We hear it all the time and probably say it as well: “I am so stressed!”
Stress comes in many forms and from many places. It is a part of life that we cannot always avoid or control. Sometimes what we label as stress is really caused by being too busy to take time for ourselves.
The following are some time management tricks to help control or eliminate some of the stressors in your life.
Cut the clutter.
Don’t let a dozen little stressors pile up into one big stressful situation when you can eliminate some of them individually. Whether you start with cleaning out one shelf of one closet or turning off one Twitter feed, eliminating anything from your life that is unnecessarily distracting can greatly reduce the daily stress that comes pouring in and steals your peace of mind.
By simply removing one source of anxiety that you don’t need, you can reduce the levels of stress in your life. Reality TV, social media, water cooler gossip… all of these things can add stress to our day without us even realizing it.
Few of us have any space for extra stress. And even if we do, who wants it?
Reduce interruptions.
We can’t stop the phone from ringing or the dog from needing to go outside or traffic lights from turning red. But there are some interruptions we can control.
Try to delegate two blocks of the workday to deal with email instead of being interrupted every time a new message appears in your inbox. Give yourself permission to end a conversation when its purpose has been met rather than chewing the fat for an additional 15 minutes. Our stress levels build because we know we need to be doing something more productive.
Giving ourselves just a few minutes back every day can be incredibly empowering, and reduce the hour by hour stress that builds as we feel the day getting away from us.
Create a safe, stress-free zone.
A comfortable chair for reading in a sunny corner or a patch of grass in your backyard can be an amazing place to relax and breathe. Take this space over and make it your own. Decorate with a meaningful saying or a photograph of a time and place that you were especially happy. Anything that brings you peace will help to mark the boundaries of your space as a stress-free zone.
Give yourself permission to go there when you need some peace and quiet. Don’t think of this as a time waster. Far more time is wasted trying to be productive while bogged down by stress than is lost by a few minutes in your safe, stress free-zone. Don’t take your cell phone there. Don’t read emails. Don’t devalue this space with anything that stops you from being calm.
When you sit in your space, be fully aware of the sights and sounds and smells. Capture it and hold it in your memory and pretty soon you will be able to picture yourself there to relax when you cannot physically get there.
Learn to better manage your response to stress.
Some stressors are unavoidable but that doesn’t mean you have to let them bother you. The pain associated with illness or chronic health conditions cannot be reduced by wishing them away. But you can teach yourself to respond to some things better than others.
If you are worried or concerned about a situation ask for help to better cope with it. If you are struggling with thoughts that aren’t conducive to peaceful living seek alternative methods for dealing with them like meditation or talking to someone. If you live with daily pain due to a health condition, be open and honest with your physician to find the best methods for dealing with it. Whatever you do with the things you cannot control, don’t suffer alone in silence. This only adds to your stress levels.
Just using a few of these tips to better manage time and stress can lower your blood pressure, reduce your anxiety, and give you a sense of well-being. And we all can use a lot more of that.
Some people develop skills for managing stress by working with a coach or therapist. If you need to talk to someone about controlling the stress in your life, AbleTo can help.
Who is AbleTo?
AbleTo helps people overcome the stress, anxiety, and feeling of overwhelm that can prevent quality sleep and can lead to depression or other mental health issues. We deliver programs based on your unique circumstances and needs. We make it easy and convenient. All therapy and coaching sessions are available from the comfort, privacy and convenience of your own home at the time, day or night, that works best for your schedule. Through phone or video chat, we connect you with our Care Team so that you can get the support to help you feel better.
