Reduce stress by doing less

Stop feeling guilty and let go of unfinished tasks

We often feel that we need to be accomplishing something at all times. However, it’s not true. This is just a myth that our society has created and it’s time to stop feeling guilty about not being able to finish everything!

It really sucks watching piles of unfinished work grow–but the guild and self-loathing are worse.

Embrace change

Learn that priorities change, plans shift, and so should you. Take a look at these small tips to eliminate clutter from your life and make you happier and healthier

1. Schedule checking your e-mail. If your like me you get a lot of e-mail, a good chunk of it is spam, but most of it does need some interaction. As someone who loves a clean inbox I make it a point to turn off push notifications and only allow new message notification to come through at most every 30 minutes. While I would love to be able to push e-mail checking to be a once or twice per day task, this does strike a good balance between constant interruptions and still being able to respond to messages easily and quickly.
2. Hide your shame. I love books. Unfortunately the older I get, and with more responsibilities the time that I have to read has dropped drastic. I used to stack my “To Read” books on a desk, dresser, or pile beside my desk. Eventually the pile grew beyond my ability to keep up. I made the choice to move most of the books I knew that would not get read anytime soon back to the shelf. This help to declutter my workspace and not have a literal pile of my own guilt staring at me each time I enter a room.
3. Schedule the important stuff. If you do have something that you would really like to see accomplished, put it on a calendar and force your self not to over-schedule. Taking an hour for yourself to read a book, take a health break, or even catching-up on personal hygiene can be just as important for your productivity as trudging through other tasks.
4. Measure before you cut, but make the cut. You can’t decide what to stop doing until you know what you’re doing. Start using a time tracker to measure what you do throughout the day. Once you know where your time is generally being spent you can begin to adjust.
5. Do the smaller things. It is hard to get started on big tasks. Find a way to break them down into smaller steps. Use a rule of 3: Focus on 3 small successes every day, and gradually larger wins for the week, month, and year. Plan the weekly wins on Monday, and asses on Friday. Keep track of your wins to help motivate you.
6. Give up. Make a list of the things stopping you from achieving your goals. Once you have your list, make a plan to let those things go. Don’t stress about keeping up with your friends and coworkers. The best way to scale your own growth is by doing more of doing less.
7. Work in microbursts. You don’t need to schedule hours of your day at a time. Grab a small 30 minute sand-timer and work in small batches. When the timer is up you can choose to keep going for another round, or to readjust and move on.
8. Don’t pick fights with yourself. Take care of your own physical and mental health first. Eat well, Sleep well. Learn to say no more often. Always try your best at all things. Don’t be afraid of failures, remember that my doing small tasks, it’s only a small failure–you still have room to adjust and correct course. There is always a new tomorrow coming.

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