Take control of your days which are turning you crazy

Are there some days where you feel helpless and why something like this is happening to me? well most of us come across something like this during our work /home life and the best thing to do is not be too reactive but weather the storm to fight another day.

Of late during my coaching interactions, I come across many of my clients who are so stressed in life that they are not able to think straight and end up draining themselves emotionally. They end up feeling insignificant and there is no juice left in them at the end of the day. All they can do is head back home and hit the bed where sleep is usually difficult to come by. Well this might sound familiar to many, so let’s figure out how one can manage to work around this.

Block some time to gain control
Even though people say that their schedules are absolutely packed and they do not have any spare time to introspect, the plan is to make time. Whatever one’s schedule is, be it a CEO or an executive all of us are bestowed with only 24 wonderful hours a day and how we manage it is best left to our ingenuity. Do work hard in making some time to gain control of your life which is an extremely good habit to inculcate.

Make a list

Do you have a to do list which includes all your professional and personal work written down. If no, then this is the first step in working towards being more organised. Once the list of things to do is there in black/white or in some cases on your tablets/smart phones, then it is as simple as working on your priorities and knocking them off one by one. This may sound easier said than done but once you put in your action plan in the form of words then there is a sense of activity that will germinate in you and things will get more organised thereafter. Just like one carries a shopping list to the supermarket to ensure that we do not forget anything which is important, so does a to do list work for an individual to carry out the most important tasks for the day.

Plan your day

The best thing that one can do for oneself is to plan his/her day and nothing comes close to living a regular pattern which will over a period of time work to your advantage. It does not matter if one’s work or home schedule is unpredictable. To begin with focus on the small things which can be planned like getting up or even having lunch at a particular time.  You can then build things around this to achieve small victories. Try to have at least 15-30 minutes at the beginning of each day to plan your day out. This little time for planning each day is a simple and powerful way to gain control of a day which might go out of control.

Stop Multitasking

Well this is one reason most of them get perplexed. At one time it was a fad that the person who multitasks is a winner and will climb up the ladder pretty fast. Recent research has proved that on the contrary it is just the opposite and it is always beneficial in the long run to focus on one thing at a time and do it diligently.So if you are working towards developing a newly formed habit of multitasking then ensure you move out of it. One will immediately see results when one does not put undue pressure on oneself.

Control incoming communication

This is something which is in your absolute control. It is a must that you have a say as to when can you respond to people either reaching you in person or through phone/Black Berry/emails. I have noticed that people who immediately respond to any form of communication are the most stressed compared to people who take their time. When one is in that midst of doing something important then  it is always better to stay away from distractions. With technology making it easier to connect with someone in any part of the world it is always wise and prudent to control our incoming communication and stay in control.

 Review the day gone by

It is something that I learnt when my work had become hectic and was not able to finish my tasks in the stipulated time. When I looked at the day gone by I was surprised that I had spent 5-10 % of my time in doing things which did not help me become more productive. So I went back the next day with a new vigour of not committing the same mistake. This habit hardly takes time but can give one insights on how we spend our work or even our home life.

Set routine

Regular routines are the best way to ensure that your work at office or home is less stressful. When one works on developing regular routines then things do fall into place. Situations which were at one time chaotic and stressful will begin to fall into a pattern that can eventually be managed better.

So with this I would like to say that we cannot expect all days to be a Sunday but with a little bit of planning and discipline one can ensure they navigate through life with that much less  stress.

Hope this article impacts you in changing the way you function or better build on the habits which you have already cultivated. So do share with me your thoughts and your feedback on the same. Would love to hear from you on something better you have worked on in handling stressful days.