Eliminate stress and take time for yourself

Work, conferences, deadlines, appointments, phone calls, groceries, walking the dog - all of these are things many people must accomplish each day. Many times, family, friends and ourselves get put on a waiting list. Sometimes, we discover too late that those on the waiting list are, in fact, the most important, and unfortunately, we often don't realize it at all and find ourselves wondering why we are unhappy.

There are books and seminars to help us find the best option for managing our time. Such sources intend to offer the best solutions.People know that time is more than money. First of all, time means life, and more than that, it means our lives. That is why we must not to give up in stressful situations and must continue to fight for the joy of living. Remember that poor time management can cause major health problems physically and mentally.

But there is good news. Time can be tamed - in a way, we can make it obey us. The first step in the process is to identify the elements that steal your time. Usually , they are in one of two groups:

" External factors (unexpected phone calls, long phone conversations, unplanned visits, open-doors policies, insufficiently trained personnel, constant meetings, interruptions by colleagues, friends and family).

" Internal factors - related to ourselves (priorities and objectives that change, lack of a daily work plan, lack of self-imposed deadlines, tendency to do too many things at once, disorder, procrastination, inability to say no, poor decision-making, fatigue).

When reading the above descriptions, you probably pictured similar situations that you have been through. Now, all you must do is find a way to get past them so you can be in charge of your time again. Here are three possible ways to do it:

" Write everything down. It is especially useful if you have a bad memory. Otherwise you might forget to attend important meetings, to make important phone calls, to answer messages you need to answer. You can also write down inspirations that occur to you at unexpected moments.

" Make a list of priorities. It takes little time, and you can do it while you're having your morning coffee. Write down what you need to do that day, in order of importance and urgency.

" Learn to say no. A common mistake that many people make is to put other people's problems ahead of ours. Nevertheless, by helping others in a difficult situation, we open the door to frustration and stress and we find ourselves unable to meet our previous responsibility.

Get more information on stress and related problems by getting your copy of a 6 page Stress Report.

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