How to Manage Stress in a Busy Lifestyle

Have you ever felt like there just aren’t enough hours in the day?

Of course, you have. No matter how productive you try to be, you probably go to bed every night thinking about at least one thing that you needed to accomplish that simply didn’t get checked off the list.

That’s stressful enough, but when you realize that you’re going to have to add that item to your to-do list for the next day, the stress just increases.

While there’s certainly nothing wrong with being busy, there are countless studies available that focus on the potential problems caused by stress.

With this in mind, learning how to manage stress is one of the most important steps you can take, especially if you find yourself pulled in a dozen different directions at any time.

Identifying Your Sources of Stress

We often associate being busy with being stressed, but that’s not always the case. Just because you have things to do doesn’t mean that you have to be stressed.

Stress is defined as “a natural human response to a challenging or threatening situation that can be physical or mental.”

Have you noticed that when you start feeling stressed your heart rate increases?

Your palms may get sweaty, and a knot might form in your stomach. Perhaps you feel beads of sweat forming on your brow. Those are all physical symptoms of stress.

Mental reactions to stress typically include dread and fear. Some people who are facing a lot of stress become angry and lash out at those around them. It’s normal for stress to make it hard for you to complete any tasks because your mind is racing as you try to process everything that you’re facing.

Stressed About Money

When you’re having a physical or mental reaction to stress, it’s important to recognize the source. A recent poll indicated that some 70% of Americans are stressed about their finances. This means that money isn’t a stressor only for those who live below the poverty line.

We stress about having enough money, if we’re going to have enough for retirement, if we’re ever going to get to retire, and how we’re going to tackle financial emergencies.

Stressed About Work

Your job is probably another common source of stress in your life. It may feel like you’re working hard and putting in extra hours, but you’re not getting anywhere professionally.

You may also live in constant fear of losing your job for failure to perform.

Stressed at Home

Relationships with other people can also be stressful. If you’re a parent, you know how stressful it is to raise your children. When they’re young, you worry about providing all of their basic needs.

As they get older, your worries change, but the stress never really goes away. Even when they reach adulthood, you worry about them.

One of the most important stress management tips is to identify what’s causing your stress.

In many cases, you can’t completely eliminate that source from your life, but when you can hone in on what’s causing a mental or physical response, you can put together a plan that will help you deal with it in a healthy way.

Speaking of healthy ways to manage stress, let’s take a look at some proven stress management techniques and how they can help you deal with your stressors.

Get Off Social Media

This one may come as a bit of a surprise, but putting down your smartphone, tablet, or computer so you can take a break from social media is a great way to cut down on stress, especially when you’re having physical or mental reactions.

Social media has completely changed the way that we interact with other people. In the past, you would catch up with a friend once or twice a week on a phone call.

Today, you can see virtually everything that’s going on in the lives of those around you in real-time.

While being connected to other people is important, social media rarely does anything to reduce stress.

When you scroll through your newsfeed and see everything that’s happening around you or get sucked into a comment thread that’s filled with bickering and dissension, you’re not going to relax.

With that in mind, schedule some regular social media breaks. These breaks can last for a day, a weekend, or even longer.

Bookend Your Day

Taking an organized approach to your day is one of the most important ways to manage stress. Ultimately, most of your stress probably relates to the things that you need to get done on any given day.

With this in mind, psychologists and other experts recommend trying to be as productive as possible at the beginning of your day, and then repeating that productivity at the end of the day.

The first few moments of your morning set the tone for the rest of your day. Do you feel like when your alarm goes off, you immediately launch into a state of panic and chaos?

Maybe you’ve gotten so used to the madness that you barely notice it anymore. Start this process by setting a morning routine that allows you to be productive without feeling stressed.

Give yourself time to get out of bed, wash your face, brush your teeth, and do something that needs to be done, even if it’s waking your kids up for school.

Once you’ve set up your new morning routine, set up something for your late afternoon or evening. When you end your day with a burst of productivity, you’ll be able to truly rest when it comes time to get ready for bed.

When you have your day bookended, you’ll notice that you’re getting more done in those middle hours, too.

Get Healthy

Your diet and the amount of regular exercise that you get have a direct impact on your stress levels.

When you eat better, you feel better. When you feel better physically, you feel better mentally and emotionally, which means that you’re less stressed.

While there’s nothing wrong with treating yourself to a treat, eating a well-balanced diet helps keep your body working like it should. This not only means that you feel better, but it also allows you to be more productive.

Regular exercise is another great way to reduce stress. When you make a decision to be active, even if it’s just a walk around the block in the evening, your brain releases endorphins. These chemicals prompt a response from the pleasure center of your brain, which allows you to feel happier.

While many people who don’t exercise say that they don’t have time, the truth is that we often waste a lot of time.

For instance, take some of the time that you spend scrolling through social media and get a 30-minute walk. You’ll improve your health, feel better overall, and cut down on your stress.

Managing Your Time

Speaking of not having time to do things, one of the most effective ways to cut down on your stress is to evaluate how you’re spending your time.

While many people say that they need more hours in the day, the truth is that they usually just need to better utilize the hours that they have. There’s nothing you can do to get more than 24 hours in a day. When you account for seven or eight hours of sleep, that leaves you with 16 or 17 hours.

Contrary to what you may have heard, you don’t need to be busy every minute that you’re awake. Even if you feel like you have a million things to do, living your life in a constant state of busyness leaves you feeling more stressed than you already are.

Either use a pen and paper or download an app that helps you log what you’re doing during the day.

When you can look at how you’re spending your time, you can better understand how to improve your time-management skills. Better time management leads to less stress.

Don’t Worry, Be Happy

Cutting down on your stress levels isn’t something that’s going to happen overnight. Furthermore, it’s important to know that there’s no way to completely eliminate stress from your life.

However, putting these tips into practice can help you better manage your stress, no matter how busy you are.