Manage Time and Relieve Stress
Our brain has different defense mechanisms for the challenges encountered by our bodies. However, stress is how our body responds to some challenges we come across. An unavoidable amount of stress is a healthy and useful part of our life. Everyone goes through hardship for managing their time, which eventually causes stress.
The thought of having many things to do, and never having enough time to complete the tasks lead to stress. Time management is an inversely proportional factor to stress. Successful management of time helps you to become effective in completing tasks and lessens stress.
Common Symptoms of Stress and Poor Time Management
- Irritability in behavior is an indicator of stress in a person. The person experiences impatience and a lack of concentration.
- Usual fatigue, which often remains unnoticed, can be an outcome of stress.
- The irregularity in memorizing the daily routine like what you did all day, what you ate yesterday, etc.
- Difficulty in sleep is a prominent symptom of stress.
- Physical discomfort, including headaches, cramps, rashes, etc.
- In the worst situations, stress may lead to depression.
Biggest time wasters
- Distractions are efficient enough to waste your time. There can be distractions like mobile phones, television, constant urge to check social media, etc.
- Interruptions are always there and are to be handled. Visitors and frequent unnecessary long phone calls can interrupt your work.
- The hopelessness of completion of the task makes people give in and numb out.
- Poor delegation skills and lack of sharing of work.
- Access procrastination, the feeling of doing nothing.
Techniques to Manage Stress
There are many measures adopted by people to cut down stress in their lives. It’s not about a lack of knowledge of what to do to cut down stress; it is about doing what you have to do. Sometimes you don’t have to solve the problem, rather report it to someone and talk about it. You can consult your elders, friends, or siblings to discuss your problems.
You must figure out if there are any tense muscles in your body. Basic stretching and a hot shower can help your muscles relax. Get feedback from your boss at your workplace. Clear feedback can help you to figure out the status of your work.
- You must cut down on caffeine and sugar intake. Going out for a walk will relax your mind. You must use basic techniques of planning, problem-solving, and decision making. Go for something you feel good about, such as dancing, a workout, cleaning, etc.
- A night of sound sleep for 7-8 hours at night can reduce stress. Acceptance of events that you cannot control will help to lower your stress levels. Be assertive about your opinions or beliefs instead of being aggressive.
- Practice relaxation techniques like yoga, meditation, etc. Eat a healthy and well-balanced diet.
Techniques to Manage Time
The goal of time management is not to find more time instead of setting a reasonable time to complete the tasks efficiently.
- Make a list of the tasks to be finished. You must prioritize your tasks by how crucial they are into urgent, important, and not important tasks. The urgent tasks would be the tasks which are to be finished right away to avoid problems, such as targets with deadlines. The important tasks would be the tasks that are meaningful to you, such as spending time with your family and friends, workout, etc. The not important tasks would include ones don’t need to be done.
- Avoid procrastination and initiate yourself to complete your tasks. Structure your time by using a planner to plan your day or week. There are apps like Time Tune and Time Planner, which will help you organize and plan your time.
- You must break large tasks into fragments to complete the projects easily. Creating short-term deadlines helps you to manage the pressure when long-term deadlines arrive. You should manage your commitments and take care of them responsibly.
