- Learn how to say “no” – Know your limits and stick to them.Whether in your personal or work life, be assertive on what is and what is not your responsibility. Taking on more than you can handle or other people’s stuff is a recipe for stress.
- Avoid or Limit the time spent people who stress you out – If someone consistently causes stress or negativity in your life and you can’t turn the relationship around, limit the amount of time you spend with that person or end the relationship entirely.
- Be Mindful at least once a day, for a minute or whatever time you can spare: Use your own ‘pause button’ – Take time to check in what is going on with you. What am I feeling? What am I thinking? What sensations do I feel right now?
- Be solution focussed and avoid procrastination – think in terms of solutions, not in terms of problems. Ask myself How? Instead of Why? Or the consequence’s. Solve your problems as quickly as possible. Don’tlet them pile up. Delays are not a solution.
- Take control of your environment where you can – Have small wins for you in a day. For example: If the evening news makes you anxious, turn the TV off. If traffic’s got you tense, take a longer but less-travelled route. If going to the shops is an unpleasant chore, do your grocery shopping online etc.
- Be assertive – express your needs, you are important too. Express your feelings instead of bottling them up – If something or someone is bothering you, communicate your concerns in an open and respectful way. If you don’t voice your feelings, resentment will build, you become miserable and the situation will likely remain the same.
- Empathise with the other person, understand how they feel and where they coming from. See the bigger picture of the situation.Be willing to compromise – When you ask someone to change their behaviour, be willing to do the same. If you both are willing to bend at least a little, you’ll have a good chance of finding a happy middle ground.
- Self-Care, looking after yourself and Self Compassion, giving yourself what you need to feel right now, is very important at all times, but especially in times of stress.
- Manage your time better – Poor time management can cause a lot of stress. When you’re stretched too thin and running behind, it’s hard to stay calm and focused. But if you plan ahead, you sometimes can avoid some of the stress.
- Review your to-do list – Analyse your schedule, responsibilities, and daily tasks. If you’ve got too much on your plate, distinguish between the “important” and the “urgent.” Drop tasks that aren’t truly important and urgent to the bottom of the list or eliminate them entirely.
- Accept mistakes – Accept that people, including you, sometimes make mistakes or deal with or solve things in a different way and learn to put disappointments into perspective by answering the question ‘so what?’
- Life Balance – ensure to get ‘me’ time and try to get a healthy work – family – life balance as possible
