Top 5 Tips for Reducing Stress

How to stay chill while crushing your goals: the 5 things that help ease my mind and keep me productive

Feeling stressed or overwhelmed is the worst, and can really hinder productivity, happiness, and your overall mindset. Whether it's school, work, or personal life reducing stress can be a challenge for everyone, so here are my top 5 tips that I've found help me ease my mind and feel more in control of my giant to-do list! 

1. STAY ORGANIZED

Organisation is key to helping me reduce stress and get down to business. As you clean up the physical  clutter around you, you are also cleaning out the clutter from your mind. Whether you realise it or not, working in an unorganised space can create so much mental clutter & distraction leading to decreased productivity and increased frustration!  

You know the feeling after you clean out a closet, or spring clean your home, or organize and tidy up a bedroom? That feeling of a giant weight being lifted off your shoulders, of a deep exhale, of being ready to conquer. That's what I feel like when I organise my work space and my schedule! 

Not only does having a clean workspace help me feel relief, but it also makes me feel more motivated to actually sit down and work. 

So next time you're stressed, look around at your work space or at your home and think about how you could make it feel neater, tidier, and more inspiring. 

If I'm working from home I like to have the bed made, the laundry put away, the table cleared off with a nice center piece or candle burning. Then I feel amazing and ready to crush my goals. 

2. MAKE LISTS

I am the list QUEEN! If you're not already the type of person who makes lists for everything I suggest that you become that type of person, fast. Just kidding, but really! There is serious power in list making that is not to be underestimated. 

In case you forgot, we are human and we forget a lot of shit. Lists help me remember everything I need to accomplish and also aid in time management. You'd be surprised at how much time you waste between tasks because you can't remember what the next thing was that you were going to do. Or you grab your phone in between tasks and scroll through Instagram - boom! 20 minutes wasted, to-do list unfinished, and more stress. 

So, when your schedule is getting crazy and you can feel the stress building, take the extra 5 minutes to sit down and make a list of everything you need to accomplish in that day (be realistic - don't add finding a husband, moving to the coast, losing 10 pounds, learning Italian etc.)

Start with the first thing on the list, and just continue plugging along. Try not to take breaks between tasks or allow yourself to get distracted because you'll lose focus, waste time, and get out of the productivity zone. 

Crossing things off the list feels Ah-mazing! And it will boost your motivation to keep going.

3. PERSONAL CARE

Self love girl! If you are so far deep in the stress that organising your desk and making lists makes you want to scream and cry then it is time for some TLC.

When you get to a point of burnout it's almost impossible to keep going and maintain any level of productivity without putting your own mental health in danger. This is why I find it so helpful to reserve time for self-care BEFORE you feel like you can't possibly handle one more thing being added to your plate.

How you decide to take care of yourself is totally up to you, but the main thing is that you MAKE TIME FOR IT. You will save time and your sanity in the future for reserving this time every week to calm your mind and feed your soul. 

Some things I like to do for personal care are:

• Waking up 10 min earlier to make sure I have time to make my bulletproof coffee or a matcha latte and drink it in peace. Rushing is a bad way to start your day!

• Going for an outdoor walk - this is easier now that I have a dog because it's more or less mandatory, but whether it's in the morning, on your lunch break, or after dinner try to get outside and walk for 10-20 minutes. I leave my phone at home so that I can focus on my surroundings & breathing the fresh air.

• Face/Hair masks - pamper yourself a little bit with a charcoal face mask, or hydrating hair mask. It will make you feel refreshed and rejuvenated.

• Beauty treatments - every once it awhile it feels so good to get a manicure or pedicure, have your hair cut, or get your eyelashes done. Whatever makes you feel confident and happy! Sometimes you just need to treat yourself.

4. PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

This one is HUGE! I know when I'm feeling overwhelmed the last thing I feel like I have time for is the gym, but physical activity helps so much in releasing endorphins in the body and reducing cortisol, the stress hormone. 

Don't feel like in order to reduce stress you have to run 5 miles, do 100 burpees, or lift weights (unless you want to that's awesome!) But physical activity could be something fun like hiking, riding a horse, playing a sport with friends, jogging in the park and stopping to take pictures. 

My personal favourite stress-reducing activity is yoga. And I like it because it can be adapted for whatever mood I'm in. If I want to get sweaty I'll do a power vinyasa flow and if I want to relax and calm my mind I'll do a restorative flow with lots of breathing and stretching. 

Choose whatever works for you, but make sure it fits your mood and is going to make you feel GOOD, not miserable.

5. UNPLUG

When you've got a million things to do and only 24 hours in a day it's easy to put relaxation and sleep at the bottom of the list. But, the reality is that taking the time to prioritize these things will actually help you wake up with a better mindset and be more productive the next day. So you're spending the time now, in order to save it later and get more done! 

Meditation is a great way to unplug and disconnect the mind from all of the day's distractions and drop into your deeper thoughts and self awareness. If you've never meditated before just start by sitting in a comfortable upright position, closing your eyes and focusing on your breathing. It's hard at first to tune out all the other thoughts running through your mind but you'll get better at it! 

If you feel like meditation isn't for you, just try closing your eyes and breathing deep for a few minutes at a time. If you have an Apple watch you could try using the Breathe function for 5 min. once or twice a day. 

Another great way to unplug at the end of a busy day is to turn off your phone or keep it out of reach for the last 30 minutes before you sleep. We are bombarded with content, ads, videos, and conversations on our phones all day long and taking all those distractions away before bed can really help the mind unwind and prepare for a better, more restful sleep. Don't get me wrong this is a massive challenge, and I still can't be bothered to do it as often as I'd like, but when I do I notice huge benefits so I encourage you to give it a try!