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Top 4 Tips for Managing Stress

We all experience stress in our lives at some point or another, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Stress is actually your body’s natural response to some kind of demand, whether good or bad. This response is to help you survive a dangerous situation or realize that you need to change something in your current environment.

Short-term stress can be very useful, but long-term (chronic) stress can seriously affect your mental and physical health, your relationships, and your productivity. This is why the most successful people have stress management strategies and techniques to stop stress from controlling their lives.

To help you take more control over your well being and productivity, here are four of our favorite stress management tips.

1. Control your environment.

July_stress management_450x260The first step to managing your stress is figuring out what is causing it. Is your workload seemingly too heavy? Are you putting unreasonable pressure on yourself at work? Do you find yourself getting anxious or uncomfortable discussing certain topics? Are you too distracted by what’s going on at home to get your tasks done at work—or vice-versa?

Once you’ve identified your triggers, it’s time to figure out how to eliminate or lessen them if possible. A positive work environment is essential to your well being, and it’s up to you to figure out how to create that environment for yourself. Maybe you invest in noise-cancelling headphones to help you concentrate. Maybe you accept that you can only get so much work done in one day and just do the best you can. Maybe you excuse yourself from conversations about topics you don’t enjoy.

2. Take care of yourself.

Many successful people will agree that this is one of the most important stress management strategies. Just as your stress levels can affect your physical and mental health, your health can affect your stress levels. Instead of letting your stress levels rise and health deteriorate, you need to take time each day to take care of yourself.

Make sure you’re getting enough sleep so that your body and mind can rest and recover from the day’s events. Limit your caffeine and alcohol intake, and never use these substances to try to deal with stress; you’ll only end up hurting yourself more. Exercise regularly, but make sure you’re choosing activities you actually enjoy. Don’t like running? You don’t need to! Try yoga, lifting weights, dancing, bike riding, or swimming.

Most importantly, take time to breathe, relax, and have fun. Do something that you enjoy every single day. Whether you like reading books, taking in the sunset from your front porch, or chatting about reality TV with your friends, you’ll be doing wonders for your well being.

3. Focus on one thing at a time.

Multitasking is a good skill to have, but it doesn’t work as well for everyone. Some people just need to be able to focus all of their energy on one task to produce their best work, and that is okay. To help yourself focus on one item at a time, try planning out your schedule for the day the night before. You’ll know exactly what needs to get done during any given time, so you won’t have to worry about your to-do list all day long.

4. Stay positive!

We know, we know—it’s easier said than done. Even if you don’t consider yourself to be an optimist, it’s important to make an effort to stay positive each day. Take a moment to be grateful for what you do have and all of the hard work you do each day. Try to turn negative events or feelings into learning opportunities. And learn when to just accept and let go of things you cannot change.

Need some more help with stress management? We use stress mapping techniques to track and analyze your body’s stress responses. From there, we can help you lessen the amount of stress in your daily life. Click below to learn more about stress management and contact us with any questions.

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