Time Management Is Key To Managing Stress

Online, March 21, 2011 (Newswire.com) - The Guardian Newspaper in the UK recently asked experts what they would do to avoid stress in the work place What would you do to avoid stress

In my opinion, if your goal is to be a stress free, successful, productive person, time management one of the most important things you must consider.

There are only so many hours available to us in a day and how we choose to spend those hours directly relates to our stress level and therefore our happiness. Everyone wakes up with good intentions to get all their commitments met and jobs done. Nobody consciously sets themselves up for failure, but a lot of times that's exactly what happens.

Stress is a direct result of that failure and when it's compounded day after day, it is mentally and physically exhausting. The mind and body work hand in hand and when both are under attack from stress, the results can be devastating. If this sounds like something you are experiencing, read on to find some easily implemented tips to help reduce the stress in your life through better time management.

Before you get ready to bed, take a moment to write down a to-do list. Being able to physically look at a list of what tomorrow's day holds can free your mind from constantly running over things again and again. This will help relax your brain in preparation for a good nights sleep. Place the jobs that have the highest priority and degree of difficulty at the top of your list and continue downward.

Don't set a time limit beside each task because often people tend to focus more on the time limits you have set, rather than actually completing the task. Besides, trying to stick minute to minute to those time limits can actually add more stress to your day, which was what you were trying to avoid by making the list.

Remember to set reasonable expectations for how much work you can actually get done in one day. While there are 24 hours in a day, a healthy work day should be no more than between 8-10 hours. I know that that seems strange to say in today's day and age, but buy scheduling work to be done within that time frame, you allow yourself some fudge room, should the need arise that you have to take extra time to finish an important job.

Also, take a moment to really have a look at the jobs on your to do list. Do they all have to be done by you? Depending on your position at work, you may have subordinates that can take on some of the lower priority jobs and that will really make your life a lot less stressful. Depending on your personality type, at the beginning it can be really hard to give up control, but delegating is a really effective way to manage your time, while at the same time lowering your stress level. A win-win situation!

Leading a balanced life takes planning. Often when starting to use time management skills people focus too heavily on the career side of things and quite often home life suffers terribly. When making your to-do list, make sure you think about those jobs at home that are also important and need to be completed. Delegation in the home can be just as effective as the workplace.

If you are a parent, you may often feel that you are trying to be a super parent by doing all the cooking, cleaning and taxiing around. Don't be afraid to get the kids involved by assigning age appropriate jobs. By everyone having a job to do to help the house run smoothly, you are actually increasing your kids sense of purpose in the family as well as their confidence.

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