We all experience stress in some way, but the way we respond to it makes a big difference to our overall wellbeing.
Not all stress is bad, and there is a sweet spot in which we perform at our best.
However, with so many stressors in life (occupational, family, financial, economical, social, physical etc), things can quickly become overwhelming and take a toll on our health.
Because of this, it’s important to manage stress and keep ourselves in that sweet spot for optimal performance and health.
Ways to Manage Stress
Relaxation Techniques
With so much going on in our lives, it can hard to find time to simply relax.
If you think over the course of your week, how many times do you genuinely feel like you’re relaxing?
Work stress can often follow us home, where it easily mixes with other stresses you have in your life.
Because of this, it’s important to try and manage stress with relaxation techniques.
Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, and yoga can help calm the mind and body and reduce stress.
These don’t have to take up too much time either, setting aside just 10 minutes for deep breathing or meditation each day can really help.
If you’re doing yoga, give yourself at least 20-30 minutes.
Practice Time Management
Stress can often stem from feelings over being overwhelmed.
This deadline is due tomorrow.
That appointment has been pushed to next week.
There’s no time to get my workout in.
How am I going to get all of this done?
Practicing time manage techniques can be a good way to prevent the build-up of overwhelm and therefore stress.
- Prioritize your tasks with the most important being first on the list. Aim to hit these as soon as you can, before moving on to smaller tasks.
- Try timeboxing. Timeboxing is essentially organising your to-do list into a scheduled day with time slots for each task. i.e., 9:00-11:00 (Project work), 11:00-12:00 (Clear emails) etc. You can get timeboxing notebooks online.
- Set boundaries. Let people know that certain time periods are not to be booked. Inform colleagues that you’re not answering emails once you leave the office and make sure you leave and stop work at an appropriate time. Of course, they are exceptions, but once you make a habit out of these things, it’s easy for it to become the norm.
Take Breaks
Firstly, take an actual lunch break.
Not a 10-minute grab and go to eat at your desk.
Work will always be busy, you will always have a to do list, and there will always be something to do.
Stop letting that get in the way of you having a break in the day.
You can’t pour from an empty cup.
On top of that, take mini breaks where possible.
Even 5 or 10 minutes as a mental break can be a great way to take a breath and reset.
Connect with Family and Loved Ones
We’re social creatures and there’s nothing more important than the people around us.
It’s a natural stress relief spending time with loved ones.
It reminds us of what’s important and why we do what we do.
Spend time with them when you can, connect with them and communicate any problems you’re going through.
When you speak with people that genuinely care about you, it can help to ease the load of daily life and reduce stress.
Exercise
Exercise isn’t just for physical health; it plays a vital role in mental health too.
When we exercise, the hormones dopamine and serotonin are released which have a positive impact on our mood.
These can help to relieve feeling of stress and generally leave us in a better frame of mind than before.
What, how, and when you do it is down to you.
But a good baseline to start with is hitting 150-300 minutes of moderate intensity exercise each week (exercise in which you’re breathing heavier but can still talk).
Or 75-150 minutes of vigorous activity each week (exercise in which you’re working hard and can’t speak without pausing for a breath).
On top of this, I would also aim to achieve at least two resistance training sessions each week to strengthen your muscles and mind.
Remember these are public health guidelines, so don’t limit yourself to just these figures.
Do what you enjoy, do a combination of the above, spread it out over the course of a week, and be active in some way each and every day (7-10k steps is a good place to start).
Get Outside
Nature is natural stress relief.
There’s something about being outside, in the fresh air and trees, that helps us to relax and destress.
It’s in our DNA.
Where possible, go outside, get sunlight, and breathe in the fresh air.
Combining this with physical activity is a great way to kill two birds with one stone.
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