101 Stress Busters When You Feel Crazy
Here are some easy + practical ways to reduce stress fast.
Everyone feels stressed out from time to time – and sometimes, for many of us – it feels like most of the time we are dealing with stress of some sorts.
I don’t even need to write an intro on what stress is or what causes it – you know the feeling I’m talking about + you probably even know why you’re stressed. So, without further ado I’m just going to get straight into things I do when I’m stressed out.
1. Make a List of Everything That Makes You Feel Stressed
One of the first things to do is to make a list of all the things that causes you to feel stress. I know being able to identify exactly what your triggers are can help you think of ways to cope with each of these triggers.
I know it might seem at first like a very big laundry list of complaints, but making a list like this will help you release some of that pent up energy and help identify what causes might play a role to your current thoughts and feelings.
2. Minimize Activities
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, especially when the schedule is full and the responsibilities are stacked high to the ceiling. Sometimes simply clearing the calendar and not doing things that aren’t urgent can help take off some of the pressure.
It’s okay to cancel plans or move things that aren’t urgent to a different date. As long as you aren’t neglecting absolute major responsibilities (ie: paying the utility bills) – often times we can reduce our stress just by not being quite so busy!
3. Make a Schedule and Stick to It
Having a schedule and planning for your life can greatly reduce anxiety over what is about to happen next. Use a calendar or simple day planner, and write out all the things you will be doing at what times.
We as humans are creatures of routine. Starting a daily routine can often help reduce some of the things that unexpectedly catch you off guard. This is one of the reasons for me having a bedtime routine is so important – it helps minimize a LOT of chaos in our family.
4. Use the Power of Saying No
No is an answer, which does not require any additional justification. No means No!
It is very frustrating when others try to convince you to do something you do not want to do or is not going to help you in any way.
So repeat after me: You do not have to say yes to everyone and everything. Politely decline invitations and don’t take on anything more than you can handle.
5. Stop Making Impossible To-Do Lists
Do you make to-do lists that are impossible for you to do everything on them in one day? If yes, stop! Try to limit your to-do list to only 5 things per day – the rest can wait until tomorrow.
Not only does this help make things more likely to be accomplished, but it will also help you prioritize how you spend your time better.
It’s taken a LOT of work for me personally becasue I LOVE making lists, but I now don’t cross my “impossible lists” with my “reasonable daily to-do lists”.
Knowing exactly what MUST be done compared to what SHOULD be done can help shift your perspective. Make a list of things that are important to you and the responsibilities you have.
Never forget to look at what can be, or needs to be done now. A lot of things we need to do take less time than it does to write them down.
Also, Keep going back to our first few things + keep working to try to minimize the responsibilities. Look for opportunities and solutions for ways to make your priorities less stressful to handle.
6. Avoid People Who Stress You Out
Having negative people in your life will not do you any good, and you do not need to have them in your life. Sure, some people you might not be able to avoid all together, but in general if someone makes you feel stressed out, there are ways to minimize how you feel when you’re with this person.
For some types of people, this can mean learning ways to minimize your interactions with one another and keeping your times your time together brief. Setting healthy boundaries with others can give you a lot of peace of mind.
My cousin John also had some great advice:
When you talk about someone but do not pray for them…you are in error.
– John Hummel
Maybe if we prayed about them we wouldn’t need to talk about them.
7. Declutter and Get Organized
Being disorganized can cause a lot of stress in our lives, especially if you’re searching frantically for something you’ve misplaced and you are late for an appointment.
No one really feels very good when they are surrounded by a cluttered mess. Cleaning isn’t a whole lot of fun, but it’s something we all must do in order to stay organized. The more organized you are, the more relaxed you will feel because you’ll know everything is where it belongs.
One great book to help you with decluttering is What Your Clutter is Trying to Tell You.
