You have previously evaluated your stressors and categorized them into ones that you can eliminate, reduce, or cope with.
Eliminating Category
Begin evaluating the stressors you feel you can rid yourself of. While you are looking over your list, take a deep breath. This should help you feel better and ready to begin work on your list.
- If your eliminating list is short, maybe you could add some items from your other lists.
- If you have decided you can cope with your demanding boss, you may be able to eliminate that stress by beginning a job search.
- If you don’t get enough sleep because of a loud neighborhood, try earplugs. If this doesn’t work for you, it may be time to look for a new home.
As you evaluate the stressors you can eliminate, be creative. Remember you are important and if you feel strongly about something, tackle it. You need to weigh the pros and cons of the stressors as they related to your well-being.
Reduction Category
The reduction category is similar to the eliminate category in the fact that they are stressors that get to you. Even though you won’t eliminate these like you did the other stressors, you can make the stress more manageable.
Ways to reduce stressors:
Buy an organizer
If you are stressed by not having enough time to do everything you need to, it can be overwhelming. Purchasing some kind of organizer such as an appointment calendar, electronic organizer, or small date book, will relieve your stress of having to always remember your schedule. This can make you feel as if you have more control over your day.
Make a list
Getting your day organized is just the beginning. Making a list can rid your mind of tasks and reminders that are bogging you down. You will no longer stress that you will forget something. Putting things down on paper is a good way to relieve your mind from worries.
After you make your list, the next step is to prioritize it. For tasks that seem too large to handle, break them down into smaller steps that can be more easily accomplished.
Some people prefer to have two lists. One list is for short term tasks that need attention in the next day or week, while another list is for longer term tasks. The long-term list should include things you need to accomplish over a month or year. These longer term tasks could include future purchases, car maintenance, or home improvement. Putting it on the list gives a task priority instead of being something to worry about.
Learn to Negotiate
Often stressors that can’t be eliminated can be reduced through compromise. If your boss continually expects you to work late, negotiate to work late only on certain nights. If you have a loud neighbor, negotiate a quiet time with him. By reducing these stressors, you reduce the power they have over you.
Organize Yourself
Now that you are keeping track of your schedule and making lists, plan your day around them. Often you can combine tasks, or put them off until after work or the weekend when you have more time to dedicate to them. Plan your errands strategically. If the library is on the way to the dry cleaners, return your books and drop off your laundry in one trip. You can also multitask.
If you are able to organize yourself in an efficient manner, you will relieve stress have time to relax.
Reprioritize
If you are feeling overwhelmed, stop and re-evaluate your to do list. Rank each item on the list in order of priority. Work through the most important things first. If the list is too long, reassign lesser priority tasks to the next day. If you get through the urgent items, the others can wait.
Don’t Demand Perfection of Yourself
The desire to be perfect is an added stress. Everything doesn’t have to be perfect. Let go a little by following these tips”
Evaluate Importance
Does your house really have to be spotless, or can a few things be out of place? Imagine the worst thing that could happen such as your mother-in-law unexpectedly visiting and assuming you are a poor housekeeper.
There are certain times when perfection is required. Often times, we are just trying to live up to impossible expectations. Tell yourself the world will go on if your house is a little cluttered. By easing up on yourself, you can relieve stress.
Let Others Help
Delegation is not a bad thing. If you don’t learn to delegate, you can be weighed down with too much to do.
Imagine this time what the worst thing that could happen if you gave a task to someone who didn’t follow through. Then imagine the person completing the task, but not as perfectly as you would.
The most important thing in delegating is to be clear in your instructions and what you expect. It is important to have people you trust to delegate tasks to.
Try Imperfection
You don’t need to blow a work project, but just let things go if they can. Leave the dishes in the sink to do the next day if you are too tired. Reschedule an appointment that is hard to get to. You may end up more productive in the long run because you gave yourself time to relax.
Take Time for Yourself
Many times when you are stressed you are taking more time meeting other people’s expectations and needs than dealing with your own. Always schedule time for yourself each day and you will find you aren’t so stress. Some ideas to take time for you include:
Take your lunch break
Take time to get away from the office during the middle of the day. If you can, go for a walk, take deep breaths and relax. This break will definitely rejuvenate you!
Leave unscheduled time
Don’t schedule every hour of your day. Each day try to leave at least an hour of open time. On weekends leave at least a couple hours open. You deserve this time to yourself. Don’t use your unscheduled time to do anything but relax. Watch television, read a book, soak in a tub, whatever it takes to relax.
Hit the sack early
If you’re still running hard at the end of the day, just pretend it is over. Go to bed and relax. You can start anew tomorrow.
Write it down
Getting your feelings on paper is a great way to vent. Here are some tips to starting a stress journal:
- Use a book that doesn’t date the pages for you. You may feel guilty if you miss a day. A simple school notebook will work.
- Breathe deeply before you start writing. Close your eyes and think about the feelings you want to convey. Open your eyes and start writing.
- Write about your day. Explain the events that happened that made you feel the way you are. Doing this may help you discover why you are stressed.
- Write yourself words of support. Pretend you are writing to a good friend who needs to be encouraged. Give yourself advice
- Add pictures. If you have a hard time expressing yourself in worlds, draw how you feel.
- If you have writer’s block, just write whatever comes to your mind. Eventually the words will flow. Write without using punctuation or separating one thought from another. Just write where your mind takes you. When you have no more thoughts to write, read back over what you write.
- Write a new ending. If you faced a particularly trying experience, write down exactly what happened. Then, rewrite your experience so that it happens the way you wanted it to.
- Don’t bog yourself down. If writing your experiences down begins to be stressful, try something different. Don’t let it become a chore you hate.
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