You know when you’ve got a To Do list that’s longer than an elephant’s cock and you’re flapping around like a stressed out lunatic trying to get it all done and everyone keeps telling you to just take a Mental Health Day so you can get back on track?
Those people piss me off.
Taking a day off when you’ve got too much stuff to do is a ridiculous suggestion because it just puts you even further behind schedule. I can’t think of one person in the world who has the ability to drop everything at their busiest time of year and be all ‘Oh! I have 7 deadlines due in the next 24 hours but I’m going to relax and drink Pina Coladas because STRESS MANAGEMENT!‘.
Obviously Mental Health Days are great and if you can take one, go for it. However there are some times when you literally cannot drop the ball. For example, if you’re a teacher and you totally lose your shit at report writing time, you can’t just call up your student’s parents and say ‘I’m totally stressed out right now so instead of doing my job, I’m going to go meditate on a mountain.’
So for those crazy times of year when everything feels out of control, here are a few manageable tips to get you back on track without resorting to a Mental Health Day that you really don’t have time for.
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1. Steal a sleep in
If you have a morning where you don’t have any meetings and can possibly be at work/start work a little later then do it, particularly if you’re an early riser and you’ve been pushing your bedtimes further and further back in an attempt to get everything done. Most people sleep better when they know their alarm isn’t set for 5am so if you can give yourself a few extra hours sleep one morning this week, do it. A really good nights sleep in the middle of a rough week will do you the world of good.
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2. Skip your workout
If the thought of spending 20 minutes in traffic on your way to boot camp makes you want to cry this week, then I give you permission to skip it. Go for a walk instead, do some lounge room yoga or go for a gentle bike ride. Make sure you still move, (exercise is WONDERFUL for stress-brain) but if you ditch your intense weight session or aerobics class you will free up some much needed extra time and head space. Just don’t make a habit of it okay?
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3. Move slowly
People tend to speed up all their actions when they’re stressed. Think about when you’re running late. You’re throwing things around, trying to find your keys, knocking over cups of tea, stubbing your toe, forgetting your wallet, running back upstairs to grab it, locking yourself out of the house. It’s a disaster. The same thing happens when we’re stressed at work. How often have you been cramming to finish an email or project and just deleted the whole thing minutes before it was due? Or sent a report to 50 people with a horrific spelling mistake in it? Rushing feels like it’s going to help you achieve things more quickly but really all it does it stress you out and make you suck at everything. Slow down and move thoughtfully. You don’t have time to clean up additional messes this week so don’t flap around and create extra work for yourself.
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4. Say no
Rest is more important than social engagements so if you’re really under the pump, say no to your friends. It can be really difficult to turn down a few glasses of wine with a mate when you’re really stressed out but spending time with friends can be really draining, even if they’re wonderful and supportive. Be good to yourself and be a bit of a hermit until you feel more in control of your life.
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5. Eat easy food
I don’t mean greasy take aways and packaged junk, I mean that a tin of tuna on some spinach leaves with avocado is perfectly fine for dinner if you’ve worked a 12 hour day. Obviously you should try to eat as well as possible but don’t waste time and energy activating almonds and slow poaching chicken breast at a time when having a shower seems like a luxury time spend. A bowl of porridge for breakfast is just as filling and nutritious as homemade bircher muesli and takes about a quarter of the preparation time, so just go a bit easy on yourself when you can.
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6. Don’t sweat the small stuff
No one is going to call DOCS if your children don’t have a bath today and no one will die if there’s no milk for cereal in the morning. Yelling and screaming during a traffic jam won’t make the cars move faster and huffing and puffing in line at the post office won’t get your parcels in your hands any quicker. Use waiting time to listen to a lovely podcast or do a mindful meditation. Just breathe, stay calm and don’t waste any anxiety or stress on things that you can’t change.
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