Reducing Stress

Think of preparation as one good idea to stay on top of stress of getting a task done in time, and to the best of your ability.

 A work deadline next month

An upcoming dissertation

A best man’s speech

Looking for somewhere to live

Planning a holiday

The first Active Step, perhaps, is to think of being prepared – ahead of the game – as a good thing.

The next Active Step is to fit in time to start – just a couple of minutes planning. Getting started is often the hardest part of any task, after all. 

Try to break a task down into a series of Active Steps – as small and individual as possible. This will make it easier to visualise completing the task and make it less likely you’ll procrastinate on getting going.

OK, so this isn’t always possible – some jobs overlap outside of our control. But wherever you can, try to focus on one thing at a time.

A particular task at work

Cooking a meal

Playing with the children

A hobby

So, log out of MSN, Facebook or Twitter – save it until the end of the day. Try to limit your multi-tasking. Practise staying focussed on one task at a time and feel calmer and work more efficiently as you go.

Letting all today’s jobs out of your head and onto the page helps you relax a little in the knowledge that you will not forget what needs to be done.

You can then plan your approach to tackling your jobs.

Crossing them off the list, one by one, feels good too.

Time can often seem to be in short supply. We want to get things done as soon as possible and move onto what’s next.

But do we have time to stop and think, or to enjoy a sense of achievement?

There is evidence that poor time management is a significant problem in the workplace, with 20% of time lost in non-essential or wasted tasks. This must be equally true at home.

There are several methods we can try to improve our own time management and minimise the stress of the rush.