It’s not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it. ~Hans Selye
Take a break from whatever you’re doing right now, even if you’re reading this, and ponder on this question: Are you stressed about something right now?
If you asked me that question, I’d reply “yes” a lot of the times, because isn’t that a natural human tendency to stress? Isn’t that normal?
To an extent, stress is good for you. Little stress exerts a certain pressure without going overboard at the boiling point. Call it stress equilibrium, or whatever you may, but some amount of stress at the right time does help you move forward.
Think about the last time you were sitting an exam – were you stressed? If you cared enough about your degree or certificate, your stress propelled you forward to study well. Stress in short bursts will trigger protective chemicals and give you the much-needed boost.
Stress kicks in when you sense danger (real or imagined) that triggers the fight or flight response. Your body releases adrenalin and cortisol that lead to heightened senses, rise in blood pressure etc. These changes ready your body to deal with the situation and speed up your response times.
That said, when you are constantly stressed, you’re unable to sit still or get the work done, snap at loved ones with you heart’s racing and muscles tensed.
Needless to say, long-term stress is harmful to your health and longevity. They say a lot of diseases begin in the mind. I am no medical advisor, but here are some simple + mindful things that have helped me keep away unwanted and excess stress out of my life.
Try them and see which one works for you the most.
1. Get Aware
There are different techniques to reduce stress in your life but the first step is awareness. How do you know when you’re in stress? Personally, I feel it in my body. I also sense it in the way I respond to others – I am usually very snappy!
Your style may be something else. Simply bring your attention back to your body and scan it. Get aware of how you’re feeling.
- Do you feel heavy and unhappy?
- Are you constantly worrying?
- Is it hard for you to concentrate?
- Do you feel overwhelmed and/or angry often?
- Are you experiencing any aches?
- Are you eating and sleeping too much or too less?
2. Face your worst fears
Make an attempt to first isolate the cause of your stress. You’ll notice than more often than not, the cause is something external – a friend, spouse, relative or a situation in your life.
When I am feeling negative thoughts that cause stress, it helps me to detach from the situation and let the thoughts come in. I’ve noticed that the more I try to stop these thoughts/feelings, the more energy I spend in the process and it’s pretty draining and stressful!
A practice that works for me is to surrender to these thoughts and stop fighting with them. This takes conscious effort and deliberate intention from my end. I let these thoughts in, and by doing this I face the fear upfront. Something powerful happens in that moment – the moment you stop resisting, you know what’s the “worse” that could happen.
This is when I can “check out” the rock bottom, and that brings in the certainty of knowing what it is really like. Human beings have astonishing power to handle things, and looking at the fear in the eye (not in the fighting mode but in an observer mode) births a new power within you that says:
“no matter what happens, I can will handle it”.
3. Apply relaxation techniques
Have you heard of meditation? Many times, you say. But have you tried it? If not, what’s stopping you?
I personally don’t use meditation for stress relief, but for positive visualization. I’ll pick a stressful situation in my life, sit in the lotus position, close my eyes, take deep breaths, and start visualizing what happens in 2 weeks time when this is no longer a problem for me.
As I do this, I feed the image to my subconscious and the results of doing so far have been amazing. I’ve noticed that I’ll attract the right opportunities in the right time that alleviates the stress from a situation without bringing more stress in.
You may also want to try Progressive Muscle Relaxation, breathing meditation, yoga and other relaxation techniques to reduce stress.
~
Are you stressed and want to share it with the community? Go ahead and write a comment – sharing helps!
Image by Pink Sherbet Photography.
]]>
Whether you are running a business or employed in a company, anxiety and stress can drag you down. It can ruin not only your productivity but can also be detrimental to life itself.
A lot of people are not that astute to realize the dangers of experiencing too much stress and anxiety as they are unable to really extricate it from their emotions.
Related: Panic Away – End Anxiety & Panic Attacks
Some people assume that stress can only affect emotions without realizing that it can impact every aspect of life at work or at home.
They soon realize they were wrong when everything turns topsy-turvy.
Sleep debt
Anxiety symptoms often make people get less sleep. It would be better if people can have some sleep at least they will have rest. Sleep deprivation feeds off anxiety and when people have less sleep they tend to become more anxious.
It is a chicken and egg thing and both anxiety and sleep debt feed each other making the situation worse.
What are the consequences of anxiety-driven sleep deprivation? Well the lack of sleep will make you less effective in making decisions. A person without much sleep cannot function fully as they may be irritable, irrational and even would try to ditch work to sleep.
Weaker immune system
When people are anxious and stressed it impacts the physical body in a strange way. Stress hormones like cortisol have a very strange effect in the body when it stays longer than it is supposed to.
Cortisol makes the body inflamed. An inflamed body makes the immune system weaker causing it to be more susceptible to viruses and other contagions.
Suddenly you are an easy prey for the common cold and flu which can dramatically affect your ability to attend to your duties at work and impact your productivity.
Overthinking
Overthinking is another negative trait that can impact productivity. If you constantly overthink and assume things that will go wrong you are not doing yourself a favor. You are just creating unnecessary stress over things that you have no real control over.
This would lead to loss of appetite which can have dire effects in metabolism and digestion. People that overthink a lot tend to skip meals that can also cause problems in blood sugar levels.
It can also cause the blood pressure to fluctuate as there is no steady supply of nutrients that are entering the body.
Aches and pains
The body muscles tend to stiffen up due to the buildup of tension. Headaches are the most identifiable symbol of stress. Often people that have been working for long hours tend to feel aches all over the body, particularly the head.
It is best to manage working hours so that the body would be less exposed to stress. While taking pain killers offer temporary solution, the aches will come back as the root cause is not addressed properly.
–
The effects of stress and anxiety on productivity are far reaching. That is why offices and workplaces should be able to address the sources of stress.
A stress-free workplace would result in better workers and increased efficiency because the workers are not getting sick and will actually enjoy what they are doing.
–
Online entrepreneurs: Get your proven productivity blueprint here.
Image by Evil Erin.
You might also like: 21 Unprocrastination Habits: How to Beat Procrastination Permanently & Get the Results You Want.
]]>
If there were a pill we could pop to stop procrastinating and get down to business on all of those unpleasant tasks we should be tackling, we’d all buy in.
Sadly, there is no magic formula for overcoming our human temptation to leave the drudgery until the last possible moment. But a few practical tips will reframe your approach to the tasks you keep putting off and help you get them done.
Related: Find Your Focus -- End Procrastination Without Willpower
Does it really matter if we procrastinate and then have to hurry, cram, or pull it all together to meet the deadlines and due dates? You are reading this so you probably think it does matter. Intuitively we know that approaching our tasks, work, or chores in a productive and consistent manner is a better approach.
We want to avoid the stress of the last minute crunch or the penalties associated with our lateness. While some claim they function best under tight deadlines (another excuse for putting off the task), this eleventh hour work is often hasty, tainted by exhaustion, and lacking the benefit of the thoughtful consideration and revision that we might have given it if we’d started a week earlier.
1. Stop Punishing Yourself and Your Work—Stop Procrastinating.
Are you thinking of a few choice tasks in your professional or personal life that you keep putting off?
Perhaps it’s the monthly report, or keeping up with your budget and paying your bills. Whatever it is, you can stop procrastinating with a few simple steps.
2. Get to the Bottom of it.
Ask yourself what is so repellent about the task you have to do. Is it boring and tedious? Is fear involved? Do you feel inadequate for the work?
Try to discern the cause of your aversion. It won’t suddenly make the job appealing, but knowing why you avoid it may help you to approach it more openly and realistically.
3. Change Your Perspective.
Can you embrace it as a challenge to surmount rather than an enemy to run from? Look at for the positive benefits.
Will the job or task that you keep avoiding help you to develop character? Become more organized? Learn something?
4. Take a Gradual Approach.
Rather than claiming you are going to sit at the computer until you have that report finished or every email answered, try breaking up the task into smaller chunks.
List each part that comprises the whole, and then attack the job, piece by piece. Don’t mandate marathon work sessions. Start small. Can you work on it for ten uninterrupted minutes?
5. Get a Buddy.
If you are serious about your desire to stop procrastinating in some area of your life, find an accountability partner. Commit to a time or day by which you will have the work finished, or commit to making a certain amount of progress each day.
If you don’t meet your projected goal for the day, you have to email or text the reason.
~~
Though it may seem that rest of the world is keeping up with all of their chores, boring work assignments, and dirty jobs, realize that even the most productive individual battles procrastination in some area of their lives.
Stop procrastinating by employing the tactics that work best for you and then give yourself the space and time to adopt new, more productive habits. Step by step you’ll be getting it done.
Got more tips? We’d love to hear them in the comments below!
Are you an online entrepreneur? Get the proven lifestyle business productivity blueprint here.
If you enjoyed this article, please share this story on Facebook and
RT on twitter. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Subscribe to receive email updates. Thank you for your support!
You might also like: How to Beat Procrastination Permanently + Get the Results You Want.
]]>