The Forehead-Slapppingly Easy Way To Squash Time Management Stress

A 1997 study at Duke University strengthens the link between stress and heart attacks:

“Heart patients can dramatically lower their chance of having more cardiac problems by utilizing stress reduction techniques …” Source: CNN.com

Wait a minute - 1997? That’s hardly news, is it? But still, how often is a big chunk of our stress in the here and now is caused by the “Oh, crap, I don’t have enough time to get it all done” blues? Far too much, even a decade after this not-particularly-groundbreaking study.

In light of that, I’d be remiss if I let any of my valued subscribers keel over and walk toward that big, white light for lack of a potent and simple stress-busting tip. Here’s a winner for you (and remember, I just saved your life, so you owe me. )

The Big Tip - Remind Yourself That It’s The Moment That Matters.

Sure, you have 525 things you need to be doing.  22 phone calls you have to return.  8,299 emails that are still clogging your inbox.  All those things cause you stress, because they are all (still) undone. (STILL.)

You want to drop that stress? Remind yourself that even though you have 525 things you need to be doing, you can only do one of them now.  Then just focus on doing that one thing.  Then focus on doing the next thing.  And the next.

The Take Away: Thinking of what you can’t get to now stresses you.  Focusing on what you can get to now gives you that sense of progress you’re hungry for.

But It Can’t Be That Easy, Can It?

Of course it’s that easy.

• You’re working on a project, and you stress about your business plan?  Remind yourself you’re doing something that matters and you’ll get to that other thing later - then get back to work, so you don’t make yourself a liar.
• You’re researching a topic, and you stress about how you don’t have time to study that marketing course you bought?  Remind yourself that if you focus and nail this research ASAP, you might just make some extra time for that later - then get back to work.
• You’re doing X, and you can’t stop thinking about Y?  Smack yourself, shake it off, and remind yourself that you have to go through X to get to Y, and get back to X.

Stressing over a too-full plate means that you’re spending time looking at that plate rather than chomping bite after bite after bite off of it.  More bites = smaller plates = less stress = hooray.

The antidote to stress is action.

KA-CHOMP.