Tweet

Relaxing with a Mental PDA - Your 5 minutes Daily Program to Stress Management

Guest post by: John Henning

Article Overview: We all have this favorite expression when it comes to being stressed out, and I wouldn't bother naming all of them since it may also vary in different languages. But when it comes down to it, I think that it is how we work or even relax, for that matter that triggers stress. Ever been stressed even when you're well relaxed and bored? I know I have.

Relaxing with a Mental PDA - Your 5 minutes Daily Program to Stress Management

We all have this favorite expression when it comes to being stressed out, and I wouldn't bother naming all of them since it may also vary in different languages. But when it comes down to it, I think that it is how we work or even relax, for that matter that triggers stress. Ever been stressed even when you're well relaxed and bored? I know I have. Since Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. is unavoidable in life, it is important to find ways to decrease and prevent stressful incidents and decrease negative reactions to stress. Here are some of the things that can be done by just remembering it, since life is basically a routine to follow like brushing your teeth or eating breakfast. You can do a few of them in a longer span of time, but as they say-- every minute counts.

Managing time

Time management skills can allow you more time with your family and friends and possibly increase your performance and productivity. This will help reduce your stress.

To improve your time management:

· Save time by focusing and concentrating, delegating, and scheduling time for yourself.

· Keep a record of how you spend your time, including work, family, and leisure time.

· Prioritize your time by rating tasks by importance and urgency. Redirect your time to those activities that are important and meaningful to you.

· Manage your commitments by not over- or under-committing. Don't commit to what is not important to you.

· Deal with procrastination by using a day planner, breaking large projects into smaller ones, and setting short-term deadlines.

· Examine your beliefs to reduce conflict between what you believe and what your life is like.

Build healthy coping strategies

It is important that you identify your coping strategies. One way to do this is by recording the stressful event, your reaction, and how you cope in a stress journal. With this information, you can work to change unhealthy coping strategies into healthy ones-those that help you focus on the positive and what you can change or control in your life.

Lifestyle

Some behaviors and lifestyle choices affect your stress level. They may not cause stress directly, but they can interfere with the ways your body seeks relief from stress. Try to:

· Balance personal, work, and family needs and obligations.

· Have a sense of purpose in life.

· Get enough sleep, since your body recovers from the stresses of the day while you are sleeping.

· Eat a balanced diet for a nutritional defense against stress.

· Get moderate exercise throughout the week.

· Limit your consumption of alcohol.

· Don't smoke.

Social support

Social support is a major factor in how we experience stress. Social support is the positive support you receive from family, friends, and the community. It is the knowledge that you are cared for, loved, esteemed, and valued. More and more research indicates a strong relationship between social support and better mental and physical health.

Changing thinking

When an event triggers negative thoughts, you may experience fear, insecurity, anxiety, depression, rage, guilt, and a sense of worthlessness or powerlessness. These emotions trigger the body's stress, just as an actual threat does. Dealing with your negative thoughts and how you see things can help reduce stress.

· Thought-stopping helps you stop a negative thought to help eliminate stress.

· Disproving irrational thoughts helps you to avoid exaggerating the negative thought, anticipating the worst, and interpreting an event incorrectly.

· Problem solving helps you identify all aspects of a stressful event and find ways to deal with it.

· Changing your communication style helps you communicate in a way that makes your views known without making others feel put down, hostile, or intimidated. This reduces the stress that comes from poor communication. Use the assertiveness ladder to improve your communication style.

Even writers like me can get stressed even though we're just using our hands to do the talking, but having to sit for 7 or 8 hours is already stressful enough and have our own way to relieve stress. Whether you're the mail guy, the CEO, or probably the average working parent, stress is one unwanted visitor you would love to boot out of your homes, especially your life.

Related Articles
  Walk of Gratitude
  Ten Ways a Professional Can Take a Quick Break at work
  Overcome Mental Blocks
  Stress Management
  10 Natural Ways of Reducing Your Stress
  Managing Personal Stress in Business
  How to avoid stress and suffering by retraining your Brain
  Stress Management Tips From Dr. Jack Singer
  Job Stress What Can You Do Part II
  Leadership Strategies and NO to Burnout
  Successful People Know How to Manage the Stress in Their Lives
  Extreme Self-care - Make Time For Yourself.
  Tips To Eliminate Stress Relating To Your New Business
  Find out why there isn't any real Definition of Stress!
  Simple Methods to Relax Your Mind and Boost Your Energy
  10 Tips for Mastering Stress Relief
  Can the disabled own their own company?
  Five Instant Ways to Reduce Environmental Stress - Part 2
  Three Big Reasons to Exercise
  Why You Are Kidding Yourself If You Think Smoking Helps You To Relax At Work

Article Tags: expression, franchise, stress



Related Forum Posts
Finding creativity - Great topic Andy! For me it's: - Going for a walk (I always try to get out at least once during the day) - Taking a shower - Reading business magazines (especially Inc and Business 2.0) - Late at night (I'm more productive / creative at night than during the day) - Relaxing with a drink at the bookstore
Why So Much Time? - Hi Evan. I'd challenge you about how long a webinar takes to prepare. There are some simple models out there that would suggest that the time you need is a lot less than you might think. Remember, you are not writing it all down and just reading it out. 2 minutes settling everyone in 5 minutes outlining the call and the ground rules of listeners (if it's interactive) 10 key points of 3 minutes 10 minutes of Q&A 5 minutes of a sales pitch 5 minutes of a review of the call 3 minutes of goodbye If you are able to manage it so that the call is even more ointeractive (Q&A with others on the call chipping in with their ideas and you act as a facilitator), you workload is even less. The only time you need to prepare is the 10 key points and the marketing/e-mails. Pretty straight-forward! Regards
No B.S. Time Management - A great book I read on Time Management is No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs by Dan Kennedy.
Re: How to develop sales contacts? - Everyone has the right idea here. Depending on your business, there are different techniques that you could use. For consultants and sales heavy businesses, there are three tactics that I have found especially useful in my business: 1. Attend Networking Events 2. Cold Calling 3. Referral Program 4. Affiliate Program (most successful) The affiliate program was successful for me, as I hooked up with a franchise consultant, and he gave multiple unit businesses that needed my credit card processing services. I highly suggest you hook up with a sales partner, and give him a cut of the monthly revenue.
Ryerson or McMaster? - It's true McMaster probably does have a better reputation than Ryerson but after you graduate I don't think when you go to an interview the deciding factor will ever be the university you went to. At least that was true in my case. I went to Ryerson and did their Technology/Business Program. I was employed the very next day after graduation not because of my grades (though that helps during co-op) or the fact that I went to Ryerson but because of what I brought to the table in terms of experience (part-time jobs I held while in school), social skills (verbal and written) and my goals. Since 2003 I've worked in Marketing, Content Management and Consulting. The Marketing program at Ryerson has some good classes and topics within it but entreprenuer on your resume if you plan on getting a job after graduation is going to be a tough one. BUT you can get around it by focusing on the classes you've taken and how you can apply them to any business. I believe true Entreprenuership can't be learnt in a classroom by a Professor who's never been an entreprenuer (not saying the profs at Ryerson were never an entrepreneurs - some of mine were). It has to be learnt in the field. If your move to Ryerson means you will be out of school faster, can take a 3 month vacation (which I missed out on but am planning for next summer) and then get a job or start your own thing then it sounds like a good deal to me BUT you need to decide.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Join Conversations Politely, Part 1

If I Were Starting A Network Marketing Company...

Why SEO is important for your online success

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.