Stress Management

We constantly worry about things in life. Whether we’re going to get to where we are going on time; if we picked the right gift; if we made the right choice; did we pack everything we’ll need? Will this project turn out right? etc etc. Where does this worry come from? 

Worry comes from the unknown – and sometimes fear of that unknown. It can be a good thing to be stressed for some people. Those people say they do their best work under pressure. However, for most people, that just isn’t true. First of all, we already learned that our emotions impact our physical body and stress is one that definitely impacts our body negatively in heart conditions (due to increase blood pressure), lack of appetite or increased appetite, and loss of sleep.

The coping skills in the last post will help you to decrease that worry – and anxiety is one emotion that is best soothed with rhythm (think about when people tap their feet or shake their leg – out bodies naturally want that soothing motion!) so especially focus on music, exercising, stress ball, or chewing gum. But be creative for yourself and don’t limit yourself to just those ideas.

There are some other ways to deal with stress and worry.

-          Prioritize tasks: Make yourself a to-do list. Schedule 5-10 minutes at the end of your day before leaving work to make your to-do list for the next day. Think about how much time it will take to do each task. Schedule that time in. This way, you aren’t thinking about it all night when at home with friends and family. Ask yourself which tasks absolutely have to be done that day and do them first. Any other ones can be scheduled in the following day.

-          Make bigger tasks into smaller steps: When we accomplish something, we get a rush – a rush of adrenaline, a rush of satisfaction. This ‘rush’ helps us to feel good and want to continue. It can give you an added boost to complete the rest of your to-do list. This is why it might be a great idea to take some of those bigger tasks and break them down. For example, instead of having a broad ‘clean the kitchen.’ You can break it into:

o   Wipe off the table

o   Wash the dishes

o   Clean the stove

o   Wipe counters

o   Sweep

o   Mop

This can make it feel like you are actually accomplishing what is on your list (which you are!). Also, you might be able to fit the smaller tasks into more manageable blocks of time. Say you know a work project is going to take you 10 hours. Who wants to sit down and work straight through 10 hours on one project? Instead, you can break it into smaller tasks and break up the time you are spending on it at one time. Don’t become overwhelmed by how much longer your list looks – you will be getting through it a lot more quickly!

-          Schedule breaks: No one’s brain can be work, work, work all day or study, study, study all night. You have to give your brain time to rest. It’s usually recommended to take a 15 minute break for every 2 hours or 8-10 minutes every hour. Do something non-work related during that time. If you tend to get side-tracked easily, set an alarm on your phone or a kitchen timer and when that goes off, you get back to work or studying.

-          Worry time: If you find yourself constantly worrying throughout the day and having that anxiety, schedule yourself worry time. This is 10-20 minutes that you put in your day that you allow yourself to worry. No other time. If you catch yourself worrying at another time, you tell yourself that you will worry about it at worry time and continue with what you are doing. Sounds weird, but try it!

-          Focus on what you can control: Stop worry about things that you have no control over. It’s a waste of time. Why? Because nothing you do will change the outcome. Worried that it might rain at your child’s outdoor party? You can’t control that. Just prepare as much as possible – everyone will still have fun!