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Stress Management Techniques
(adapted from “The little online book of stress management”)
Exercise, like any stress management technique, can become a habit.
Just as a change in behaviour can indicate the presence of stress, so a positive
change in behaviour can help to reduce stress.
Try this practical stress management technique. List 10 changes you could make to
help beat stress, for example, have a healthy snack at work each morning, or park
10 minutes further away from the office and walk instead. Then pick two of the stress
management strategies on your list, and pledge to do them consistently for the next
month. By then, hopefully you will find that they have become habits, a natural part
of your life that you don’t even have to think about. You will find that it was worth
all the effort, and you will be ready to pick the next stress strategy or two from your list
Time management as a stress management technique
In today’s hectic world, stress is often caused by the build up of time pressures and
it can adversely affect our workplace stress. We have shorter deadlines and longer
working hours, spend time commuting further to work, and then when we get home frantically
rush around trying to cope with domestic responsibilities. We can’t create extra hours in
the day, but by evaluating how you currently spend your time, and learning a few simple
time management techniques, you could make better use of the time that you have, and ease the pressure.
Time management allows you to plan and organise your life so as to give yourself more
space and opportunity. It involves planning, delegating, setting goals and not wasting
time doing unnecessary things or worrying about things you can do nothing about. Think
carefully about how you spend your time. Do you really need to go to that meeting, or be
copied into all those emails? Set blocks of time aside to deal with specific things. Avoid
distractions. Be ruthless with dealing with paper and administration. Don’t procrastinate.
Make a list of long and short term goals
You may be wondering why this is a stress management technique. List the different areas of
your life, for instance, work and home, and then break them down into smaller categories.
Think about what you want to achieve in the immediate future, but also in the medium and the
long term. For example, in the immediate future you might have a list of things you want to
get done in the next week or so at work, such as “finish report” or “clear desk of all admin”.
In the medium term, think about what you would like to do in the next six months to a year,
such as “attend management training course”. In the longer term, your goal might be “to get
promoted to senior management level”.
When setting goals, it’s important that they are achievable and realistic. By all means set
yourself long term as well as short term goals, as then you will know what you are aiming for
in the future, but you need to break your long term goal down into smaller steps. This way,
you will be able to measure your progress as you reach each milestone which will keep you motivated.
Now you have written your list of goals, why don’t you take a few minutes to relax, sit down
with your lists and start to use your imagination. Practice imagining what it will be like to
have achieved all of those goals, short, medium and long term. Try to picture yourself after
you have achieved them.
How will it be? How have things changed? Don’t just create a visual picture and focus on how
you look, but use all your senses. Maybe you feel different or even sound different; perhaps
other people respond to you differently. Use your imagination to create a powerful vision of
what life will be like when you have reached your goals.
Having well defined goals and a belief in your ability to achieve them will already start to
help you manage stress and improve your stress management techniques.
Progressive muscle relaxation as a stress management technique.
Your doctor or a professional stress management trainer might teach you some exercises which are
known as the progressive muscle relaxation technique. This means that you very gently tense and
relax every muscle in your body, bit by bit, starting at your head or toes, and working to the
other end of your body, all the while breathing in and out slowly.
This exercise can produce enjoyable physical feelings of relaxation and can be a very effective
strategy for relieving stress, however it is not a good idea to try it if you have had any
muscular-skeletal problems or injuries in the past. If you are in any doubt, then you should
consult your doctor.
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