Handling Stress

This week has been extremely busy and stressful. One of my coworkers that I work closely with is out on “paternity leave” since his wife just had a baby, so I have gotten some added responsibilities while he’s gone. Some of the work was expected, but some was quite unexpected. I’ve honestly been really proud of how I’ve handled the week so far, so I thought I’d use today’s blog to share what I have been doing this week to help control my stress.

Make To-Do Lists

I’ve always been a fan of writing lists, as I mentioned in this blog, and I especially recommend this if you’re having a busy or stressful week. It really helps to have something visual to reference when prioritizing your workload. There isn’t much in this world that’s more satisfying to me than crossing something off a list!

Ask For Help

Asking for help, or asking questions, is something I’ve learned to be better at over the years. I used to be afraid of asking for help, and always wanted to try to figure everything out on my own. However, I’ve definitely learned that it’s better to ask if you’re unsure about something. It’s also not a bad thing to ask for some support on something. For example, with my added responsibilities this week, I’ve had trouble keeping up with my normal everyday work. To remedy this, I started delegating work to our interns. They are always happy to help, and it is such a relief when they’re able to take things off my plate for me.

Think of the Future

I’ve found myself thinking “what would Future Shelly want you to do right now?” a lot this week. For example, I went in early to work yesterday, and stayed late today to knock off some of my to-do’s, simply because I knew I would thank myself later. Since I work a salary job, it’s hard to feel motivated to put in extra hours, as I won’t be paid extra. However, I had a lightbulb moment where I realized it’s better to get things over with today as opposed to putting it off. And I have to say, I think Future Shelly will be quite happy I put in the extra hours.

Make a Playlist

I’m sure I’m not the only person who finds music to be very soothing and therapeutic. I like to write down songs I hear on the radio and then make big Spotify playlists of all the new music I find. This week I’ve enjoyed blasting my playlist “Current Faves” on the way to work, on the way home from work, and even a few times at work. I’m one of those people who doesn’t have a problem with concentrating with music playing, and in fact I find it calms me and helps me focus at times. It also is always sure to put me in a good mood. As a matter of fact, I’m listening to my new playlist right now!

I hope you enjoyed reading my secrets to handling stress! Can you relate to any of these? Are there tricks you use to relieve stress that I didn’t mention? Let me know in the comments!