Sounds like a great combination Jeannine! I'm glad you brought up the part about drinking water. It's so important to stay hydrated and so easy to forget.
Making time for exercise, and sharing with friends always rejuvenates me. It is easy to think to eliminate these activities, as they don't help my to-do list get shorter, but they do help me to generate energy and joy, which makes me more effective all around!
Sometimes it's helpful to vent but other times it's far better to just get the job done to your point Richard. Some people need to spend less time talking and more time doing.
Sounds like a great plan Jennifer. But taking on three new coping mechanisms can be tough - especially during the holiday season. I might recommend starting with one and working your way up.
I do breathing exercises, walk three times a week, and drink plenty of water to keep hydrated.... to deal with my stress load.
Yes, I do love to do yoga with my class before we start doing body work. It seem to relax them and prepare them for massages and the day goes alot smoother.
Roseann
Moving forward the way I would cope with stress in the future will be to share with fellow instructors and exercise to reduce stress. Last, planning with a to-do list to keep organize while grading assignments.
Jennifer
In order to cope with stress, the first thing that must be done is to identify what causes stress. One of the best ways I deal with stress is to “just do the jobâ€. When people complain about a task that must be done, the only thing that happens is that it takes longer to do the job, plus they are stressed out more from complaining about it. “Just do the jobâ€!
It's true Joseph. It's a lot easier than we sometimes make it out to be. You've just got to put one toe in and the rest is easy.
Sounds like you have some great coping mechanisms Roseann! Yoga, meditation and breathing are all low impact and high value stress reducing activities. They are also great because you can do them almost anywhere.
It's true that sometimes the 'devil you know is better than the one you don't know.' That being said, I think there's something to not covering to poor performers. Letting their lack of efforts bubble to the surface can help open up the possibility of finding better replacements.
Love the idea of thinking through 'proactive responses' James. What a great idea. It's always good to be prepared for anything and everything that comes our way.
This is a really important point Don. If we know we are at capacity with the tasks we've taken on, we've got to push back when people bring us new tasks to complete. While we may disappoint those people in the short term, they are happier with us in the long term.
The ideas shown in this module/lesson make it clear that reducing stress does not have to be stressful at all. Simple changes and approaches can provide relief from stress. The first step is to accept stress and list it, then you can face how to eliminate or reduce it and finally use some of the wonderful techniques in this lesson to reduce it on a daily basis. Little steps give big results...This knowledge along with recongnizing and sharing with others can help reduce stress further....Thanks for the stress reducing lesson.
I think this is important to consider: sometimes stress may be brought on by taking on too much, biting off too much, so the idea of eliminating or reducing stress can become another stressor if one doesn't balance it in moderation.
Making a list of stressors is essential, and then identifying which stressors can be eliminated and which can be reduced. I think it's important to pick one stressor to work on eliminating or reducing, and then move on to another stressor when that stressor has been dealt with. Managing stress through healthy habits and choices is also a great idea.
I try to mentally run through different issues of stress that I might/will encounter, and mentally formulate a proactive course of action. Another tool I use is to listen to complaints,concerns or questions very carefully and rephrase what has been said, this provides me a chance to be less stressed when I provide an answer or assistance to a student.
Maybe i'll find a career that's less stressful. Every time i find a way to minimize my stress and stremline my responsibilities at work i get more responsibilities thrusted upon me. I seem to be picking up the slack for lazy people who either don't want to do their job or have poor organizational skills. I think in the future I won't cover for them and hopefully they'll no longer be employed. My only fear is that their potential replacement may be worse.
I am curious how far or how long? Different times?
Scott
This is awesome ! What a great break and stress reliever!
scott
