Often part of stress is our worry that we will forget something important that we need to do. Sometimes it is a also situation or thought that is bubbling away in the back of our minds unrecognized and is causing an underlying anxiety for everything else. Take a few minutes to empty that all out of your head and onto a paper. When it is all in black and white, pick and categorize the top three that will add the most value to your life today and/or decrease your stress the most today. Rank them in order and then get to work! There will be time for the rest later but giving your mind a break from remembering All.The.Things. frees up focus and bandwidth to accomplish the things that are going to make the biggest difference right now.
Get it all out of your head (and down on paper.)
Stressors in our life are not just what is happening but also our THOUGHTS and FEELINGS around what is happening/what might happen and the resulting overwhelm.
Try these three simple tips to calm your run away brain
Set A Timer
When stress kicks us into a fight or flight mode it can sometimes feel paralyzing. We have to act. . but how? One way to break that paralysis is to focus on something for a certain amount of time. For example, instead of telling yourself that you need to do a huge task like “Write your company newsletter” or “Clean the kitchen” experiment with setting a time for 30 min and give yourself a focus like “Work on company newsletter for 30 min starting with the outline:” or “ “spend 30 min cleaning the kitchen, starting with the refrigerator”. Will you get something to completion with this technique? No probably not. However it will get you out of the stress paralysis state and moving forward which usually has a huge impact on your mental stress level. Remember, it doesn’t have to be perfect to move you forward. In fact, perfectionism will usually hold you back. Pick the thing that will give you the most impact and focus on it for a short, dedicated amount of time and then afterward take a minute to notice the calming effect it had on your mind.
Breathe, Name, Tame
I hear you. You don’t have time for a mindfulness break, you are already short on time. Well you might be pleasantly surprised what two minutes can do for your stress level and your resulting productivity. Set your watch or phone timer for two minutes, close your eyes, and focus on slow controlled breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth. In our stressed out minds often the only feeling we recognize is STRESS but take this time to focus on the feelings underneath it and give them a name. Do you feel scared that you won’t get everything done? Angry that you have so much to do? Surprised about something unexpected that you are not sure how to handle? Embarrassed that you can’t do it all on your own and need to ask for help? Giving a name to the underlying emotions to your stress often tames their influence on your mental stress level. Additionally, instead of thinking “I am frustrated”, try reframing it as “I FEEL frustrated”. It doesn’t take away the stress but it can create some space between you and your feelings so that you can choose how to respond.
