How To: Take Your Stress Level Down a Notch

When someone asks you, “how are you?” What is your usual response these days?

“Oh, I’m so busy! So stressed out!” Sound familiar?

It seems like almost everyone these days is struggling to lower their stress level. Modern life can be so hectic – from deadlines at work, family responsibilities, mounting bills, and on and on, it can feel impossible to avoid a feeling of endlessly peddling on a hamster wheel, going nowhere.

What to do?

Here are some ideas to take your stress level down a peg or two—and boost your happiness levels immeasurably.

Take 10 Minutes for Yourself Every Single Day

No matter how busy you are, you have 10 minutes to spare. Think of how much happier you will be as you go about your day if you take some time for yourself, even if it’s just a little bit!

Remember how, on a plane, the flight attended always directs passengers to put their oxygen mask on first before helping others? It’s the same deal with your life in general—you’ve got to take care of your own needs before you can be of any good to someone else. Also, when you’re happy, it radiates from you, buoying the spirits of everyone you come into contact with. Spread that joy!

It doesn’t matter what you do—read a book, soak in the bathtub, take a walk around the block, do some jumping jacks, have a cup of tea or coffee and just sit still for a bit, listen to your favorite song, play a video game—the choice is yours. But by infusing a few minutes of absolute fun into your day, every single day, you will be happier—guaranteed.

Tune into Spirituality

Sometimes just the idea that there is a higher power outside of ourselves can lift us up out of our rut and give us some much-needed perspective. When you tune into spirituality—whatever that means to you, whether it’s yoga, prayer, meditation, a gratitude journal, etc.—your spirit practically breathes a sigh of relief.

Even if all you do is take a few deep breaths, more oxygen will get to your entire body, your blood pressure will drop, and some semblance of peace will creep into your thought. Go for it! Why not?!

1-Minute Rule

This idea was recently mentioned in the podcast “Happier,” hosted by happiness researcher and author, Gretchen Rubin.

The basic concept is that if you have a task that needs to be done that will take less than one minute to accomplish, do it immediately. That could be folding a load of laundry, loading the dishwasher, writing a client an email, calling the electricity company, or multitudes of other tasks.

Many people have found that applying this rule to their daily lives has increased their productivity—with lots of little tasks taken care of, there’s more available time to tackle the big projects.

Plus there isn’t an endless tally running through your mind of little things you need to take care of at some point because “later” has become “now.”

Get Your Medical Records in Order

Having all your necessary paperwork complete and easily accessible will also take a load off your back. If you ever have a medical emergency, have to switch doctors for any reason, or just want to know more about your medical history, having your medical record on-hand makes it easy.

It only takes a couple minutes to request your full medical record from Order Medical Records. You can click “Order Now” at the top right of this page, or call 714 559-3071 to get this item checked off your To Do list in minutes.