Stress is part of life for everyone. There is no way to completely avoid it. The best we can do is learn to how to avoid what we can and to manage all the rest of it. Here are some tips on how you can better manage your stress levels.
- Keep a schedule. Are you always late to appointments? Having trouble getting assignments done on time? Not getting enough sleep? Try starting a schedule. Start by writing down everything you do in a day. Note the time you started, ended and how long it took you to complete. Jot down any distractions that occurred while doing something. Now go back and see if there are things you could have done differently. Were you late for work? Schedule yourself an earlier wake up time. Didn’t get an assignment done on time? Pencil the time needed to finish a task into your schedule. Didn’t get enough sleep last night? Schedule the time you go to bed at night a little earlier. Most importantly….stick to the schedule as best as you can. Remember that sometimes things happen and the schedule may need a little arranging but it’s nothing to stress about.
- Put it on hold. Many times we spend all day trying to resolve a situation and end up very stressed. If it is something that does not need immediate attention, put it on hold. Set it aside and come back to it later or better yet even tomorrow. Quite often the solution will come to use quicker when we put it on hold for a while.
- Learn to say NO. You agreed to watch your sister’s kids. You volunteered to bake 5 dozen cookies for your son’s bake sale. You told the boss you would work late and on the weekend. You end up feeling like everyone wants something from you. You spread yourself too thin and can’t keep up with it all. Before you say yes, stop, take a deep breathe and think to yourself, “do I really have time to do this?” or “do I really want to do this for this person?” If the answer to yourself is NO, then open your mouth and say NO to the person asking you. You will be less stressed and they will find someone else to do what they were asking you to do.
- Keep things simple. Don’t make things more complicated than they are. There is no point in turning something simple into a major stressor. So just keep things simple.
