COPING WITH STRESS PT III - Next Snippets of Advice

Hello,

I'm back again after a few weeks with some snippets of advice on how to deal with stress.
I wonder just how many of you have taken note and have done as I have suggested?  Your comments are, of course, always welcome.

Here are the next five pieces of advice:

*  BREAK LARGE TASKS INTO BITE SIZED PORTIONS -  Just like a writer will never write      a novel in one swoop, but will break it up over a certain period.  Do as much as you can manage       and motivated to do. If you feel that enough is enough, leave it.  Best to carry on with it next           morning when your mind and body is fresh.

*  LOOK AT PROBLEMS AS CHALLENGES - Adopt that positive thinking.  The bigger the so-      called problem, the bigger the challenge to overcome it.  Think about how you're going to tackle      whatever it is that's bugging you and then fight it head on.  You're sure to win and avoid any
    additional stress. What's more, you get the positive adrenaline from the 'problem' you've                 overcome.

*  SMILE MORE - "Laughter is the best medicine", they say.  Smiling comes a close second.             Smile to any one who appears to be under stress or duress.  Smiling is infectious. Try it!

*  BE PREPARED FOR RAIN - Don't be in for a shock if "the worst comes to the worst". If you       know that there are dark clouds ahead, get ready.  Take your umbrella and start singing in the         rain;-)

*  SCHEDULE A PLAY TIME INTO EVERY DAY - Give yourself a break from work or boring
    household activities by taking a fifteen minute break to do something childish or simply                   something for fun.  Why not listen to some happy music, or throw a few darts, draw a picture,       have a dance.  Be a devil.

Finally, remember that stress is a killer.  Don't let it kill you.

COPING WITH STRESS - PART 2

A week or so has elapsed since my first write-up about COPING WITH STRESS appeared.
If you haven't read it, do it now.  If you have, read the next batch of ideas and tell me what you think of them.

Here goes then.

* SAY "NO" MORE OFTEN -  A 'yes' man will end up doing tasks which he/she may regret simply because he/she couldn't say 'no' when, for example, his/her boss asked him to do extra work for no additional payment.  Saying "no" more often means that other people who want something from you will pester you less often.

* SET PRIORITIES IN YOUR LIFE - Who's more important, your family (husband/wife and children) or your mother?  Do you live to work or work to live?  Caring more about your mother than your spouse and children will only irritate and upset others, and thinking more about work than life will mean you will become (or are already) a workaholic. Remember, overwork leads to stress and stress kills!

* AVOID NEGATIVE PEOPLE - Get away from moaners, complainers and those who only want to cause you anxiety. They are miserable and want you to be like them. They won't put you in a good mood and you'll even end up worrying about what they have said.

* ALWAYS MAKE COPIES OF IMPORTANT PAPERS - Just like with the duplicate keys.  Don't just store things on your computer and nowhere else.  If that hard disk fails and you have no back up hard copy of certificates and the like, you've got a problem.

* ASK FOR HELP WITH JOBS YOU DISLIKE -  If you hate banging nails into the wall in order to hang up pictures, ask your friend to do it.  I'm sure you don't want to end up with a sore finger!

That's all for today.  I hope you can learn something from this and live a less stressful life.

J.

FIRST ENTRY

Dear Reader,

Contrary to what many of us believe, that stress is a modern day syndrome (be it what we call it), it has always been with us in some shape or form.  Imagine, pre-historic man encountering wild beasts whilst hunting.  Not to mention soldiers in battle over the ages. The list goes on.

Today's stress takes a completely different guise.  We encounter stressful situations at work, at home, out on the streets, when shopping, when driving and the list goes on.

Whilst the aims of this blog site is to tackle the whole area of stress management, in this intial blog I would like to put forward 5 ways in which to cope with stress and to give some reasoning as to why against each tip given.

Here goes:

*GET UP 15 MINUTES EARLIER -  May seem difficult, particularly on dark winter mornings, but at least you avoid the last minute rush getting to work or school. Certainly worth trying as it gives you more time to prepare yourself in the morning and to eat breakfast.

*PREPARE FOR THE MORNING THE NIGHT BEFORE - Similar to no. 1 above.  Gives you even     more time in the morning, or you can use it for that little extra snooze;)

*DON'T RELY ON YOUR MEMORY...WRITE THINGS DOWN - It's easy to forget things,               particularly if you're forgetful!  You forget to send a report  for your boss, you can imagine his/her                 reaction.  Stress again. So make it a habit to write things down.

*REPAIR THINGS THAT DON'T WORK PROPERLY -  Within reason.  Rather get things repaired
that you yourself cannot repair.  But if it's the loose toilet seat - DO IT - before someone falls into the       toilet.  Stress and anger again.

*MAKE DUPLICATE KEYS - Ever locked yourself out?  Do it before it happens again.

That's all for now.  Five more tips soon.