Managing Your Stress By Managing Your Time

Are you one of those people who wishes you had a 30-hour day? Do
you long for having enough time to homeschool your children,
cook gourmet meals, tend a garden, care for a large,
five-bedroom house, play the piano, and sit by the fire reading
a good book? The fact of the matter is many Americans today are
operating under a time crunch We simply don’t have enough hours
in the day to accomplish all that we want to
The situation creates an enormous amount of stress We may feel
as if we are constantly operating under a deadline We may feel
fatigued and frustrated, and we may wonder if we are missing out
on much of life because we spend so much time “doing” and not
enough time “thinking” We’re stressed at work, stressed at
home, and stressed at our son’s soccer match
The irony is, the more we do, the more behind we seem to get
We are constantly on the run, yet we may feel as if we are
accomplishing very little As a result, our pessimism grows We
may become short-tempered, especially with those we love We may
feel as if we are constantly running on empty
The good news is there is hope, even in the midst of what might
seem a hopeless situation We can get control of our lives and
control of our time It may take a little bit of effort and
time, but it will be well worth it in the long run The first
step we need to take is prioritization
Many people feel as if they lack time to do the important
things in life simply because they do not take the time to
prioritize Write down a list of your goals for the week, for
the year, and for the next five years When you do your initial
brainstorming, you can list the goals in any order you like
Then go through the goals and rank them in order of importance
After that task is completed, figure out just how much time you
would need to accomplish each goal You may find that just five
minutes here or there can make all the difference in the world
in achieving the items on your priority list
Next, learn to multi-task effectively That time you spend
waiting in the line at the drive-thru window could be spent
balancing your checkbook Or the time you spend paused at the
cash register could be used to read a book or a magazine In
general, you should not think of lines as time-wasters Rather,
consider them opportunities to accomplish some small, yet
important, tasks
In order to be effective as a worker, spouse, and parent,
you’ll need some alone time Get an appointment book and
actually schedule a block of time just for yourself Your alone
time could be spent praying, re-evaluating your priorities,
charting your progress, or just fixing yourself a nice dessert
Just be sure that you have some alone time each day Otherwise,
you’ll be shortchanging yourself, and you’ll feel more stressed
as a result
Don’t be afraid to say no You cannot be a cub scout leader,
girl scout leader, fundraising chair, and prima ballerina all at
one time You’ll need to pick and choose your assignments, both
your professional assignments and your personal ones If you
simplify your life, you might be surprised at how much time
you’ll gain–and how much better you will feel Sometimes, it
takes some backbone to say no You might disappoint someone
But, in the end, you’ll be much better off, knowing that you
have not overcommitted yourself
You should consider your time to be as precious as the
President’s There are a number of duties which make demands on
your time, those you love and those you don’t care for By
employing some innovative scheduling techniques, you can set
aside the time for those things that are truly important to you
You’ll be less stressed, more relaxed, and better able to cope
with the challenges you encounter on a daily basis As you
become less stressed out, you might find that your children,
spouse, and friends follow your lead And your world will become
more harmonious as a result

Tags | crunch, fact, gourmet, important, Magazine, matter, minutes, pessimism, priority, stress