Looking back over the articles I’ve written over the past two months, a word that frequently pops up is stress. Now, this isn’t necessarily unexpected, as one of the symptoms of poor work-life balance is an increased stress level.But looking a little closer, it runs deeper than that. I’d say that stress isn’t just an effect, but also a cause of poor work-life balance. This can be especially dangerous to those who are more susceptible to stress. If not dealt with, this can quickly turn into a vicious cycle of always being behind the 8-ball because you’re behind the 8-ball.

The effects of constant stress are many and varied. From impacts on your physical health like headaches, high blood pressure, obesity and heart problems, to the mental health aspects such as anxiety and depression, stress can wreak havoc on your systems, be they physical, mental, or organizational.

So we recognize that constant stress can really screw things up. How do we deal with it?

Be more organized

I know that a lot of my stress used to come from the fact that I just wasn’t organized. Finally adopting GTD helped me retire a lot of that stress, and get more done while I was at it! Not to mention, if you’re organized you hopefully can control your schedule a little easier, thus removing (or at least lessening) the chance of conflicts and overbooking, a definite source of stress.

Work it out (at the gym)

Exercise can be a great way to work through a stressful period. Whether its running, hitting the weights, going to martial arts, playing sports or any other form of exercise, the rush from physical activity can really help decrease stress levels. Additionally, if you’re healthy the physical effects of stress can be lessened, and if poor health or fitness was something that was stressing you out, then you’re dealing with that as well.

Just relax

I know, I know, easier said than done, right? But similar to the last point, find some things that relax you. This could be something like yoga (one of my faves), meditation, breathing exercises or just getting a change of scenery. All of these things can help you both deal with stress and prevent it.

Ask for help

I’ve written on this before, and it’s just as relevant in this context as it was then. But take it a step farther. Sure, ask for help in dealing with the results of the stress, but don’t be afraid to ask for help in actually dealing with the stress itself as well. Talk through it with a friend or family member, or if need be, a therapist of some sort. If you don’t ask for help when you need it, you could just be putting yourself back to the beginning of the cycle because even though you’ve weathered the crisis, you’re still stressed out about it, leaving another potential crisis in the future.

Get enough sleep

I think this one is fairly self-explanatory. We’re all a little more susceptible to stress if we’re not well rested, so try to make sure you’re getting enough sleep (whatever is honestly enough for you, that is). The downside or difficulty to this is that stress can make it much harder to get a good night’s sleep. To help overcome that, check out this, this or maybe this.

Identify the source

I think this is probably the most important point of all. When you are getting stressed out or anxious about something, don’t just solve the immediate problem and then maybe try to relax again. Look deeper and peel back the layers until you find the original cause of the stress. If you can’t find the root of the problem in the first place, it leaves you much more likely to repeat the same situation in the future, and we don’t want that, do we?

These are just a few ways to deal with stress, and there’s a myriad of others, I’m sure. Hopefully some of these will resonate with you, especially coming into this busy (and frequently stressful) holiday season. If you’ve got some other suggestions, please leave them in the comments so everyone can benefit.

Cheers,

Adam