Stress-Free Stress Management
Checklist
Looking to improve your stress
levels? Ironically, this can end up being stressful in itself! Knowing you have
a problem with stress is of course the first step towards getting better but it
also means you now know you have a problem… and it means you have a long road
stretched out in front of you to ‘recovery’.
If only there were a
stress-free way to manage stress… like a checklist for instance!
Do You Have a Stress
Addiction?
The first point of order is to
consider the possibility that you may have a stress addiction. Unlikely though
it may sound, stress addictions are common as we find ourselves unable to pull
away from work and other high intensity activities.
* If you ‘thrive under
pressure’ and if you can never take time off, you may well have a stress
addiction.
* If you feel bored and
fidgety when you’re unwinding, you may have a stress addiction
* If your friends and family
complain that they never get to see you, this is a sign of a stress addiction
* If you feel constantly
‘wired’ then you may have a stress addiction.
The first step to overcoming
stress then is to recognize that you may feel it’s difficult to change these
habits: but you must in order to gain freedom from stress.
Identifying Your Stressors
A good place to start when
tackling stress is to look at your stressors. Stressors are things that cause
stress and these can include things like work and debt. At the same time
though, they can also include slightly smaller things in many cases. Common
stressors include…
- Impending deadlines
- Calls you need to make and
don’t have time for
- Angry bosses
- Awkward colleagues
- Friends or partners who are
angry with you
- Arguments
- The commute to work
- Untidy homes
- Health problems
- Inability to pay bills/debt
What you’ll notice is that
some of these things are rather small and easy while others are big and
abstract. A good place to start is by dealing with the smaller problems that
you can tackle more easily. You might also be able to break down bigger
problems into smaller issues. For instance ‘work’ can actually mean:
- Awkward colleagues
- Bad bosses
- Uncomfortable working
environments
- Unpleasant commute
- Painful working hours
- Large workloads
- Impending deadlines
So even if you can’t change
your job, you may be able to deal with some of these specifics. Where will you
start?
Good Habits
A lot of these problems
wouldn’t occur if you were to use good stress/time management habits. Here are
some good examples:
* Little and often – instead
of letting your dishes pile up, try tackling them sooner so that they never
build up to that level.
* The pomodoro technique – are
you prone to procrastination? Get around this tendency by using the pomorodo
technique: segregating your working hours into periods of work and rest using a
timer.
* The 80/20 law – if you’re
self-employed, you might find that 80% of your work comes from 20% of your
clients. Cut the rest.
* Close open loops – don’t let
things continue to stress you out over the long term. If you have a call to
make, make it sooner and ‘close the loop’.
Lifestyle Changes
You should also apply these
lifestyle changes to make stress easier to cope with:
1. Make sure you sleep well by
going to bed at a similar time every day, by having 30 minutes to calm down
with a book and by relaxing into bed
2. Make sure you give yourself
breaks and holidays occasionally! No one should work 365 days a year!
3. Exercise – exercise
improves stress and energy in numerous ways.
4. Eat healthily
5. Wake up with a daylight
lamp, not a blaring alarm!
Dealing With Acute Stress
Finally, try to learn to deal
with acute stress. Some things that can help here include:
* Breathing more slowly which
will activate the parasympathetic nervous system
* Learning mindfulness and
cognitive behavioral therapy
* Reminding yourself of why
you shouldn’t be stressed
* Removing yourself from the
situation
There you have it: you now have all the tools and
know-how to begin your move towards a stress-free life!
Three Common Causes of Stress in Your Life and How to
Deal With Them
One way to tackle stress is to improve your health, your
energy levels and your mood. By doing these things, you can help yourself to
become more resilient and hardy to stress and you can avoid letting the smaller
things bog you down.
But that’s a fairly abstract way to combat anxiety that
doesn’t always have an immediate effect.
The other route to take then is to look at the
specific causes of stress in your life – the stressors – and to remove them.
Some of these will be big and some of them will be small, but all of them
contribute to raising blood pressure and making us feel a little less calm and
relaxed.
The problem is, many of us can’t put our fingers on
exactly what it is that is causing us stress and even when we do, it’s not
always obvious how we can deal with the problems.
Read on then and we will look at some of the most common
causes of stress and at what you can do to deal with them once and for all…
The Commute
Did you know that the only ‘universal fear’ is things
heading towards you? Thus, walking to work and having hundreds of people moving
the other way down the street is pretty much a recipe for stress – especially
if you’re running late or if you have a long way to travel.
One solution then is to avoid the rush hour. You can do
this by speaking with your employer and asking them to give you more flexible
working hours: perhaps you could work 8am-4pm for instance instead of 9am-5pm?
Alternatively, look at other ways of getting in, like cycling. Or just arrive a
little early!
‘Open Loops’
Many of us have lots of niggling jobs and stresses in the
back of our minds that contribute to our stress. For instance, you might need
to call your relative. Or maybe you have a bill to pay. These are what are
known as ‘open loops’ and they can drain us of energy, focus and positivity.
The solution is to deal with each of them as soon as possible rather than
letting them drag on.
Money
Money is a huge stress for many of us and can cause many
a sleepless night.
The solution? Creating a budget. Budgets show us how much
we’re losing and where and allow us to formulate a plan to get back on
top. What you will often find is that simply cancelling some of your recurring
bills and changing your lifestyle a little can make a big difference and help
you to get back in the black.
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