ISO Effective Stress Management Tools

[tstesen]

Being self employed I have found affords me a lot of freedom and flexibility. On the flip side since becoming self employed 3 years ago my stress level has skyrocketed. Over the last year my stress levels have risen dramatically. I find myself constantly consumed by my work and meeting my clients needs.

Does anyone have any effective stress management tips or tools that might be helpful in reducing my overall stress levels?

Thanks in advance

Tanya

[Brutha]

I don't thing that it's about "how to manage stress".
It's about doing things in a way that produces less negative stress.
That can be through time management techniques like Getting Things Done (GTD) or through staying in the moment and enjoing what you are doing.

[tstesen]

Originally Posted by Brutha

I don't thing that it's about "how to manage stress".
It's about doing things in a way that produces less negative stress.
That can be through time management techniques like Getting Things Done (GTD) or through staying in the moment and enjoing what you are doing.

Thanks for your reply Brutha. I purchased GTD last year as well as Ready For Anything and I have applied the techniques and project management skills that are recommended.

I do agree that it has made a positive change in my feelings about my work and has lessened the stress but not eliminated it. Of course I don't expect to lead a life that is never stressful, everyone has stress in their day to day lives but I still feel as my stress level is too high.

I also just purchased The Now Habit and just finished reading it. I found some more helpful information in there as well that I hope to incorporate into my work life soon.

The part of your post about enjoying what I do hit me. With all the stress and pressures I face now I realize that I'm not enjoying my work as much as I used to. I contribute that to working to hard for too long without taking much needed breaks. I feel like I managed to burn myself out last year and I have taken the last two weeks off from work completely to recharge my batteries and focus on myself before returning to work on Monday.

Tanya

[BringTheDarkness]

Make time (it doesn't have to be a lot of time) to meditate.

It will do WONDERS for you being able to control your stress.

Well, it did for me at least

Let me give you a warning too: As someone who has "been down that path" you need to nip it in the bud before your health fails...I've seen that happen a lot.

BTD

[Christian223]

You need to leave some time to rest and have fun, dont work so much, in my experience, after i worked so many hours in a row in a couple of days is devastating, leave some hours each day to relax, and some hours to have fun, both as different activities, and also leave 1 or 2 days a week to not work at all, that made the difference for me. Also, read this article on how to use EFT with stress, it might help, i used EFT with other issues and i know it works very effectively Stress and Me and EFT good luck!.

[tstesen]

Originally Posted by BringTheDarkness

Make time (it doesn't have to be a lot of time) to meditate.

It will do WONDERS for you being able to control your stress.

Well, it did for me at least

Let me give you a warning too: As someone who has "been down that path" you need to nip it in the bud before your health fails...I've seen that happen a lot.

BTD

I've never been one to meditate. Do you simply sit in a quiet place and reflect on the outcomes you desire?

Tanya

[tstesen]

Originally Posted by Christian223

You need to leave some time to rest and have fun, dont work so much, in my experience, after i worked so many hours in a row in a couple of days is devastating, leave some hours each day to relax, and some hours to have fun, both as different activities, and also leave 1 or 2 days a week to not work at all, that made the difference for me. Also, read this article on how to use EFT with stress, it might help, i used EFT with other issues and i know it works very effectively Stress and Me and EFT good luck!.

You are very right Christian. I have been trying to slow down in my work life and trying to enjoy life more but with a small business to run life can be hectic a lot of the time. I'm really working on the mind like water state that David Allen talks about. Not under or over reacting to crisis is a key issue in my day to day work.

Tanya

[BringTheDarkness]

Originally Posted by tstesen

I've never been one to meditate. Do you simply sit in a quiet place and reflect on the outcomes you desire?

Tanya

Not really...I did meditations for clearing chakras, balancing and the such that people into the occult do...I wasn't actually expecting it to CALM me as well but it did to to a GREAT degree. So much so it was actually commented on by people close to me.

However, I have no trouble at all with visualizations so this type of meditation was easy for me. People who IK work with have done Yoga-type exercises in lieu of meditation sometimes.

BTD