by - One thing at a time. This is the simplest and best way to start reducing your stress, and you can start today. Right now. Focus as much as possible on doing one thing at a time. Clear your desk of distractions. Pick something to work on. Need to write a report? Do only that. Remove distractions such as phones and email notifications while you’re working on that report. If you’re going to do email, do only that. This takes practice, and you’ll get urges to do other things. Just keep practicing and you’ll get better at it.
- Simplify your schedule. A hectic schedule is a major cause of high stress. Simplify by reducing the number of commitments in your life to just the essential ones. Learn to say no to the rest and slowly get out of commitments that aren’t beneficial to you. Schedule only a few important things each day, and put space between them. Get out of meetings when they aren’t absolutely essential. Leave room for down time and fun.
- Get moving. Do something each day to be active walk, hike, play a sport, go for a run, do yoga. It doesn’t have to be gruelling to reduce stress. Just move. Have fun doing it.
- Develop one healthy habit this month. Other than getting active, improving your health overall will help with the stress. But do it one habit at a time. Eat fruits and veggies for snacks. Floss every day. Quit smoking. Cook something healthy for dinner. Drink water instead of soda. One habit at a time.
- Do something calming. What do you enjoy that calms you down? For many people, it can be the “get moving” activity discussed above. But it could also be taking a nap, or a bath, or reading, or having sex (which can also be considered a “get moving” activity if you do it for longer than 5 minutes). Other people are calmed by housework or yardwork. Some people like to meditate, or take a nature walk. Find your calming activity and try to do it each day.
- Simplify your finances. Finances can be a drain on your energy and a major stressor. If that’s true with you, figure out ways to simplify things. Automate savings and bill payments and debt payments. Spend less by going shopping (at malls or online) much less. Find ways to have fun that don’t involve spending money.
- Have a blast! Have fun each day, even if it’s just for a few minutes. People like to play with my kids they take my mind off everything and are really hilarious, also like to play sports (again, often with my kids). Board games are fun. Sex, again, can be a fun activity. Whatever you choose, be sure to laugh.
- Get creative. Throwing yourself into a creative activity is another great way to de-stress and to prevent stress. I like writing, but others like to paint or play music or sketch or make pottery or do interior design or build things.
- Declutter. This is a favourite of mine. I like to take 20-30 minutes and just go through a room, getting rid of stuff we don’t use or need anymore. I look around at anything that’s cluttering up a room, and get rid of it or find a better place for it. When I’m done, I have a nice, peaceful environment for work, play, and living. Do this a little at a time it can be one of your “fun activities”.
- Be early. it’s hard to be early when you have to get 6 kids ready. But being late can be very stressful. Try to leave earlier by getting ready earlier, or by scheduling more space between events. Things always take longer than normal, so schedule some buffer time: extra time to get ready, to commute, to do errands before you need to be somewhere, to attend a meeting before another scheduled appointment. If you get somewhere early, it’s good to have some reading material.
A lot of research on happiness and subjective well-being has been done over the last 50 years or so. It seems like everyone wants to determine the exact formula for joy.
While there is never going to be a specific prescription for attaining happiness, there are some important findings that can be guidelines for us. Here are five prerequisites for finding satisfaction or experience happiness in life:
- Human beings need relationships to enjoy optimal well-being and happiness. This is a simple truth we are born with a strong drive to establish connections with others. While many of us think that we will be happy when we find “true love,” or whatever we feel approximates that, it is not romantic relationships that are required for happiness. Simply having good friends who encourage and support you will contribute just as much to your overall feelings of happiness and contentment in life.
- Being kind to others is essential to finding a sense of personal happiness. Our human brains are wired so that we feel joy when we behave in altruistic ways. Just making plans to do something nice for others whether it is throwing a party for a friend, volunteering your time for a worthy cause, or planning a monetary donation will give you a boost and generate a sense of satisfaction and well-being.
- Acknowledging the abundance of your own life no matter how austere or extravagant it might be and experiencing gratitude for these people, experiences, and things also positively contribute to a sense of well-being. The drive to attain more and more is counter to the expression of gratitude and a feeling of contentment with who and where you are in life. The pursuit of “things” only has value if you cherish the pursuit more than the “thing” it might yield.
- Finding a sense of meaning and purpose in your pursuits are necessary for contentment and happiness. Believing that you are contributing to something beyond yourself and being a part of something larger than your individual existence is also necessary to experience a feeling of peace that is a part of happiness.
- Making healthy lifestyle choices in terms of your basic needs sleep, nutrition, and exercise also contributes to your happiness. There are many research studies that show that regular exercise even just a daily walk is effective in reducing depression. Contemplation activities, such as yoga, meditation, reflection, also are proven to reduce stress and promote well-being. Depending on your age, many people think a good night’s sleep is “optional,” but research shows that poor sleeping habits lead to greater stress, increased risk for cardiovascular illness, and even weight gain. Sure, you can “sleep when you’re dead,” to paraphrase a movie title, but why would you want to risk an earlier demise than you would otherwise need to? Regarding nutrition, healthy diets really do affect your overall health. And your physical health affects your happiness significantly. A recent research study has shown that including fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet also reduces depression and anxiety. Trading the short-term convenience of addictive processed foods or the pleasures of overindulgence of alcohol or nicotine or others recreational drugs may bring that fleeting “high,” but the crash that follows not only affects you the day you feel it but has a lasting negative effect on your long-term health and long-term happiness.
