Reduce Stress

Stress is one of the leading causes of illness facing the work place. It doesn’t matter if you work from home or in a corporate sweat shop, stress still gets to us all. Stress can cause or contribute to things like high blood pressure, migraines, back pain, neck pain, fatigue, insomnia, depression and obesity, among others. We work longer hours than those who came before us and the information age has removed all but the most trivial physical activity from our lives. It’s a recipe for disaster, but there are things we can all do to improve the situation.

I know from personal experience that stress can manifest in very physical ways. I just got home from physical therapy about an hour ago, so this is something I’m fighting through personally. Medicine and Physical Therapy will get me out of the immediate danger to my health but only changing my life style will give me a much better outlook on a long, healthy life. Both my doctor and my physical therapist drilled into me how much stress plays in my health. I’m suffering from rather extreme lower back pain and from neck pain. It’s over 8 months going now and falls into the chronic category and is a combination of a minor injury and stress. Most people don’t even think about stress. I don’t, I don’t stress out. Almost ever! I’m one of the most laid back people you’ll ever meet. But, we all deal with stress. In sleep, in our subconscious and with our bodies. For me, it’s shoulders and back that get affected. So, what can we do to reduce stress? Here are some things that seem to work for me. As always, you should consult your family doctor for what’s best for you, and always do your own research.

1. Take a day off – The information age has us tethered to our jobs, bosses and work like never before. It’s hard to feel like we are ever actually off work. Pick a day that works best for you and unplug. Put the cell phone down, stay off the computer and get some fresh air, read a book and just enjoy the day. You need to have some downtime to unwind and get back to zero. Not only does this help reduce stress but it also helps those creative juices flow again.

2. Master your email – Don’t let it master you. I’ve preached about this quite a bit. Email is a Godsend, but don’t let it control you. Turn off automatic checking. Email isn’t a “chat” program. Check it on your time, between working on projects and at scheduled times. Make time for email, but don’t let it control you.

3. Reduce clutter – I love to have things that inspire creativity around me: pictures, toys, gadget, music and just about anything that I think helps me be creative. This, plus the mess we build up during our work day actually creates stress. Clear off everything you don’t need to do your job. If you need a creative space, make a space just for that but keep your work area clean and free of distractions. You’ll be more productive and less stressed.

4. Get it off your mind – Stress can build up as the amount of things you have to do continues to grow into an ever expanding to do list that you try to juggle. Storing it in your mind is the wrong place for it. Instead, develop a system you trust to organize all those to do lists, chores, ideas and other bits of information. I suggest the wonderful Getting Things Done : The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen. His methods for clearing out the junk in our heads and capturing it in a meaningful way have become something of a cult for many. It’s often called “GTD”. You’ll see me preaching it again, trust me.

5. Get some sleep – Stress can cause sleep problems and sleep is often one of the best remedies for stress. Everyone sleep differently and you’ll need to find your best sleep pattern. Personally, I’m a night person, but my job requires me to work during the day. After months of trying I found that I need around 7 hours of sleep, more and I’m useless and less and I’m just too tired. The best tip I can give you for getting into a proper sleep routine is to get up and the same time every day, 7 days a week and only go to sleep when your tired. Don’t flop around for more than 20 minutes. If you aren’t sleepy, get up. I usually get up at 6:45 and go to sleep around 11:45 to midnight. I usually stop doing anything that requires a lot of deep thought around 11 giving me time to wind down. I also usually do a review of the days projects and jot down anything I want to get done the next day. This gets it out of my head and clears my head so I can float of to sleep restfully.

These are just some of my favorite tips. What works for you?

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