Stress Management Skills: My Tips

Stress management skills in this day and age are CRUCIAL. In the crazy overwhelm that is life, we need to take proper care of our body, soul, and mind in order to stay in optimum shape for handling stress.

You can’t control what curveballs life throws at you, but you can control how you treat yourself – and it should be LIKE A QUEEN!

Here are my Top 5 stress-reducing, bliss-inducing techniques to build your resilience, live in better balance and feel happier and healthier all month long.

 

1) Michelle Knows Best

Former First Lady Michelle Obama said it best, “You have to schedule the balance.” She puts her self-care and family time on her calendar ahead of time, just like she would work meetings. And you should too! This way, you make it (and yourself) a priority. This is one of my favorite stress management skills.

Self-care is my #1 tip for a reason – it’s the most important thing you can do to add more bliss and have less stress in your life. It doesn’t require a huge time commitment either, just 5 minutes a day to treat yourself well will help.

Make appointments in advance for regular massages or acupuncture sessions. Head to the beach and wiggle your toes in the sand. Journal or meditate. I love to take a Detox bath (and I don’t even have a tub!). Some people wouldn’t consider exercise a form of self-care, but I do. Yoga is very relaxing for me and a way to connect with my body and the Earth.

So pencil it in, set a reminder, find a buddy, whatever you have to do, just make a plan and stick to it. If you need some extra help, click here to download my Self-Care Planner.

 

2) Go Out Of Your Mind

When trying to manage all those uncontrollable things in life leaves you feeling a little crazy, it’s time for a good ol’ brain dump. When you write about what’s on your mind, it takes the pressure off. Those persistent thoughts are out of your brain and off your chest, leaving you blissfully blank.

And it offers you an opportunity to add a fresh perspective to negative situations; I like to end a journaling session with gratitude for three things in my life. You also get to know yourself better by creating a deeper understanding of the things you want, how you want to feel, and what troubles you.

When I journal, I often ask myself questions.

What do I really need right now?
What’s troubling me?
What’s not working?

Just be sure to hide those journals away; it’s super important that you not censor yourself during this process. And if you still need to talk it out, no problem. Connect with a good friend or reach out to a support group to get that one-on-one feedback too.

 

3) Once A Day, Get Away

This rule gives you a chance to escape whatever is happening during the day and regroup. It’s especially useful when you’re having an awful day, but even when you’re having a great day, sometimes you just need a little timeout.

It can be your opportunity to meditate somewhere quiet or just take 10-15 minutes to wipe the slate clean with whatever relaxes you. I find this practice really revitalizing no matter how short the duration.

Here is a breathing exercise I share with my private clients.

1. Bend over at your waist and let your head hang loose.

2. Wait 30 seconds or so to let the blood flow to your head.

3. Then, on the count of 10, slowly come up vertebrae by vertebrae.

4. By the time you’re standing tall again, your brain will be reoxygenated. It really clears out the cobwebs.

You can also read, do some stretching exercises or just sip a nice cup of tea. But whatever you decide to do, ditch your freakin’ cell phone!

 

4) I Declare A Thumb War

Thanks to smartphones, texting, email apps and video chat, it is really hard to get away from work. There are such blurry boundaries between work, home, and friends, quiet time, and personal time. We have so much less downtime than we’ve ever had before, and in some cases, no downtime.

Our addiction to technology and social media mania are now top sources of chronic stress. This is why stress management skills are so crucial! Technology puts us in a constant state of alert. The minute that little chime goes off, we’re looking at our phones. Most of us do not need to be on our phones as much as we are, accessible 24/7, unless you’re a doctor on call.

Not only does technology spur stress, but it has a negative effect on our interpersonal relationships. We have so much less physical contact with each other. Instead, we FaceTime or text; we don’t even call anymore. There is even a link between use of smartphones at home and the disintegration of the family life.

The best thing you can do is limit your time on your phone and computer. Turn off your push notifications. Silence your alerts. Start a “no phones at dinner” policy. My friends and I do this, and it’s wonderful!

And put technology to work for you; there are apps that turn off email syncing or silence your notifications at certain hours of the day or by location. Whatever helps ensure you’re not constantly on your phone when you could (or should) be doing something else.

Give those thumbs a rest and take a walk with a friend instead. The less we’re staring at screens and the more we’re communing with nature and each other, the greater we’re contributing to our overall bliss.

5) Declutter Your Life

I plan to cover this in depth next week, but the basics are simple. You’re mentally more focused when you’re not surrounded by clutter. Clarity is so important when you have such limited windows of time to actually accomplish the things we need to do.

For me, because my home is an open, loft-like space (with my office on one side and my bed, etc. on the other), it’s super important that I keep it clean and clutter free, or I don’t sleep well.

I learned an interesting twist on the 80/20 concept for space, which is that you keep your drawers and closets 80% full and 20% empty. This way, you always have space to put things away. Other organizers say you should never have a junk drawer because it will inevitably be filled with junk and overflow into other spaces. (I agree!)

Who hasn’t heard of the insanely popular Marie Kondo book, “The Life‑Changing Magic of Tidying Up”? We’ll dive more into it next week, but here’s the gist. The less clutter, the more energy can flow through your home, leading to greater happiness.

Everyone can agree that when you go through your closets and drawers, it’s such a huge relief to your mind too. If you’re looking for a simple way to begin, sort your clutter into three piles: ditch it, donate it, and keep it. If you haven’t worn it or used it in 6 months to a year, you can probably get rid of it.

I know these can be hard decisions, especially when you’re emotionally attached to material things, but I really want you to invite more abundance into your life this month. When your home is cluttered and you have zero time or space in your life for anything new, how is that abundance supposed to get in? It can’t. Decluttering is a simple way to make space for yourself and welcome in your bliss.

Ah! Doesn’t that feel good already? 

Which of these stress management skills resonated the most? Let me know in the comments below.

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LOVE + abundance!