We’ve all been there, time seems to shrink and you feel swamped with millions of activities that you need to get done, project deadlines approaching, exams…
So how can you de-stress and calm your mind in order to focus and get things done? In anticipation of Stress Awareness Month this blog post will be talking about the simple things we can do to help ease our minds.
A lot of attention has been given recently to stress and how we can avoid and relieve it. We are living in such a fast-paced world that sometimes all we need to do is take five minutes and breathe! To deal with stress you should always start by identifying the source; really pin-point what is triggering this reaction so you can deal with it better.
Here are three different activities that you can incorporate into your day-to-day routine, in order to feel calmer and more focused throughout the day, and to avoid stress. It is the three M’s process, as Dr. Rangan Chatterjee calls it, and they are meant to be incorporated in your morning routine.
- Movement – meaning be active! Try to incorporate at least ten minutes of movement into your day. Exercise might not make stress magically disappear, but it will reduce emotional intensity and help you clear your thoughts to help you feel calmer.
- Meditation – if you feel like you need to have five minutes of simply not thinking, you should practice meditating. Meditation helps to relax the mind and body and has many benefits. There are many apps that can take you into guided meditations from three to ten minutes, or you can play some relaxing music and focus only in your breathing as a way of meditation.
- Mindset – this is all about taking control and putting yourself in a positive mindset. When you take control, it empowers you and with a positive mindset you will be able to cope through whatever challenges you have ahead. So think positive!
Additional tips:
- Prioritize – when we feel overwhelmed, the best solution is always to prioritise. Define the urgent tasks to get done and make sure to keep an eye on your deadlines. Afterwards, you can subdivide by the time that each task requires so you start with the most urgent and time-consuming tasks first, to make sure you have enough time to finish them.
- Connect with people – when you have a good support network (that may include friends and family) they can always help relieve the stress that you are facing. Give yourself some time to talk it out with friends, having different points of view also helps to see our problems from a different perspective and it gives the mind a breather from concentrating too much on one thing.
- Take care of yourself – it is always important that, no matter the circumstances, we take good care of ourselves and our well-being. This includes having a good night’s sleep, eating well and staying hydrated. We need to take care of both our mental and physical well-being in order to have a healthy lifestyle.
If you want to read about more about how to deal with stress, these resources from the NHS and Psychology Today are great places to start.
Thanks to Lucia for writing up this blog post on stress in anticipation of Stress Awareness Month. Make sure to come for a chat (book a Careers Guidance appointment on King’s CareerConnect) with one of our Careers Consultants if you’re feeling stressed out about your career planning.