Regardless of all the steps we take in order to keep a well-balanced life, I know we all experience waves of stress throughout the day. Even with my daily ten minute morning meditation sessions, I still find myself getting overcome with stress from time to time. Here are my five go-to’s when it comes to reducing stress:
1. THE ONE MINUTE NAP
OK, so this isn’t really a nap, it’s more of a quick rest. It’s where you can sit quietly for just 60 seconds, concentrating on your breathing, with your eyes closed. Allowing you to reconnect and check back in with your body. I think this a pretty essential task that you can do for yourself, more of a gift, really.
2. DRINK A GLASS OF WATER
Drinking a glass of water is good for rebooting low energy, curbing your hunger, and gives you a moment or two to slow down. Rehydrating your body will work wonders, and will give it a bit of a kick. When I find myself starting to feel agitated, I fill up my water bottle, and know that drinking cold H2O will do wonders.
3. DISCONNECT FROM IT ALL
We are constantly bombarded by emails, texts, and words, words, words. It can be too much, and too overwhelming. It definitely does not help with keeping a calm and peaceful state of mind. Unplugging, even just for ten minutes or so can really make a big difference. When I’m trying to get something done in a timely manner, I find the most helpful thing to do, is to keep my phone away from me (read: more than an arm’s length away) and ensuring my Gmail is not open in the next tab.
4. CROSS OFF ONE ITEM OFF YOUR TO-DO LIST
Once a week, I sit down and make a super long list of to-do’s during what I like to call a ‘brain dump’ session. Meaning, anything that comes to mind that I need / want to get done (in all aspects of my life: house, work, wedding, Alex, friends, family, errands, etc.) gets jotted down. It’s super overwhelming at first glance, but I feel pretty accomplished as the week progresses by crossing off the items.
When I get stressed, I look at my list, and hunt down the easiest, quickest task that I can do to, simply for the sake of crossing it off. That boost of productivity helps eliminate stress, I swear!
5. GRATITUDE
I’m pretty sure I’ve drilled gratitude into your head by now. (It seems to be the underlying theme of all my balance posts). And in hazy moments of stress, there’s nothing like a good ‘ole gratitude list to realign your focus and priorities. So next time you get stressed, take 5 and do a ‘brain dump’ but rather than jotting down to-do items, write everything and everything you’re grateful for in 5 minutes. And then, feel your stress and anxiety start to lift.
So there you have it, my five quick fixes to solve stress when it starts creeping in. Have you tried any of these methods? If so, how does it work for you?