To help relax, take deep breaths, pray or meditate. Relaxation lowers blood pressure, respiration, releases muscle tension and eases emotional strains.
Keeping a sense of humor during difficult situations is an effective mechanism for stress management. Laughing releases the tension of pent-up feelings and helps you keep your perspective.
Try to find exciting, challenging and satisfying forms of exercise that are convenient. Brisk walking and swimming are excellent choices providing a great cardiovascular workout. Avoid vigorous training regimens that will take more time and commitment than you can afford, as half of those who start such a routine will drop out within one year.
Leave work on time and try not to bring work home. Keeping a separation between your professional and private life is essential to managing stress. If you must work beyond your regular hours, try to go to the office early when the phones are quiet and you are fresh from a good night’s sleep. People tend to be more productive and focused in the morning than the evening.
Lower demands you put on yourself. Make realistic goals that give you the opportunity to succeed. Unattainable goals usually lead to feelings of failure even when you have had a productive day. Make a list of things to do for the following day. Re-list the items you don’t get to because details you think you will remember the next day, are often forgotten.
Take care of taxing tasks in the morning to get them out of the way. Large or tedious projects, that you schedule for the afternoon will often get put off due to the events of the day.
Look at large projects as a series of steps to complete one by one. Don’t worry about the enormity of a project. Section jobs into manageable portions and take them on individually. Organization is the key to successful project completion.
7 Ways to Chase Away Stress