After a particularly stressful day at the office, do you find yourself feeling tense and uptight? Many of us carry that tension in our muscles, particularly in our neck and shoulders. At times like these, it can be difficult to unwind and relax. That’s when we fantasize about having a full body massage from a professional masseuse! But who has the time and money for that? Here’s a great way to help you relax and release the tension in your muscles. You can do this on your own and it only takes five to ten minutes.
This muscle relaxation technique involves systematically going through the body and tensing and then relaxing each muscle group. You can do this either sitting comfortably in a chair or lying down in a comfortable position (without crossing the legs). Tense each muscle group for about five seconds. Close your eyes and breathe deeply throughout this exercise. As you exhale, let go of the tension and release it completely. Experience the muscle as totally relaxed and lead heavy. Begin with the top of the head and progress downward to focus on all the muscles in the body. Be sure to include the forehead, ears, eyes, mouth, neck, shoulders, arms and hands, chest, belly, thighs, calves and feet. If you have limited time, you can do this exercise for just certain muscle groups. Be sure to focus on those muscle groups in which you feel the most tension. After relaxing your muscles, continue to breathe deeply and notice any remaining tension in the body. Let it soften and wash away as though a wave were washing over you. Then enjoy the resulting sense of peace and relaxation!
Monica is a free-spirited individual who likes to operate “by the seat of her pants”. But sometimes her lack of planning results in unanticipated setbacks that put her into “overdrive”. Unfortunately, Monica’s mode of operation creates a lot more stress in her life as well.
Successful companies create plans, and so do successful individuals – whether they’re planning an event, writing a book, or managing a family. Planning gives you a roadmap for achieving your goals. Therefore, you’re more likely to achieve your goals and achieve them more quickly.
Some people reject the idea of planning because they think it takes too much time. However, in reality it’s quite the opposite. When one fails to plan, they can experience unanticipated delays, may not complete the task or project right, and then have to do it over again. Therefore, by not planning, a project can take much longer. When I write a book, I spend more time researching and writing the proposal and outline, than I do writing the chapters of the book. By planning my book project, the actual production phase goes faster.
Plan for the short-term as well as the long-term. Planning on a daily and weekly basis will help ensure that you focus on your most important priorities. Planning for the long-term, say a monthly or annual basis, will help you achieve your long-term goals. Set deadlines and measures for all you plan. By selecting a measure, then you’ll know whether or not you’ve been successful.
Then review your short-term and long-term objectives periodically. Break the big projects into smaller, doable steps. Schedule the tasks in a realistic way – within the available time in any given day, week or month. Anticipate any obstacles you may encounter, and come up with a back-up plan.
By following these tips for planning, you’ll avoid crises and last-minute time crunches … and the added stress that goes with it!
Ashley has a demanding career and two young children. Between work and family, she has no time for anything else. She rarely sees friends and ends up putting herself last. Sound familiar? With limited time, many women feel frustrated with conflicting priorities. For many of us, there’s a disconnect between what we value and how we spend our time. For example:
- We value time with our children, but we have to work long hours and also travel on the job.
- We enjoy spending time with our spouse, but our weekends are filled with household chores, grocery shopping, laundry, etc. instead of quality time with our spouse.
- We value good health, but we can’t find time to exercise. We eat meals on the go which are unhealthy, and then end up feeling tired or sick.
After weeks, months and even years of not being able to live like we want, we give up and accept that this is the way it’s going to be. But it doesn’t have to be this way! You don’t have to be at the mercy of your job and other people. Instead of feeling angry and resentful, make up your mind to change what you have and what you do. You can make changes.
Start by making a list of what you value in life (family? friends? health? career? charitable service? leisure time? etc.). Then track your time and record how many hours you spend each week devoted to each item on your list. In order to focus more time on your values and priorities, schedule time on your calendar for these things – such as reading to your kids, spending time with your spouse or friends, exercising, etc. Then follow through and devote the time.
If you’re able to successfully realign your time and activity with your values, you’ll gain valuable benefits. You’ll understand the true tradeoff between time and money, have deeper relationships with your spouse and children, and have more “free time” to spend as you like.
For more information on balancing work and life, listen to the audio “The Balancing Act: Managing Work and Life“.
Sandy has an important report that’s due today. She’s had a week to complete the report, yet has put it off to the last possible day. Now she’s under the gun! “I’m going to get started on my report first thing this morning,” Sandy tells herself. “But first, I need a cup of coffee to ‘get my juices flowing’.” At the coffee station, Sandy runs into a friend and they chat for ten minutes. Once back at her computer, Sandy decides to check her email to see if Bill sent the data needed for her report. No message from Bill, but Sandy has read 13 messages and responded to six of them. By this time an hour has passed, and Sandy still hasn’t gotten around to writing her report. Sound familiar? Do you suffer from that disease called procrastination?
Procrastination reduces our productivity. When we put off important assignments, we put pressure on ourselves to produce the work at the last minute. This practice increases our stress level and also results in sub-par work. Or we end up missing deadlines and turning in work late.
How can you overcome procrastination? First you need to determine why you procrastinate. We procrastinate for a variety of reasons. In my work with my coaching clients, I find there are three primary reasons we procrastinate. Here are the key reasons and solutions for each.
Too Complex – The task is too complex and you feel overwhelmed, so you’re not quite sure how to get started.
- Take the ‘Swiss Cheese Approach’. Break down the project or task into smaller pieces, and then tackle one piece at a time.
Don’t Know How to do it – You’ve never done this before, and you may not have the necessary knowledge or skills to complete the project. You experience fear of failure, so you ‘freeze up’ and don’t do anything.
- Seek help. Find a mentor who has done this before who can ‘show you the ropes’. Seek out resources or training to learn how accomplish the task or project.
Task is Unpleasant – You really dislike doing this task, so you put it off.
- Give yourself a reward for completing the task or project. As an entrepreneur, making calls to prospects is important to my business, but I don’t like making the calls. Therefore, I’ll complete my calls in the morning, and then reward myself with a walk out in nature on my lunch break.
The next time you find yourself doing anything but the task at hand, then ask yourself why you are procrastinating. Then follow one of these tips to get back on task. By doing so, you’ll be able to complete your projects on time and with high quality.
What other tips help you overcome procrastination? Please share with other readers.