Stressed? I haven’t got time!

Time management and stress management was the theme of the first #auslibchat for 2018 and if you’re looking for a Twitter chat full of suggestions, puns, GIFs and support, jump over there immediately and bookmark/Pocket/Pinterest/print all the things. Seriously, if you need one reason to join Twitter, do it for this monthly chat. Instead of typing several long tweets with links to resources, it seemed like a nice idea to capture them here.

Here are some of my go-to stress and time management tools, in no particular order:

Learning how to live, work and get through the hard stuff

  1. Listening to stories and ideas about life (personal and professional) is my main stress management tool (particularly combined with point 3 on this list). Individual experiences, what went wrong and right, embracing change, developing new skills or becoming more resilient . . . it might not sound like stress management to you, but it definitely works for me. Listening and learning makes me feel more ok about myself and who I am. Try Discover Your Talent Do What You Love, How To Be Awesome At Your Job, Made of Human, Get Your Sh*t Together, Happier In Hollywood and By The Book.
  2. Cognitive behaviour therapy helped me change thought patterns and identify stressors before they take over. Sarah Edelman’s Change Your Thinking is an excellent introduction to CBT. My other favourite book to understand the mind and how to break free of negative self-talk is F*ck Feelings: Less Obsessing, More Living by Dr Michael Bennett and Sarah Bennett.
  3. Going outside on a break or at lunch is hugely beneficial to your mental health. Look at the sky, find some grass and take your shoes off, or just sit. Whatever works, just go outside!

Time is of the essence but also hard to wrangle

  1. Pomodoro keeps me focused for short bursts and then gives me time to wander away for a few minutes to make tea, talk to the dogs, look out the window without feeling guilty.
  2. Putting everything in my calendar, blocking out time for each task on my to do list.
  3. Headphones with music that match what I’m doing is great for keeping focused. (Now I’m working from home, I can dance and work to my hearts content – win!) I’m a big fan of wearing headphones in the office, don’t worry about offending people, just do it if you think you will get more done or need to tune out office chat!

One final thought

Having a friend (work colleague, non-work colleague, partner, parent, neighbour etc) to debrief with when work becomes too much is so important. Find that safe person, they could be online or right in front of you. It’s good to just say all the things and hear “OMG that’s terrible/stressful/have you thought about…”. And if you see someone online who seems to be struggling, reach out and send them a friendly GIF or message, whatever works. It could make all the difference.

P.S. The cards in the image are Affirmators! (50 Affirmation Cards to Help You Help Yourself – without the Self-Helpy-Ness!) and the weekly planner is from Kmart ($3!!!)

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