Stress Management: Session Seven – Brainstorming Some Great Ideas

Hint

• Make a to-do list each day, without putting so many things on it that we are guaranteed to fail to complete everything.
• Prioritise your to-do list, with 1 being urgent items (and use 1a, 1b, 1c if there are three urgent items), 2 being important but not urgent, and 3 being not important or urgent.
• Recognise that not everything has to be done perfectly. Some things must be done well. Other things just must be done.
• Delegate tasks to others, both at work and at home. Every one of us has the potential to do more, and each of us has basic things we should be able to do. Some examples: use common technology, prepare a simple meal, load a dishwasher, and wash a load of dirty clothes.
• Learn to say, “No” when others ask us to do things, we have no time to do, or don’t want to do, or when we begin to feel taken advantage of.
• Buy a planner and begin scheduling things so we can say “No” if we have our time planned and someone wants us to do something else for them.
• Lower your standards to accept a less-than-perfect life. The world will not end if the corners are not perfect when the bed is made, or if the TV cabinet looks dusty.