Many things in life can cause stress. It might be finances, health, relationship problems, lack of work or too much of it, or all kinds of other issues, big and small, that means we are not feeling our best. Some stress is fine – it can even be beneficial as it keeps us alert and wary of danger – but too much can cause all kinds of health problems, both physical and mental. Therefore, it is essential we take time to de-stress when we need to. This isn’t always an easy task, but here are some ways it can be done.
Find The Cause
If you are stressed, there must be something that is causing it. It is often useful to find the cause of your stress and then work on eliminating it or reducing it, depending on what it is. Once you remove the stress or stressful situation from your life, you will immediately feel less concerned about it.
If, for example, you are having financial problems and have a lot of debt, this can easily be a cause of stress. If it is, look at the debt and plan how to pay it back within a set timeframe. You might even be able to speed up the process when you start to delve deeper into what you can do. Simply having a plan in place can be enough to eliminate some stress, and when that plan starts to work, you will feel even better.
Perhaps it is a work situation that is causing stress. You will need to asses what is happening and determine what it is about your work that is the problem. When you know that, you can do something about it. Even if it means finding a new job, it is better than becoming seriously unwell.
Time Block
When you feel overwhelmed because you have a lot to do, you can also feel stressed. Ironically, this then means that you will be less productive, and you’ll end up with having even more to do. Time blocking is a practice that many people find useful. It involves allocating a set amount of time to each task that you have to do. It will depend on the urgency and complexity of the task as to how much time you give to it, but having a finish time to focus on can often be helpful.
You could spend:
- 30 minutes answering emails
- One hour making sales calls
- One hour creating a presentation
- 30 minutes prepping dinner
Give everything in your day a set time slot and work to that. You’ll feel a lot more accomplished, and you’ll find that more gets done. Plus, your stress levels will reduce, because you’re not worrying about how much there is to do.
De-Clutter
You may not realize it, but living or working in a space full of clutter is stressful. So, consider reducing the amount of ‘things’ that are around you. If you de-clutter and throw out what isn’t required or move it to a different room where it is more suited you will find that your mind is much clearer and you are more able to concentrate. It’s amazing just how much your environment affects your mind and even your body.
De-cluttering doesn’t have to take a lot of time. Block out some time for it as mentioned above, and work on one room at a time. If you’re de-cluttering your office, then make sure it is well-organized once you are done so that you can easily find everything you need. This will help you to keep things tidy once you have finished.
Get Some Fresh Air
When you are feeling stressed and suffering from the symptoms associated with it, breathing in the fresh air outside can help hugely. Going for a walk is even better. This will give you the time you need away from work or home or whatever and wherever it is that is causing you a lot of stress, and you will have the time to think about what is going on. When you are caught up in the middle of everything it is hard to do this. You might not come up with the ideal solution, but you will feel more able to deal with the problems you are facing.
When you are outside your mood will improve, and you will feel a lot more positive, and this will help reduce your stress levels too. Even if you step outside at lunchtime for a few minutes, this is often enough to help you.