You’re in a bit of a bind, here. On the one hand, your devotion to your business or career means you have less time than ever to think about cooling off, calming down, and finding some relief from negative emotions.
However, now is the time when you need a clear mind the most so that you can face the obstacles ahead and reach your goals. There’s only one choice, and that’s to make time because you’ll never achieve anything if you’re riddled with anxiety and self-doubt, which will surely result from your hectic pace and lack of self-care.
Here are some ways to combat work-related stress and add tranquility to your everyday life.
Delegate
There’s nothing wrong with taking on additional responsibilities unless, of course, it starts making you so busy that it negatively impacts your mental and emotional health. If that’s the case, then a simple solution is to delegate or outsource some responsibilities. For instance, you might pay someone to mow your lawn or clean your house. You can also hire a professional dog walker to help care for your pet during the day (an hour-long walk will usually cost you $22 – $27). Outsourcing these tasks helps free up some time so you can relax while still knowing that everything is getting taken care of.
Get Organized
One writer with Verywell Mind, a website devoted to mental health, called organization the secret weapon against stress. Organization keeps you from scrambling around at the last minute wondering where things are and helps you get prepared for key events in your life and your workday. Being proactive, noticing what troubles you, and consciously eliminating potential stressors are key in bringing order to your home, office, and schedule.
Declutter
Speaking of your home and office, these places may be where the stress is emanating from, especially if you regularly find yourself in a messy environment littered with clutter. According to Your Modern Family, this intensifies other frustrations in your life, leaving you feeling anxious, hopeless, and overwhelmed. There’s an easy solution, though: getting rid of stuff. Take each object in your home and office and ask yourself if you really need it. If you don’t, get rid of it. And after you’ve decluttered, give your home and office a deep cleaning. It’s usually best to trust a professional with this task; expect to spend between $118 and $223 in Los Angeles for a cleaning service.
Eat Right
Eating well is at the heart of well-being and has a profound effect on your physical and mental health. First off, when your body is in shape, you’ll look and feel healthier. But it goes deeper. In fact, there are foods that reduce anxiety by decreasing levels of the stress hormone cortisol or increasing levels of other hormones that fight it. These include fatty fish and dark chocolate.
Exercise
Exercise should be a part of anyone’s daily routine. As scientists have discovered, when dealing with stress, all of your body’s systems — cardiovascular, nervous, respiratory — need to communicate with each other and function in sync, and they get plenty of practice doing that when you exercise. Furthermore, physical activity gives you an endorphin boost that leads to a sense of ease and confidence after every cardio or strength-training session. Surely, you can find 30 minutes a day for that.
Meditate and Breathe
You only need a few minutes to meditate, and you can do it at home or work as part of your daily routine or whenever you feel overwhelmed. As Yoga Medicine founder Tiffany Cruikshank tells Health.com, it all starts with deep rhythmic breathing, which puts you in touch with the rest of your body and leaves you in a state of calm. You’ll also carry out a mental decluttering by casting negative thoughts and stressors out of your mind, leaving you focused on what matters most.
Take Up a Hobby
First off, doing something you love takes your mind off whatever’s troubling you at work, and sometimes that’s enough to reset and find a little peace at the end of the day. To find a hobby that works for you, just think back to how you spent your time when you were younger. Was it drawing? Playing music? Writing? You’ll find a number of those activities actually help in your work by sparking your creativity; you may even be able to add something interesting to your resume.
Making the right choices in life can do wonders for your mental health and help you get ahead in life and at work. Best yet, it doesn’t take that much time at all to achieve this state of mind, only the willpower to make some changes.
Please schedule your 30-minute session to talk about the best ways to declutter your mind and your life to up your mental health.
