Work- Life Balance: How to Manage Your Stress Levels (In a Different Way)

Article by Akashni Weimers

From time to time we get consumed by the things happening in our lives that cause a massive drain on our energy levels and sanity.

Work, health, clean up, kids, money, arguing with your spouse, school and even boredom from cabin fever at home, are all part of what causes us that daily stress build-up we want to get rid of, but don't know how.

As much as we'd like to recommend meditation, yoga and music as much as other self- help guides do (and those things really do work if you have the interest in it), there are other alternative actions one can take to make the journey a smoother one.

Top 5 Things that Eliminate Stress:

1. Learn to say no

Learning to say no is harder than it looks. For some, even in adulthood, saying no is nearly impossible.

But how many times have you said yes to someone when you knew you already had too much on your plate?

Or when you had to sacrifice some other important thing for the yes- activity, like say… time with your family, a date, a lunch time meet up with friends or that vacation time you so wanted.

And how did you feel knowing you should have said no instead? Not to mention, you still have to live up to the expectation of the yes- activity now. Major bummer.

2. Take a little more time than usual to get things done.

So the dishes are piling up, meetings, deliverable & assignment due dates are looming. Kids are screaming. What the f*** do you make for dinner?

Stop.

Tackle each thing like you normally would, but do it slower. 

Yes that’s right. Slower. Not faster!

Start by stopping and assessing the things that need to get done in that moment 

(Plan). Begin with the priority. Put the baby in a high chair and start bucketing your tasks into orderly categories. 

(Organise). Number them and knock them out in sequence.

Take your time! Despite your fears, things can wait. Let the phone ring on. Let the time pass and focus on the priority task at hand. 

(Lead/ Do). At the end of the day, kick back and review your successes. Tomorrow it will be better 

(Follow up and remind yourself of the progress you made).(I learnt this in Business Management: Plan, Organise, Lead, and Follow Up are the 4 pillars of management).

3. Surrender your thoughts to something greater than yourself. I’m not overly religious and this doesn’t have to be about God if you’re an atheist (but it can, if you are not).Surrendering to the knowledge that there are things happening in this world that are bigger than ourselves can be a powerful reminder that things will work itself out even you don’t have a hand in it. 

Yip, sounds crazy, but what could it hurt to try it now and again.

You do not have to complete every little thing on your plate. You can do the big things to feel satisfied and a lot less stressed out. For some more inspiration on this read articles on Stoicism.

4. Test your circumstances like they test you. Are you going to get fired for not answering every single non- critical email in your inbox? 

Or fail your entire test if you didn’t complete the MCQ section in time but aced it on the rest?The answer is no, and often we think “yes”. Test your fears as they test you. Overpowering your fears is an incredible relief to long term stress damage.

5. Use more muscles today than you did yesterday. 

Hate to exercise? Me too. Well not entirely. Exercise is not limited to the gym, running or playing sport. Walk a few more steps than you did yesterday. Bend, reach and stretch for like 5 min. Laugh at a comedy show. Or google face exercises, LOL. Using your muscles, all of your muscles is important in releasing tension. No dumbbells or yoga mat required.

Remember:

“The first step: Don’t be anxious. Nature controls it all. And before long you’ll be no one, nowhere—like Hadrian, like Augustus. The second step: Concentrate on what you have to do. Fix your eyes on it. Remind yourself that your task is to be a good human being; remind yourself what nature demands of people. Then do it, without hesitation, and speak the truth as you see it. But with kindness. With humility. Without hypocrisy.” ― Marcus Aurelius