R U Overwhelmed and Stressed Out?

As we are a week into the new school year, emotions of kinds show up in different households and the most common ones are indisputably feeling OVERWHELMED and STRESSED; regardless of your role as a student, a parent, a teacher, or a helper.

Starting a new job teaching full-time, for me, is indeed overwhelming and stressful, especially after being unemployed for 16 months. The new routine, the new environment, the requirements of me, among many other changes, could be worrying, if you allow them to be. I am no expert in stress management but here are my ways to make my life easier in transition:

• let go of some activities on your to-do list, make amendment accordingly. Make sure you know the difference between something being URGENT and IMPORTANT and ask yourself if you can reduce the activities down to a minimum while getting the important ones done.

(REMEMBER: you don't need to be on top of everything and not everything needs doing!)

• take deep, slow and steady breaths to bring your heart rate down (in with the nose and out with the mouth)
• nothing needs to be completed RIGHT NOW so just do ONE little thing at a time like making yourself a cuppa and do only that
• practise meditation and listening to my favourite CDs while dancing to the rhythm
• instead of sitting at your desk tapping away for hours, take breaks in between and move your body ( a short walk nearby the office would suffice)
• before you take your next vacation, you are entitled to change your surroundings by taking some ME time and away from technology; I personally need to be out of the cubicle every now and then to clear my mind and find creative solutions to problems
• get a pet ( I know this is not feasible for everyone but it works miracles!)
• say no and mean it; you can only do so much as a human
• do more of what you love more often
• change what isn't working for you and stop whining about it
• do not worry as it is draining and doesn't help improve the situation
• leave your work at the office, literally and figuratively. Make a clear boundary and only work within the official work hours.
• take your rubber duck with you to the shower/ bath
• I change into my lounge wear IMMEDIATELY as soon as I get home from work and get comfortable
• have a cuppa to unwind
• read something irrelevant to work
• household chores can be calming and soothing after a long day at work (I like the meditative quality they have)
• an hour of TV watching your favourite program helps you to forget about problems at work for a while
• get a good night's sleep

The list is by no means exhaustive so do share your tips with us by leaving a comment.