How to Reduce Stress – Lifestyle Reimagined

One of the most disabling states workers in modern times are finding themselves is the state of stress. Stress is physically disabling when endured for long periods of time. It was originally meant by Nature to support short term problems.

The gazelle is grazing and sees a lion. The lion takes chase and the gazelle takes off. If the gazelle survives, it can return to grazing and its nervous system returns to homeostasis.

When man feels stress, the body produces cortisol and shuts down digestion and immunity. Often accompanying symptoms are sleep loss, irritability, and relationship difficulties. A lack of sleep and cortisol stimulates over eating, sedentary behavior, alcohol consumption and often a disregard for prudent financial moves.

Eliminating Stress with Energizing Time Blocks

It is difficult to eliminate stress if the work includes continuous bouts of urgency and over whelm. Workers complain that they have too much on their plates. Just thinking you can’t get all your tasks completed causes stress.

What can help is placing some blocks of time in the day that are strictly productive, goal reaching, exercising, and relaxing. You have to give yourself permission to make time for work that will have you at the end of the day saying, that was a good day.

Working it backward, how do you do that. It takes good time planning. You evaluate your most important values and move to get them included in a day. Everyday I like to write, exercise, eat healthy, and listen to some music. I get up early to write. I take a break to exercise. I plan my meals. At the end of the day I have a session between day and night that includes music.

Make Room for Creativity, Your Most Productive State

It is also valuable to have time blocks for productive, forward looking activities to improve who you are, your life, and your contribution. My creativity block has to be first thing in the morning. I write posts, build websites, work on books, and add to social media. I also teach surf lessons.

My creative work has to be in the morning. The work I can do without creativity comes later in the day. My exercise and often surf lessons are early in the day. The least demanding tasks like to do lists are last.

Give your most productive work your best energy block. Do not do the to do lists when you could be using your energy to be creative. Save them for when you are not at peak energy. If a task is particularly challenging, then maybe it should be the first thing you do. Afterward, schedule a relief block that may be exercise, socializing, coffee, reading, or something to relax the nervous system.

Burn out and life dissatisfaction result from trying to be superman. A job or career will last longer if there are breaks that assure you life is great and your life has its rewards. Find activities that will give you gratitude. I like to feel gratitude at the end of every day that I have moved forward with activities that are my values.

If we can engage in activities for which we have passions, most problems are solved. Work becomes play and work becomes purpose. My work, my exercise, and lifestyle are all my passions so I am fortunate to have good days.

When tension builds from having so many ambitious projects in play, I go camping. The lack of stimulus resets my nervous system and creative energy. Is is far more productive to have clean energy than to keep your nose to the grind stone and work at 20% of your capacity. You should work in an environment that supports the pace you need to work to maintain optimum energy.

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