Do you sweat the small stuff?
Here’s how to let them go…
1. Learn the difference between the things that matter and the things that don’t.
My kryptonite – fluff on the floor – it ain’t the end of the world. I can still pick up tomorrow… day after… or not at all.
2. Organise your time. Keep a schedule. But don’t stress if you don’t tick all the boxes.
You don’t have to be anal about your time. If something comes up – lunch with a friend, for example – go to lunch. Whatever is in your day-planner can wait.
Another tip here is to tackle one thing at a time on your list. Don’t try multi-tasking. If you give that ‘one thing’ your full attention, you’ll be ticking that box before you know it.
3. Learn to relax and protect your ‘you’ time.
And I don’t mean with a glass of wine (sorry!).
I mean, learn a basic relaxation technique.
Give meditation a go. You don’t have to adopt the lotus pose and ohm with an absolutely clear mind. Don’t expect to be able to hold the lotus pose for 20 minutes first try anyway!
Try something like visualisation. My favourite technique involves that handsome young wolf-boy out of the Twilight series. Yes, I know he is young enough to be my son (as Daughter often points out), but when Jacob is giving me a visual-shoulder-massage, the stress just melts away…
If meditation or visualisation doesn’t ring your bell, there’s always yoga. Or the good old fall-back… a walk around the block.
You might even be the kick-boxing-productive-punching type!
The point here is to learn your ‘little stuff-stress’ cues. Know when your stress levels are getting to boiling point and act on it.
4. Get a good nights sleep.
This one is a tough one for me. Sleep tends to be somewhat elusive – my minds goes in to overdrive replaying the day and planning the next one – but I know that if I get a decent nights sleep, I function so much better the next day.
I find getting it all out of my head and writing it down in my day-planner – and putting the solution or plan beside – helps to slow my mind down. I don’t have to remember to put it on the list in the morning and I can relax.
On the nights that I know sleep is not going to be forthcoming, I also resort to some good-old-fashioned lavender oil on my pillow. Two drops – one on either side of my head – and dreams tends to follow fairly quickly.
Have any tips to share, about how you let the little things go?
I’d love to hear!
{Image: Let Go by Her Wings on Flickr}
