A ten point plan to a laid back life

1.      Get a good night’s sleep. When you don't, you produce extra stress hormones.

2.      Have fun and laugh every day. Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases infection fighting antibodies.

3.      Throw away the cigarettes, keep your alcohol intake low, and eat as healthily as you can afford to.

4.      Exercise regularly – it produces chemicals in the brain that make you feel good.

5.      Relax every day. That’s actual relaxation - not ironing in front of the TV. Take a leisurely bath, get a massage, meditate, and switch off.

6.      If the kids interfere, encourage them to join you. There are some great relaxation tapes aimed at kids, which you can use as well.

7.      Keep your attitude positive. See the time you are stuck in traffic as an opportunity to review that important presentation one more time.

8.      Make lists; identify urgent jobs and break overwhelming tasks up into several smaller items. Find the best way of working for you; do you feel calmer if you get short or boring jobs out of the way first, or if you concentrate on the most important?

9.      Make an action plan.

1. List things that stress you, and decide what you would do about them in an ideal world.
2. Think: what stops me doing that right now, is it practical? If no, go back to a and write down the best of the possible alternatives. Say your job is your number one problem. Giving up work altogether might be your “ideal world” answer. You could always buy a lottery ticket, but looking for a new job would be more likely to help.
3. Once you have a yes, write down the first step you can take. Your first step in the above example might be to contact a careers advisor or look at retraining.
4. Set a specific time and date to take that first step. It's much easier to follow through if you say “I will see the careers advisor next Tuesday when I finish work early”.

10.  (Most importantly …) follow your action plan!


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Author: Debbie Waller is a professional stress management coach, specialising in working with individuals and smaller employers to minimise stress and maximise feeling in control.
Find out more on www.yorkshirestressmanagement.com  or phone 01977 678593