Don’t stress! We all want to reduce stress, the ongoing daily grind can get to us all, and if it goes on too long we end up sick. Whilst sorting through my “junk cupboard” I came across two tatty pieces of paper with the following tips on how to reduce daily stress.
Surprisingly little has changed over the years since these tips were printed ( except of course where technology is concerned ) After reading through them I can immediately see where I can tweak my time to reduce daily stress.
Read These 20 Great Tips to Reduce Daily Stress (and implement at least 3)
- Get up 15 minutes earlier in the morning. The inevitable morning chaos will be less stressful especially if you have children.
- Prepare for the morning the evening before. Know what you’re going to wear, make lunches etc.
- Make duplicates of all your keys. Hide or bury a house key in the garden.
- Practice preventative maintenance. Your car, appliances, home and relationships will be less likely to break down/fall apart “at the worst possible moment”
- Procrastination is stressful. Whatever you want to do tomorrow do today, whatever you want to do today do now.
- Get up and stretch periodically if your job requires you to sit for extended periods.
- Turn “needs” into preferences. Our basic physical needs are food water and keeping warm. Everything else is a preference, don’t get attached to preferences.
- Make friends with no worriers. Nothing can get you into the habit of worrying faster than associating with chronic worrywarts.
- Ask questions. Taking a few moments to repeat back directions – what someone expects of you etc. can save hours. (The old saying “the hurrieder I go, the behinder I get” idea)
- Pollyanna Power! For every one thing that goes wrong, there are probably 10, 50 or more blessings. Count them!
- Relax – the world will not end if the grass doesn’t get mowed, or the ironing done this weekend.
- Do something for someone else.
- Learn to delegate responsibility to capable others.
- If an especially unpleasant job faces you, do it early in the day and get it over with. Then the rest of your day is stress free.
- Become more flexible. Some things are worth not doing perfectly and some issues are appropriate to compromise on.
- Eliminate destructive self-talk “I’m to old, I’m to fat” etc.
- Have a forgiving view of events and people. Accept the fact that we live in an imperfect world.
- Do one thing at a time. When you are with someone, be with that person and with no one else. When you are busy with a project, concentrate on doing that project and forget about everything else you have to do.
- Every day do something you really enjoy.
- Simplify, simplify, simplify.
These tips are golden oldies that stand the test of time. Just reading over them again makes me realize how easy it is to get het up over silly mundane issues. So next time some idiot cuts you off on the road —- take a deep breath and smile ( another way to reduce daily stress)