Not good to keep everything inside. Talk to a close friend or relitive about my issues.
That's a great strategy Sheri! Daily walks are a big help and encourage you to breath, exercise and clear your mind.
I cope with my stress by taking daily walks. It helps me to wind down and gather my thoughts.
Yes, getting outside and closer to nature really can make all the difference Charles. Sounds like you and your family have a great approach to reducing stress together.
Some of the best methods I have found that work are long hikes or kayaking with the family. Atleast 2 to 3 hours watching wildlife with the kids brings new presepctive to all the "other" things in my life. And early morning walks with my wife help both of us.
Sounds like a great plan Craig. Yes sleep, stretching and breathing exercises are all great ways to cope with stress.
I think exercising and finding a "kindred soul" are both good ways to cope with workplace stress. Both of these methods are healthy and may benefit me in other ways, such as exercising leading to better health over all.
In the future I will try to adjust my sleeping habits. Do some stretching and breathing exercises and try to follow my list a little closer.
Yes, I agree that it's nice to consolidate work and home lists to get a full view of what we need to accomplish Clifton. With these views, as you work your way down, you can really feel like you are making progress in all areas of your life.
Interesting approach Michael. And I agree that sometimes, facing your stressors head on and quickly can mitigate potential longer term problems.
I may look into breathing and stretching techniques to help
I find that dealing with stressors is the first step in reducing stress. Even if one can not eliminate the stressor - simply dealing with it seems to reduce the amount of stress. If possible I try to copy the NBA 24 second shot clock by dealing with a problem in 30 seconds. Doesn't work for everything but gets things moving.
The biggest thing that has helped me is putting together a task list. This goes for work and at home. As I work my way down the list I see what I've knocked out of the way. This reduces some of the extra stress I used to have, and makes dealing with the big issues somewhat better.
I am going to clean out my closets!! I do exercise etc. but I keep putting my closets off because no one knows they are messy but me. I didn't realize that the messy closets can be a nagging form of stress!
I had a cold one this week after stress resulting from IT system problems interfering with meeting deadlines. I had to not allow the problems to consume my thoughts. So, I wrote down the action steps I needed to take and proceeded with getting the work accomplished with strategies for recovering. I also solicited the help of my QA Analyst who shared some factors that helped me to devise a plan. This is one of the strategies we discussed in this stress management course and it worked.
Have a great weekend Susan!
Wanda
I found exercising helps me eliminate or reduce the stress in my life.
Yes, putting everything down for a minute can be a huge help Susan. Sometimes it's not best to work through stress but simply take a step back. When we do, we return far more productive than when we left.
I agree. Sometimes the pressure just builds that you feel like your mind just can not take anymore. Usually when I have weeks like that I just have to put everything down and leave early. Otherwise I am not going to get anything done if I stay- my brain is done. We live at the beach and my relaxer is to go home, pick up my husband and go sit on the beach with a cold one! (only one or two, Im not trying to forget my day just relax). Usually after sitting out there watching the ocean and venting, I am good to go for a while. The stress is still there the next day but I am able to handle it better after having a little me time.
I have learned that by just slowing down and taking a few minutes in the day for myself, my stress has been reduced. I found I was my own stressor by oushing so much. Just taking a few minutes to relax really helped.
