You’ll feel better and less stressed if you just do one thing at a time. No matter if it is at work, in school or in your private life.
If your memory is anything like mine then it might be a bit like a leaky bucket too often. So write everything down. Your ideas, tasks and stuff you just have to remember.
6 years ago I never used a to-do list. I got very little done. Then I started using a too overloaded to-do list. I got more done but I was stressed and felt overwhelmed a lot of the time. Today I use a very short daily list of just the 1-3 most important tasks. It works really well.
One of the best ways to make your day and life easier, lighter and less stressful is to not build mountains out of molehills. To not create extra drama, overthink or create a problem out of something that doesn’t matter much. Or just out of air.
So how can you handle this bad habit?
Well, when a big problem is starting to build in my mind I first say something like: Hold on now…
This helps me to pause and become more receptive to change my line of thinking. Then I ask myself:
Will this matter 5 years from now? Or even 5 weeks from now?
Those two steps have helped me to build a lot less mountains in my life.
Spend 80% of your time focusing on a solution.
Ask instead of guessing.
Reading minds is very hard. Misunderstandings will be plentiful if you try to do it. So communicate instead. You’ll have a lot less unnecessary conflicts, negativity and waste less of your and other people’s time.
A simple one but one that can save you a lot of stress in the morning. Take 5 minutes before you go to bed to do this and you’ll also be less likely to forget something important like your schoolbook, wallet or phone.
I usually work for 45 minutes. Then I take a 15 minute break away from the computer. I eat a snack, take a short walk or maybe watch half an episode of one of my favorite TV-series. This helps me to relax and to avoid stress building up during the day.
Disconnect over the weekend.
Make sure you take time to do what you love to do.
Delegate.
You don’t have to do everything yourself. You don’t have to control or micromanage. If possible delegate and let someone else get that task or project to done.
This one has transformed my traveling from stressful situations to relaxing pieces of time in my day.
One good way to find clarity, to not get behind on work and to actually do what matters each day is to ask yourself questions regularly.
Questions like: What is the most important thing I can do right now?
And: Is doing this bringing me closer to my goal?
If you like, write one of the questions down on a post-it note and put it where you will see it every day. It is very easy to forget to ask yourself the question otherwise.
