5 Tips to Stop Being So Stressed
These are 5 things that I do day today to help me live a peacefully productive life and I’m really confident that if you implement these things into your life, they’ll do the same for you!
Keep reading this post to learn:
⋒ 5 tips you can apply to your life to stop being so stressed
01. Schedule an open-loop day.
I was talking over on Instagram stories the other day (which by the way, I pretty much hang out on Instagram stories every day so come hang out if you’re not already) about how Fridays are my open-loop days and I got a handful of DMs from people who were mindblown because they’d never thought to actually schedule in open-loop time on their calendar.
Real quick – an open loop is an incomplete task that is just hanging out on your to-do list and taking up your mental energy rent-free. I’ve found that the more open loops you have the more stressed out you get because your to-do list just gets overwhelmingly long. That constant, looming feeling, of always having a ton to do really does take a toll on your mental health after a while, adding to that stressed-out feeling.
Every Friday, I dedicate 2-3 hours to closing open loops from the week - things that I started but wasn’t able to finish (that actually need to be done) or tasks that I just didn’t get around to. So during my open loop time block on a Friday, I might:
⋒ Call and make a vet appointment for my dog
⋒ Wrap up writing a podcast script that I started but didn’t finish
⋒ Activate the warranty on our new vacuum
⋒ Finish editing Instagram Reels footage that I took earlier in the week
So you get it - just those pesky tasks that you know won’t take a ton of time and energy but that just needs to be done. Batching open loops like this by building time for it into your schedule will for sure help tame your stress levels!
02. Weave self-care breaks into your day.
I feel like when people hear “self-care” they think big chunk of time. Like that self-care can only be done if you have a 2-hour block of time – false. I am all about weaving self-care breaks into your day-to-day life because not only are you less likely to crash and burn as you push yourself to your limit to “earn” your self-care but you’re just well-taken care of on a regular basis which allows you to show up well for your life every day.
We were talking about this inside the BFF Membership and we call them “self-care sprinkles” – little things that you can sprinkle into your day that make you feel cared for and supported and that help you romanticize your life, excited for each day instead of feeling like you’re living for the weekend or even worse for vacations.
Obviously, you can be excited about the weekends and vacations – those things are rad for sure. But you don’t need to dread the rest of your life and weaving self-care breaks into your day is one way to appreciate each day.
The first thing you need to do is identify what kinds of things make you feel cared for - like what nourishes your soul? For me it’s things like movement, time without technology, giving my body nutritious meals, and honoring my social media and work boundaries.
Here are some ways that I weave self-care breaks into my day:
⋒ When I wake up, I spend the first 90ish minutes of my day off of social media/email. Instead, I’m taking my supplements, reading, journaling, meditating, and just filing my cup up.
⋒ I take an actual lunch break where I go outside and get some sunshine, pray, and read on my Kindle for funsies (aka not a personal development book) without being on social media.
⋒ I go on a walk after work to decompress my mind and help me transition from work mode to home mode.
⋒ I go rollerskating or play pickleball after work instead of sitting on the couch to binge TV.
⋒ I reading affirmations out loud throughout the day. I recently downloaded this app called PepTalks and it sends affirmations to my Apple Watch throughout the day. Taking a few moments to pause and say them out loud when the notification comes through has really been a great form of self-care for my mental health. I was telling Adam (and my therapist, lol) that using this app felt silly at first but I really have noticed an incline in positive self-talk since using it!
These little moments are examples of breaks in my day that make me feel valued and like I am truly caring for myself, which in turn helps keep my stress levels at bay.
03. Follow Hustle Sanely 5.
Y’all should not be surprised that this is included! Just in case you’re new to Hustle Sanely, let me catch you up to speed real quick. Hustle Sanely 5 or HS5 are your action steps for how to live a peacefully productive life. It’s a list of 5 habits that we weave into each day to help us prioritize our mental health and relationships as we pursue our goals.
The 5 tasks that make up HS5 are:
01. Complete your Focus 3.
02. Move for 30 minutes.
03. Tidy for 15 minutes.
04. Say or do one kind thing for yourself.
05. Say or do one kind thing for someone else.
Some tips for weaving HS5 as a whole into your days:
⋒ Don’t view HS5 as a to-do list that you have to get done.
Instead of viewing HS5 as “just another thing to do” think of it as a tool to help you take an overall wellness approach to be productive (like no hustle culture vibes here please and thank you).
HS5’s purpose is to help you be intentional and mindful in your day-to-day life. To keep you from going through the motions every day, living in a go-go-go state, falling onto your bed in an exhausted stupor at the end of the day wondering what you actually got done and if you actually showed up well for your life. Don’t let HS5 be a stressful thing – it’s a tool to elevate your life.
⋒ Don’t feel like you have to plan all of the tasks out in advance.
Part of Hustling Sanely is being self-aware and practicing honoring your energy. That means leaving space for margin so that you can make decisions based on your needs each day. Don’t put pressure on yourself to know what your kind thing for yourself is for the entire upcoming week. Most of the time, I like to check in with myself each morning or afternoon and straight up ask, “Okay what am I needing right now?” and then do that. Sometimes it’s painting my nails, or going on an impromptu Target run, or spending extra time reading, or going to bed early.
And also, don’t be afraid to make changes if you need to. Let’s say your original game plan was to do a HIIT workout as your move for 30 but when you wake up, you are incredibly sore and you didn’t get a good night of sleep. Instead of unhealthily pushing yourself to do an intense on your body workout allow yourself to shift and maybe do something like go on a jog or do some yoga instead.
Our schedules and routines are tools, not chains, remember?
04. Reduce triggers of stress.
You need to know what kinds of things make you feel cared for in order to practice self-care, you have to intentionally call out what things are causing an elevated level of stress in order to do something about them.
The things that cause you an elevated level of stress are called stress triggers. I know it can be hard to sit down and stare at a blank page and ask yourself, “Okay what causes stress in my life?” It can be tough to be specific unless you’re actually experiencing it, right?
You don’t just want to say, “Work is a stress trigger for me,” because you can’t solve “work.” Or “My kids are a stress trigger for me,” because you can’t solve “kids.” Get specific what about work is causing you stress? What about your kids is causing you stress?
Here’s my tip for how you can really pinpoint your stress triggers so you can do something about them: grab your phone and open the Notes app (y’all know I love the Notes app) and start a new note that’s called “Stress Triggers.”
Then as you’re going through your days for the next week or so, anytime you find yourself feeling super stressed about something, pull out the note and jot down what is causing you to experience the stress.
Here are some examples of some of my personal stress triggers:
⋒ Seeing work emails on my phone after my work hours
⋒ Answering customer service emails
⋒ Getting text message notifications all day long
⋒ Starting my workdays after 10 AM
Once you have called out your triggers, you can then begin to implement solutions. So here’s what I did to remedy the triggers I shared a second ago:
⋒ Seeing work emails on my phone after my work hours:
I created a new email address where all of my work emails go so that I only have my personal email on my phone now. Taking email completely off my phone wasn’t gonna work for me because I like to be able to pull up tracking numbers for online orders I’m waiting on (lol). Ever since taking my work email off my phone, I am so much less stressed because I get to choose when I see work emails instead of being bombarded by them all the time.
⋒ Answering customer service emails:
This is one part of my job that just sucks the energy right out of me. I don’t know what it is about this task that drains me but I decided to hire a VA to take over the Hustle Sanely inbox and it has been a game-changer for my stress levels. Plus, I have so much more mental space to use on other things (like creating planners and courses for y’all, hello!).
⋒ Getting text message notifications all day long:
I used to get so aggravated if I was in the middle of doing something and my phone would buzz or light up with a text every 10 minutes. I am in charge of what notifications show up on my phone so I made the decision to turn off notifications for text messages. Now I go in and check them when I want to so that I don’t feel like they’re tugging at me all day long. I get to decide how I allocate my energy – and so do you!
My friends and family know this boundary of mine and so if they need to get a hold of me quickly, they know to call not text.
⋒ Starting my workdays after 10 AM:
My best mental energy is from like 8 AM-3 PM. After that, my brain kinda feels like a bowl of mashed potatoes honestly. I was going to the gym at 8:15, getting home at like 9:30, showering, eating breakfast, and then not starting my work days until like 11. I would already feel so stressed out when I’d sit down to start work because I was starting so far into my prime mental energy hours.
So what I did to solve this issue is 2 days a week, I switched my workout class to be in the afternoon. On those 2 days, I’m able to get right to work by 7:30 or 8 and bust out my high-energy work tasks for the week while my mind is sharp.
If I wouldn’t have done this exercise of honing in on my stress triggers, I would’ve just kept going through the motions every day, allowing these things that were stressing me out to keep taking up space in my life. But because I pinpointed my triggers, I could actually do something about them, which obviously helps lower stress levels.
05. Practice solitude.
I first learned about the spiritual disciple of solitude from John Mark Comer - he is one of my favorite teachers ever. He describes solitude as how we can stay emotionally and spiritually alive and awake in the chaos of the digital age. He goes on to say that solitude is a moment of intentional time in the quiet to be alone with God. In the modern era, this just might be the first step to a life well-lived.
I’ve read so many stories from people and scientific research highlighting the benefits of practicing solitude and transformation that happens internally when one practices regular solitude. And hey, you don’t need to be a follower of Christ to practice solitude. Practicing solitude is being intentionally still.
Over on Instagram, I’m fairly open about some of the things that I’m working on in therapy and something that my therapist has told me to integrate into my life is a solitude practice. A few times per week, I’m supposed to sit somewhere quiet and set a timer for 10 minutes and just be still.
I’ve been doing this like 3-4 times a week for about a month now and I can honestly say it’s been incredibly transformative. I feel more grounded throughout my days – like I’m way less likely to go off over small things or get overwhelmed by tasks that used to overwhelm me.
I feel more in control of how I’m responding to my life. And a perk for me as a follower of Jesus – I’ve really noticed that I am more in tune with the Holy Spirit since practicing solitude regularly because I am training my mind to slow down and observe/listen instead of just do.
Practicing solitude is consciously halting the overstimulation that we often inexperience in our digital age. Solitude creates space and is actually rest for your mind.
When we do things to lower our stress levels, we are creating space in our lives. Space to grow and thrive and that is so important!
“I hope you’re seeing a pattern here – the small actions that you take every day really do add up and make your life easier in the long run. ”
And there you have it – 5 things you can do to help you stop being so stressed. Let me know over on Instagram stories which of the 5 tips helped you out the most!
Our 2022 weekly planner has a lot of these tips built right into it to help you plan a peacefully productive life:
If you enjoyed this blog post, tune into episode 116 of The Hustle Sanely Podcast to dive deeper into this topic:
