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Get up fifteen minutes earlier in the morning. The inevitable morning
mishaps will be less stressful.
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Prepare for the morning the evening before. Set the breakfast table, make
lunches, put out the clothes you plan to wear, etc.
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Don?t rely on your memory. Write down appointment times, when to pick
up the laundry, when library books are due, etc. ("The palest ink is
better than the most retentive memory." - Old Chinese Proverb)
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Do nothing which, after being done, leads you to tell a lie.
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Make duplicates of all keys. Bury a house key in a secret spot in the
garden and carry a duplicate car key in your wallet, apart from your key
ring.
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Practice preventive maintenance. Your car, appliances, home, and
relationships will be less likely to break down/fall apart "at the
worst possible moment."
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Be prepared to wait. A paperback can make a wait in a post office line
almost pleasant.
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Procrastination is stressful. Whatever you want to do tomorrow, do today;
whatever you want to do today, do it now.
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Plan ahead. Don?t let the gas tank get below one-quarter full; keep a
well-stocked "emergency shelf" of home staples; don?t wait until
you?re down to your last bus token or postage stamp to buy more; etc.
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Don?t put up with something that doesn?t work right. If your alarm
clock, wallet, shoe laces, windshield wipers ? whatever ? are a constant
aggravation, get them fixed or get new ones.
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Allow 15 minutes of extra time to get to appointments. Plan to arrive at
an airport one hour before domestic departures.
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Eliminate (or restrict) the amount of caffeine in your diet.
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Always set up contingency plans, "just in case." ("If for
some reason either of us is delayed, here?s what we?ll do?" kind
of thing. Or, "If we get split up in the shopping center, here?s
where we?ll meet.")
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Relax your standards. The world will not end if the grass doesn?t get
mowed this weekend.
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Pollyanna-Power! For every one thing that goes wrong, there are probably
10 or 50 or 100 blessings. Count ?em!
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Ask questions. Taking a few moments to repeat back directions, what
someone expects of you, etc., can save hours. (The old "the hurrieder I
go, the behinder I get, " idea.)
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Say "No!" Saying "no" to extra projects, social
activities, and invitations you know you don?t have the time or energy for
takes practice, self-respect, and a belief that everyone, everyday, needs
quiet time to relax and be alone.
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Unplug your phone. Want to take a long bath, meditate, sleep, or read
without interruption? Drum up the courage to temporarily disconnect. (The
possibility of there being a terrible emergency in the next hour or so is
almost nil.) Or use an answering machine.
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Turn "needs" into preferences. Our basic physical needs
translate into food, water, and keeping warm. Everything else is a
preference. Don?t get attached to preferences.
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Simplify, simplify, simplify?
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Make friends with nonworriers. Nothing can get you into the habit of
worrying faster than associating with chronic worrywarts.
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Get up and stretch periodically if your job requires that you sit for
extended periods.
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Wear earplugs. If you need to find quiet at home, pop in some earplugs.
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Get enough sleep. If necessary, use an alarm clock to remind you to go to
bed.
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Create order out of chaos. Organize your home and workspace so that you
always know exactly where things are. Put things away where they belong and
you won?t have to go through the stress of losing things.
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When feeling stressed, most people tend to breathe in short, shallow
breaths. When you breathe like this, stale air is not expelled, oxidation of
the tissues is incomplete, and muscle tension frequently results. Check your
breathing throughout the day, and before, during, and after high-pressure
situations. If you find your stomach muscles are knotted and your breathing
is shallow, relax all your muscles and take several deep, slow breaths. Note
how, when you?re relaxed, both your abdomen and chest expand when you
breathe.
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Writing your thoughts and feelings down (in a journal, or on paper to be
thrown away) can help you clarify things and can give you a renewed
perspective.
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Try the following yoga technique whenever you feel the need to relax.
Inhale deeply through you nose to the count of eight. Then, with lips
puckered, exhale very slowly through your mouth to the count of 16, or for
as long as you can. Concentrate on the long sighing sound and feel the
tension dissolve. Repeat 10 times.
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Inoculate yourself against a feared event. Example: before speaking in
public, take time to go over every part of the experience in your mind.
Imagine what you?ll wear, what the audience will look like, how you will
present your talk, what the questions will be and how you will answer them,
etc. Visualize the experience the way you would have it be. You?ll likely
find that when the time comes to make the actual presentation, it will be
"old hat" and much of your anxiety will have fled.
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When the stress of having to get a job done gets in the way of getting
the job done, diversion ? a voluntary change in activity and/or
environment ? may be just what you need.
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Talk it out. Discussing your problems with a trusted friend can help
clear your mind of confusion so you can concentrate on problem solving.
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One of the most obvious ways to avoid unnecessary stress is to select an
environment (work, home, leisure) which is in line with your personal needs
and desires. If you hate desk jobs, don?t accept a job which requires that
you sit at a desk all day. If you hate to talk politics, don?t associate
with people who love to talk politics, etc.
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Learn to live one day at a time.
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Every day, do something you really enjoy.
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Add an ounce of love to everything you do.
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Take a hot bath or shower (or a cool one in summertime) to relieve
tension.
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Do something for somebody else.
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Focus on understanding rather than on being understood; on loving rather
than on being loved.
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Do something that will improve your appearance. Looking better can help
you feel better.
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Schedule a realistic day. Avoid the tendency to schedule back-to-back
appointments; allow time between appointments for a breathing spell.
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Become more flexible. Some things are worth not doing perfectly and some
issues are well to compromise upon.
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Eliminate destructive self-talk: "I?m too old to?," "I?m
too fat to?," etc.
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Use your weekend time for a change of pace. If you work week is slow and
patterned, make sure there is action and time for spontaneity built into
your weekends. If your work week is fast-paced and full of people and
deadlines, seek peace and solitude during your days off. Feel as if you aren?t
accomplishing anything at work? Tackle a job on the weekend which you can
finish to your satisfaction.
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"Worry about the pennies and the dollars will take care of
themselves." That?s another way of saying: take care of the todays as
best you can and the yesterdays and the tomorrows will take care of
themselves.
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Do one thing at a time. When you are with someone, be with that person
and with no one or nothing else. When you are busy with a project,
concentrate on doing that project and forget about everything else you have
to do.
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Allow yourself time ? everyday ? for privacy, quiet, and
introspection.
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If an especially unpleasant task faces you, do it early in the day and
get it over with; then the rest of your day will be free of anxiety.
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Learn to delegate responsibility to capable others.
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Don?t forget to take a lunch break. Try to get away from your desk or
work area in body and mind, even if it?s just for 15 or 20 minutes.
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Forget about counting to 10. Count to 1,000 before doing something or
saying anything that could make matters worse.
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Have a forgiving view of events and people. Accept the fact that we live
in an imperfect world.
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Have an optimistic view of the world. Believe that most people are doing
the best they can.
