REDUCING STRESS - 2 tips to live a healthier life

Stress is one of the most talked about topics to date with many sources telling you vague and various ideas in terms of how to reduce stress and the truth is these ideas are generalised and aren't specific enough for most of us to go and implement them. The tips I am going to share with you are tried and tested; you may well have heard about them before but I will give you different examples of how to implement them in a clear and concise way so you come away feeling ready to get rid of those nagging stresses.

1 – Start Planning Today

This, for me, is the most underrated piece of advice I have ever come across. Planning is very personal to me as there was a time around a year ago where I was really struggling to keep on top of the workload I had. I felt like I had insurmountable amounts of work, I had goals that I wasn’t achieving and I just felt like everything was getting me down. I was actually achieving none of my goals and completing none of my work just adding to the stress, does this ring any bells for any of you?

So what did I do you make be asking so that I can now keep on everything in my life? I planned my day-to-day activities. Yes, it was as simple as that sounds but guess what, you have to commit time to making these plans for it to work. It’s no good simply scribbling a few jobs you need to do on a piece of paper and hoping that works. For many of you keeping a calendar of key events you have coming up might already be sufficient to help you feel less stressed but for others it may not even scratch the surface so below I have provided a step-by-step guide to creating a weekly/monthly plan in which I have covered all basis so read it thoroughly and utilise the key parts for you.

STEP 1 - Buy yourself a calendar; this could be a pocket or book sized calendar or, as was in my case, a large wall calendar that you can write on. If you have more time or are feeling extra creative, you can even make your own. It doesn’t matter how you do it, just get one.

STEP 2 - Note down key events for the week/month however far ahead you want to start to look. For key events I would probably focus on the whole month. So things like Birthdays, gatherings, weekend events – whatever it is note them down (and the timings if possible)

STEP 3 - Once you have done that lets switch our focus to the next week. Now the first thing you are going to do is note down probably the most important set of timings; when you go to sleep and when you wake up. You might be thinking why would I do that and the reason is not only so that we are getting a sufficient amount of sleep in, but so we know the time frame we can work in from day to day. For example, I wake up at 6:15am everyday and I aim to be asleep for 11pm at the latest. // Next comes your daily work schedule so what tasks do you need to complete? What time are your meetings? Note them all down for the week. // Finally note down any other activities you complete or want to complete during the week; these might be playing sport, going to the gym or going to see friends – whatever it is note them down. Again, some of you may be happy with noting all this down but for those that need to go further; put timings on each task so you know exactly what you need to be doing and when. The important thing to remember here is to overestimate how long it will take you to complete something so say if you usually complete the filing in half an hour, give yourself 45 minutes or 1 hour so you are not constantly putting yourself under pressure and inevitably more stress // Gaps can be left for free time or rest/downtime so don’t feel like it all needs to be full.

STEP 4

- Once you have completed this, have a look over and make sure you haven’t left anything out.

- You can do this for the next week if you wish but I would advise focusing on each week the Sunday before; spending an hour or so completing these steps again.

- Here is another important tip for those that have flexible or changing work schedules; simply fill in your weeks schedule the best you can and in the evening just spend 10/15 minutes noting down specifics for the next day – it will take you no time at all and will be hugely beneficial.

So there you have it; how to plan out your weeks so you need not stress about what time you were supposed to be at that meal or when those performance review meetings were. Simply leave your calendar in a place where you can see it so you know exactly what you have on your plate day to day. Honestly, you will begin to realise the amount of time you usually spend stressing about these aspects and to have that time back as well as the reduction in stress, it’s a win-win.

The last thing I will say on this area is don’t be halfhearted with it, don’t stop writing parts of your day because you ‘think’ you’ll remember whatever it is. Write it all down and put maximum effort into it.

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2 – Learn to switch off in the evenings and make time for you

Studies have shown that we should all spend at least 10-15 minutes per day doing something we love so why don’t we? Put it this way, if you wanted your racehorse to win the Gold Cup would you leave them in the stables without sufficient food/water and take them out for a ride once a week? Didn’t think so, so why do we place such expectation on ourselves to be perfect and yet neglect ourselves the mere pleasures of downtime? Luckily, I have a simple solution to allow you to indulge, but first let me set the scene: many of you will go home after a long day at work and might sit down to watch the news, or finish doing some work on that long commute home. Others may spend hours cycling through their phone looking at the latest news or checking their social media. Technically you are not working so you believe yourself to be resting and making time for you, after all you enjoy going through social media so its fine right? Wrong. I want to introduce an idea that may scare you at first but through repetition, it will reduce those stress levels like you never thought possible, here it goes:

SWITCH OFF YOUR PHONE/LAPTOP AND GET STUCK INTO A TV SERIES OR BOOK

By switching off your phone/laptop for at least an hour, you are automatically freeing yourself of the distractions that come with it. No thoughts of social media, work, meetings, job offers, videos – nothing. You are free of all that and can now dedicate that whole hour (at least) to enjoying a TV series of a book of your choice. Why this activity you may be asking, well in a short answer: because you become so engrossed in them that it’s, in effect, an escape from reality that you can enjoy; no distractions just you and Tommy Shelby (those of you who have seen Peaky Blinders will understand). The TV series can be anything from Game of Thrones or Power to Four in a bed and The Great British Bake Off. Literally anything that you can continuously get stuck into (but not the news; that shit is enough to ruin anyone’s day).

What if I don’t enjoy watching TV or reading books? First of all, I didn’t realise those people existed but just pick an activity that suits you – completing puzzles, knitting, meditation (I can teach you), anything that you enjoy. Trust me, if you commit to spending that hour away from your everyday life you’ll come out of it feeling much more relaxed and recharged. Now this isn’t to replace any physical activity you may do or any other enjoyable activities you already carry out; this is simply something easy that you can implement during your free time in the evenings which will help relieve those stress levels.

So there you have it, two tips to reduce stress that I have personally used and have personally succeeded with. I wish you all the very best in trying these out and I know that if you give them everything your stress levels will reduce. You can even sit down after every week and log how your stress has been and watch it alter over the next few weeks and months.

If you want any further help with stress or any of the other topics listed on my website please just contact me by email or phone and I promise to get back to you within the day (sometimes within minutes). Even if you aren’t as interested I would advise you to have a little read of my website as I have a few good jokes in there (I think) that might brighten up your day. Feedback is not only welcomed but encouraged.

All the best

Callum