Life isn't fun when you're stressed, feeling run down, and expecting the worst outcome in any given situation, never mind the current pandemic.
Unfortunately, though, this is how many of us are feeling right now, including those who's lives seem perfect from an outsider’s perspective.
In order to really get the most out of your life – and to really enjoy it – it’s important to do what you can to reduce your stress levels, and to restore your sense of optimism.
Here are some tips for achieving that.
Try a range of systems and tools designed to simplify tasks and projects
If you are working from home there are so many different things out there that you may have to do during your normal working day that you have had to adapt, and still trying to dash around during your down time to shop or care for a family, that failing to be properly organised, and to utilise the right tools, is – for virtually everyone – a fast track to feeling totally overwhelmed and stressed.
Tackle the issue head-on by trying a wide range of systems and tools designed to simplify the tasks and projects you have to attend to both in your private life, and in your career. For example, if you work in HR, HR software can help you to not only increase your work from home situation efficiency but also free you from a lot of the irritation that you’re likely confronted with during your working week.
At the same time, tried and tested task and project management systems such as Getting Things Done, or The Bullet Journal Method, can help to get your to-do lists out of your head, and onto paper, so that you can finally relax and stop trying to track a million different things, mentally, at the same time.
Pursue particular peak moments, rather than arbitrary targets and goals
For many ambitious people out there, it’s a common practice to pursue largely arbitrary goals such as “I will lose 20lbs by 1 January,” or “I will earn 200k by March 3, 2022.”
But do these kinds of goals really fill you with inspiration and enrich your everyday life, or do they just serve as looming deadlines for you to panic about reaching?
In the book, “The Power of Moments,” the authors Chip and Dan Heath lay out a compelling case that what really motivates us to keep going in life are the “peak moments” we experience, and not the numerical targets we set ourselves.
When it comes to your goal setting, set yourself targets such as “I will hand in my resignation at my current job and reveal to my former boss that my site-hustle is now earning enough to support me full-time.”
That’s really something to daydream about.
Do less, and care about less – stop letting all the small stuff haunt you
There are only so many hours in the day. Business Entrepreneurs and couch potatoes each have the exact same daily allocation of hours, minutes, and seconds to work with.
The key is that you need to spend your time and energy as meaningfully and effectively as possible. In practice, that means it’s important to do less, and care about less, so that you can make real headway with what’s actually important to you.
Stop letting the small stuff haunt you. Question whether you need to spend hours every day surfing the Internet, or curating your social media pics if its not part of your job.
How about spending time with your family or relaxing instead.
What do you do to de-stress?
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