Your Stress Diary
Psyching Up
Making an Action Plan to Manage Stress
Once you understand the level of stress under which you work most effectively, and know precisely what is causing you stress, the next stage is to work out how to manage stress effectively.The best way of doing this will probably be to make an Action Plan of things that you are going to do to manage stress. Some elements of this action plan will be actions you are going to take to contain, control or eliminate problems that are causing you stress. Other elements may be health related such as taking more exercise, changing your diet, or improving the quality of your environment. Another part of the plan may cover stress management techniques that you will employ when stress levels begin to build.
A range of stress management techniques will be explained later in this article series. Different techniques are will be effective for different situations and causes of stress.
The contents and structure of your plan are for you to devise - it will depend entirely on your circumstances.
An example plan is shown below:
Improve co-ordination with John Smith
Train Michael Brown to be able to take on low level quotation
Set work goals for what I want to achieve this year
Ask for more feedback from my boss
Buy an ioniser to improve the office air quality
Tidy up my office area to reduce distraction
Take breaks every two hours at work
Go to sleep at 10pm each night to get adequate sleep
Reduce the amount of caffeine I drink
Plan home goals with my partner for how we will spend the next month
Use deep breathing whenever phone interrupts important work
Highly Recommended Books
For an excellent book on stress management, try The Book of Stress Survival - How to Relax and Live Positively by Alix Kirsta. This is a very pleasant, well-presented, sensible approach to stress management. It covers many important areas completely ignored by most other books.
Your Stress Diary
Psyching Up
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