Recently, I wrote about being stressed out and how I noticed it was starting to impact my health. Well, it’s funny, because since I wrote that, things have been much better. Let me tell you about what I did, and maybe it can help you (and help me remember 🙂 ).
First, I spent a couple mornings of my dog walks just thinking about the items that were causing me stress. Once I could actually identify what I was stressed about, then I could make a plan of action to help minimize it. For me, it came down to my Mom’s move, finances and my overwhelming to-do list.
Next, now that I had some clues, I could start coming up with a plan to relieve the stress. The to-do list. I took a quick pass and removed out things that I really didn’t need on the list. But, that wasn’t many things. I was able to postpone out some other things… still not a huge impact. What really made the difference was effectively using my time. I think I wrote about this a while ago, but I needed to go back to planning out my day. I would do it roughly 1/2 to 1 hour increments. The funny thing is that I would also schedule down time. Work 2 hours, take a 30 minute break to either do nothing, or do something I find relaxing/refreshing. The crazy part is that I got more done with the breaks than I did without them. I shouldn’t say crazy because it makes perfect sense. When I’m stressed out I spend all this energy bouncing from one thing the next, I’m un-focused and run myself ragged. All the while making things even worse. Draining me further, so I was even less productive while working. Just giving myself 10-30 minutes a few times a day made a world of difference. Give it a try if you can.
Finances are always a hot button for me and this goes back to child hood. Well, the best thing for me to do was to stop and review my budgets and take a look at all of my accounts. By doing the simple exercise of looking at how much I need each month, then comparing that to how much I have in liquid savings, plus looking at how much of the money I spend is really savings in one form or another, I was able to objectively convince myself that I had nothing to worry about. Even with upcoming expenses, I could see my projected invoices and begin to set my mind at ease. I really was ok, but I guess i had to prove it to my emotional side 🙂
Mom’s move was even easier. When I look at it, the bulk of the expenses are already paid for. In 2 weeks, the move will all be over, including the crazy long drive with Mom and her two cats. I also have a baseball game with friends to look forward to after I get back, so I’ll be able to have a relaxing night off after a crazy week.
I found myself today knocking off most items on my list, and feeling very little stress. I need to do this exercise more often so I can avoid getting run down. Hope you might be able to steal some wisdom from this.
Thanks for reading,
As always, thanks for reading and don't forget to check out our SAP Service Management Products at my other company JaveLLin Solutions,Mike