fit, it makes me feel productive you know, so it is also a form of motivation in my life.

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im basically helping others turn their ideas into reality what, so like the thought of being able to do that also motivates me, because I reach a certain level, once I graduate with a diploma, then I can start practicingthat uk, so it is smth that im very passionate in. So like my own passion also motivates me, because its smth I genuinely want to do.

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For example, if I were to write vaguely that I need to complete this module, I wouldn’t feel very motivated because I would feel that it is easy to complete that module.

But if I were to write umm, to complete, for example, contextual enquiry research regarding this, this, this.

Then I would be like hey that actually, that makes me think for a second and reflect, that actually needs time.

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It could be a cycle, like lets say im stressed because of work, then I relieve stress by scrolling social media.

Then, when I see social media, I will “aiyo why this person live better than me” cannot I must also like do something about it. Then I go do my work

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my teachers are used to seeing my name you know, at the top of the list of whichever subject and they would always not say pressure but it’s kind of a subtle pressure they put on me that they wanna, they wanna see me at the top again and again like at least top three, yeah.

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Well like i mentioned my goals in life is to do well in my studies so i i think that what i need to do to achieve those goals is to you know spend more time on my studies

naturally im a person that like you know don't really spend too much time studying every day like i study when i need to i know it's quite bad like i study when when i'm closer to an exam date like maybe 1 week before

i need to change that habit in order to achieve my goal of like getting good points for my O levels. So i'm planning to start my revision much earlier, a few months earlier perhaps so that you know it wouldn't be really stressful because there are much more topics to cram

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And okay maybe I said three goals right but another one would be being clear of my future – of what I want to do. I think that is my goal of trying to have a clarity in my direction.

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My goal is to ensure that [pause] whatever I am doing is keeping myself mentally healthy.

So, for example, if I want to get good grades, I need to do it in a way that I know it won’t “burn” myself out quickly, or that I am able to do it in the long run.

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Like I want to do something that is not money related because when you involve money, that’s when serious things happen like mostly bad things will happen.

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Through my semesters I really have little, like few hours of sleep and I think that is really unhealthy.

# data[].attributes.body
Some of the struggles that I face is having a good sleep schedule, I would always sleep at irregular times, sometimes at 12 sometimes at 3 and it can really affects my energy level the next day.

# data[].attributes.body
I was going home, and I was on the bus, and I, don’t remember, like I don’t remember falling asleep, but at some point, I fell asleep without myself knowing. o I would just like unknowingly fall asleep and like suddenly wake up, you know. Which is like quite dangerous ah

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I would feel disappointed if I couldn’t meet my own expectations, I don’t really care about what others expect of me but it would lower my self-esteem and confidence if I always fail to meet my own.

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it is especially frustrating when you hard work for something and it doesn’t pay off.

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I need to make sure that I meet the expectations. There is no way that I cannot meet the expectations.

Because if I don’t right, I feel that [pause] it’s just that, I would just feel disappointed because there is something that I can do about it.

# data[].attributes.body
Like, especially during the exam period. Umm, my relationship with all of my family members had definitely drifted apart.

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I don’t feel missed out, everyone got their own life. I might feel sad if I never get invited though however, they could’ve had a reason, like maybe last time already plan before or maybe they think I not free.

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Twitter or Reddit community where people can rant and support each other. (with community guidelines in place)

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Create an app where it enables the user to input their CAs deadlines and the free time they have or any other plans they have, then the app can create a timetable to cater to their needs

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A small machine/device which helps to alert users when they have gone past their bedtime. E.g. User sets bedtime at 11pm, is user is not asleep by then there will be an alert.

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Bot can reschedule and block messages during a period of time so that its users can have a better work-life separation. (lessen the expectation that others have on them to reply, etc.)

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An app which is connected to your schools timetable to help regulate work schedules for u

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App which allows user to key in their schedule/ important dates.

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Create a to-do list to list down things that they consider important and urgent, important but not urgent, not important but urgent, and not important and not urgent stuffs to help them manage their time so they they know which task to prioritize first

# data[].attributes.body
An app or bot that acts as a sort of diary for users to rant and unload their emotions. users can have the option to delete their entry immediately after so that the diary works as a sort of stress reliever or they can choose to save it and share it with someone who may be able to offer them some help.

# data[].attributes.body
Organize a Planning Workshop. E.g. Provide users with planners and teach them how to effectively plan out their day/week.

Have youth conduct the workshop and use fun materials (markers/highlighters)

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An alarm clock which can be programmed to the individual to remind the user to have a nap or some sleep at an allocated time to enable them to have more sleep

# data[].attributes.body
a bot or app that can offer motivational quotes or comforting messages to its users to offer them some solace especially after a long and hard day

# data[].attributes.body
have a stress ball where they can write down what is stressing them out and maybe make the stress ball out of a nice material so they can squeeze it and may comfort them in stressful situations

# data[].attributes.body
Instagram account run by youth/influencers, to encourage users to take care of themselves. E.g. each week is a different theme (Sleep/time-management)

# data[].attributes.body
Create a nap device that allows them to take a power nap, preventing them from oversleep so that they will still have sufficient sleep and enough strength to do their work

# data[].attributes.body
An app which gives small random task. these task can be fun activities or challenges so this can encourage to take some time out of their day and do something different and relax

# data[].attributes.body
A cafe where people can go to do their work but they will get reminders to step out to take a break after a period of time. They can then take a, e.g., 20 mins break to play some games with their friends or the other patrons at the cafe or participate in some of the other activities offered by the cafe. (i.e. games, food, beverages, rant corners, stress rooms (where they can break stuff), etc.)

# data[].attributes.body
Organize a workshop during holidays to teach users about self-care.

# data[].attributes.body
Create an app that can award the user and help them relieve stress, for example giving them promotion codes

# data[].attributes.body
Have a platform where u can talk to an avatar on your phone just to vent out the stresses you have.