We have all been through a period of time both in our personal and professional lives where we have encountered the unpleasant feeling of stress. This can take a mental and physical toll on us and these are emotions which we should aim to manage effectively as we believe at The Dynamic Mind no one should feel they are going through an uncomfortable experience with increased pressure. To assist in achieving this, we will be covering 5 life-changing actions to help you deal with stress management.
Take control of your time
You are in the driving seat of your time, the entire 24-hours in the day are yours to completely own.
This at times can seem somewhat daunting as there are constantly multiple factors acting as obstacles to manage your time; however, let us start by focusing on organising your calendar. Review your calendar on a periodic basis, identify if the video meetings (in the Covid-19 world) scheduled really need to be conducted in their intended manner or are there alternative mediums? For example, possible substitutes include: instant chat message, email thread, a phone call or walk and talk meetings. This enables you to utilise the time to add to your daily step count, take fresh air whilst also working – efficiency drives success! It could even be the case that you are simply not required to attend the meeting, as this can be picked up offline with a colleague. This will allow you to free up space to complete other tasks which you have prioritised.
Start your day by writing your actions in a centralised location, whether it be an online or in hard format. Having your to-do list in one place will allow you to be more productive and easily revisit it throughout the day. With this, reflect and be realistic with the number and complexity of the items you have set yourself for the day ahead. Think about the time period when your productivity is at its peak and allocate tasks accordingly (for example, if you are morning person, it would be ideal to grapple with the difficult items first).
Crossing off your tasks can feel highly rewarding, and again focusing on the daily small wins helps you achieve your overall goal. This is an area we cover on our Instagram series as part of Mindfulness Monday – @thedynamicmind. Follow the page to stay updated!
For the day, week and month ahead, making sure to prioritise each task will help you focus your time and energy. Additionally, this will allow you to remain flexible and adapt to any unforeseen circumstances which may occur.
Create a support network
Having a trusted support network which could consist of family, friends or colleagues has many advantages to help you with stress management. These include but are not limited to, feeling a sense of relief, knowing you have a safe space to express yourself and allowing for self-reflection on the stressful scenario.
Being able to have a protected environment to share your concerns and factors causing stress is extremely important as often, the topic is best discussed openly rather than letting thoughts build up internally. This could potentially cause you to overthink the situation and cause more unnecessary “stress” – which is what we want to prevent.
You may even find that by verbally expressing the situation, the topic is not as bad as you initially anticipated and has potentially positioned as a bigger event than the reality. This fairly common and it is worth a try.
Spend time laughing with your support network. By doing this, you not only reduce built up tension, but you also share a sense of joy with another and it allows your mind to forget the stress that once existed. Let’s be honest, who does not enjoy a good laugh anyways?
Prioritise self-care
There are endless benefits from finding peace within yourself and taking the time to allocate protected time for self-care. Whilst organising your calendar, it is ideal to lock in weekly safe time for you to just focus on yourself for high-quality personal wellness to help with stress management. This could range from evening reading, painting, candle-lit baths, nature walks or even re-starting an old hobby that has got lost in your hectic schedule.
Rekindling a once-loved activity can bring back positive memories, ignite conversation with those around you and help with distracting your mind with this new activity rather than concentrating on the factors causing you to feel stressed. Going down memory lane is an activity we all enjoy doing from time to time.
Do not get to a state where you feel guilty for rejecting other tasks whilst you are focusing on yourself.
The practice of self-care should be a high priority for both your mental and physical state. This in fact goes back to the above point of organising your tasks and setting priorities. With this, the act of self-care should remain at the top of this list.
The state of self-awareness
You have the power to control the state you are feeling and going through. The very first hurdle is taking a step-back and reflecting on the current situation, taking a deep breath and accepting you are in a state of stress. However, with this you also accept that you will not allow it to continue and therefore it becomes a past sensation.
Reflecting on the tasks ahead and assessing the deadlines you have set or been provided whether they are true-hard deadline or if they can be adjusted are key tools to implement. Ask yourself these questions to help you ascertain the answer:
- What is the worst that could happen if I do not meet the deadline?
- Are there other tasks that are a higher priority?
It is important to understand when people actually need your assistance and not when they want it. There is a real difference between the two and gathering this information will help you manage your time.
Take the opportunity to reflect on yourself, are you constantly fighting stress advice previously provided? If so, this is perfectly fine as it can take time to work through. However, there is great benefit from examining yourself in this current state and accepting to change your outlook.
The power of breathing can at times go unnoticed, yet it controls our actions. You will most likely find that the pace of your breath is heightened during a state of “stress”. To help overcome this sensation, adopt the 4 – 7 – 8 breathing method.
- Inhale for 4 seconds
- Hold for 7 seconds
- Exhale for 8 seconds
- Repeat as many times a required
The principle of 4 – 7 – 8, stimulates a deep rhythmic sensation to assist with relaxation. As you have concentrated your thoughts to long deep breathing, this further drives you to a state of calmness and can assist with stress management.
Along with this, try and implement a few minutes of meditation to help with bringing your awareness to your body, provide clarity and stillness – a sense of inner peace.
Journal how you are feeling during these periods of stress and use it as a reference point. Document the emotions that are going through your mind, what actions you would like to take and are they justifiable. Ensure you pause before executing a decision, as at times of stress you will find you tend to make irrational choices, which you may later regret.
Keeping active
Last but no means least, the important element of keeping active to aid with stress management as you keep moving and connecting with your body, will allow you be in a state of relaxation even if the activity is strenuous by nature. The simple act of walking allows you to gain composure, calmness, and it also provides you with the opportunity to have a mental break and can be done with someone from your support network.
As above-mentioned on the topic of organising your time, try and implement walking meetings to allow you to get fresh air, reduce blue light screen time and whilst also getting work completed. Keeping active gives you a chance to change the environment that you are in, set new goals and this ultimately is good for the mind, body and soul.
You could even select a new sport that you have always been interested in but have never pursued. This will give you the opportunity to channel your energy to a passion that you previously have not been able to fulfil. With this, you also have a new focal point for discussion with those around you which can help divert your attention away from topics of “stress”.
The 5 life-changing actions you can implement to helps with stress management
We have covered the 5 different topics to assist with stress management and these can be easily implemented within your daily practice. This is by no means a race to incorporate all 5 immediately or simultaneously. At The Dynamic Mind, we focus on the small wins!
- Take control of your time
- Creating a support network
- Prioritising self-care
- The State of self-awareness
- Keeping active
You should aim to become more present, joyful, peaceful and thoughtful in all the actions you take to really appreciate every moment. Turn the episodes of “stress” into an area of opportunity and utilise the resources you have. Embrace the power to change your perspective on every scenario.
If you feel you would like to connect or know anyone that would find this useful, get in contact for a safe space discussion where we can explore this further.
This post is in appreciation of Stress Awareness Month in the UK.
Great point about taking control of your time. Being aware of when we are most creative or productive during the day (through trial and error) and planning accordingly makes a huge difference to what we can achieve.