Little Things You Can Do to Help Manage & Minimize Stress

One of my screen names back in the day was "Jess In Stress." LOL I'm such a dork. Compared to my life NOW--I didn't even have a clue what stress was! There is some truth to that name now though, that's for sure. I think many of us can agree that being a parent and working full-time isn't the easiest thing. It's a lot of responsibility in a lot of different places for a lot of different things. Even if you're not a parent, I'm sure you are sometimes required to wear multiple hats, or are faced with difficult situations. It is completely understandable that LIFE can most certainly be hard to manage and a bit overwhelming...and sometimes it feels like we can't manage it at all. And with that comes stress. And that's not good.

How many sicknesses can you think of that are tied to stress? A lot. And sadly, many times, stress can make the sickness worse and even fatal. Our bodies and minds do not work well with stress, which makes it so important to manage it appropriately. Let's face it, we can't avoid it. Shit stuff happens. The challenge is not letting it ruin you.

Over the past year or so, I've realized how much stress affects my everyday life. I was challenged to deal with so many things that were out of my control--from health problems, to relationship issues, challenges with a new job, expanding my family, learning to live in new places and in new ways--at the end of each day, I was deteriorating. My "fuse" became shorter and shorter, which made my life harder and harder. It put me in a bad mood. And I'd have a bad attitude. And who would see that? My kids. And people who I loved. And who loved me. I let my stress destroy me and I let myself destroy those around me. I made a promise to myself this year to change that.

So I googled "how to manage stress" and found tons and tons of articles about eating right, exercising regularly, breathing exercises, drinking water, yoga, blah blah blah....I get it. Scientifically all those things help, but realistically??? Doesn't work for me. I drink water and try to maintain a healthy diet but let's be honest...I don't have time to meditate. Or do yoga. There is no quiet place in my house (until we all go to bed). I don't have time to cook all the time and prepare healthy meals, so yeah, McDonalds is on the menu some nights. (I have no shame. Sue me.) Then it dawned on me. Most of my stress is tied to my time, and always feeling like I have none.

So here's the big idea: Minimizing my stress requires me to maximize my time. No more procrastinating. No more putting it off. Be more prepared. Be better prepared. Here are some of the things that have helped me minimize stress, and I aim to continue to add to this list.

1. Putting out my clothes (and the kids' clothes) for the next day. I distinctively remember my mom trying to ingrain this habit into my head when I was little. I never picked it up. But now that I do it, IT CHANGES EVERYTHING!! I know I normally take long to get ready...well, according the Mr. in my life. But who would've thought this little move would cut down almost half an hour off my morning routine?! It doesn't take me half an hour to pick out my clothes the night before, but the reality was--it took me that long in the morning. Why. Maybe because I'm half asleep and yet I have to put so much thought into what I'm wearing for the day. Doing it the night before is so much easier, and chances are, you are more awake and aware of what you're picking out...so you won't go to work with one black sock and one blue sock. Just sayin.
2. Making sure there's always gas in my tank. Someone told me to do this long time ago, and I'm glad I'm just now starting to listen. :) This is a big one. How many times have you found yourself running late in the morning, only to get in the car and find that you're on E? Yeah. Keep your tank filled. Those few extra minutes and having to make that extra stop during your morning commute is a real time suck when you're already rushing.
3. Packing everything the night before. The baby bag. My gym bag. My lunch. I don't have to say much here. Those three bags alone can take me half an hour to pack in the morning and...ain't nobody got time for dat.
4. Waking up 15-20 minutes earlier than everyone else does. As I said earlier, the only time my house is quiet is when everyone is sleeping. I try to get up a little earlier so that I can wake up and have a few minutes of quiet time to myself. Doing this allows me to 1) Get up and wake up, and 2) Not wake up to crying/half awake-half asleep toddlers while I'm still half awake-half asleep myself. I'd rather avoid the "I just wanna crawl back under the blanket" moments when I have to get up and get ready for work.
5. Keep a bag of snacks in my room. LOL I just realized how that sounds. IT'S NOT FOR ME. It's for the kids. One of the things that stresses me out most is trying to get ready while my kids are screaming for me (mainly the baby). I feel rushed and I feel like I'm neglecting him, and ultimately, I spend MORE time getting ready because I'm trying to entertain him at the same time. So for the days that I am not able to get that extra time to myself in the morning, I have an emergency snack pile (or bottle, when he was a baby) that I can pull from so I can buy some of that time back. Other distractions are his favorite toy, or TV, but he's not really interested in those things when he wakes up. Just wants Mommy or food. Lol that's my child.
6. Keep my cell phone charged. Because I use it for everything. Like an alarm. And God-forbid my alarm doesn't go off......
7. Maintain a clean household. Now I'll be the first to admit, I'm not the neatest, and I'm not talking Martha Stewart clean here. But coming home to cluttered, messy home with nowhere to lay your head or kick your feet up when you get home after a long day at work is not the easiest thing to come home to. For me, all I see when I come home to a house like that is more work to do...and that adds to my stress.
8. Keep a to-do list. Because I find it therapeutic to cross things off. I'll even write down things I already did just so I can cross it off. :) Also, keeping a to-do list by my bedside allows me to take all of those things that are keeping me up at night--what I have to do tomorrow, where I have to be--and organizes it into a simple checklist. Sometimes when all your thoughts are there on paper looking back at you, it doesn't seem as bad.
9. Take advantage of the drive to and from work. This is another time that I can actually get quiet time because the kids normally fall asleep in the car. I have experienced both living really close to work, and living about half an hour away from work, and I can honestly say I like the commute. I like having that time to wind down before and after work. It helps me to reset.
10. Find a routine and stick to it the best I can. One of the articles I found suggested to "Rely on Rituals," and said that our bodies naturally like routine and sometimes turning to a comfortable routine in times of stress can help because it allows us to take back control over a part of our day when we feel powerless because of stress and tension. Makes sense to me! I do feel better when things are "going as planned."

Other things I do to minimize stress (apart from maximizing my time):

1. Find a healthy distraction. For me it's Pinterest. There's just too many interesting things on there that can easily take my mind off the negative.
2. Keep a book on hand. I'm getting better at this. I've never been a reader. But I've learned that getting lost in a story can easily pull you out of a funk.
3. Keep a journal by your bed. To get all those lingering thoughts that's keeping you awake off your mind and onto paper.

I've adopted most of these actions into my life already. Some I'm getting better at, but progress is progress right? :) I can say it is a positive rolling effect because once you start seeing changes in yourself, you start to feel better about yourself, and when you start feeling better about yourself, you're inclined to make more changes and continue along that path. Then before you know it, situations improve, relationships improve, your health improves. The mind is a powerful thing and you have to protect it at all times!

What do you guys do to alleviate stress? I'd love to hear your suggestions!