Accumulating moderate to massive stress levels in today’s information age is more usual than one can presume. Many of us have grown up listening to our elders about how burdensome their lives were. That is how they had to penetrate their way from mere survival, through the harsh, hostile stitches, towards a relatively comfortable & well-respected lifestyle.
Considering the scarcity of resources, time, and good education, they arose to attain an average to the above-average standard of living. During that era, it was enough and considered a success. Our elders were content, happy, and stress-free.
The fact is: our forefathers had lesser responsibilities to take care of. We, on the other hand, are overwhelmed. The abundance and profitability of services, goods and educational institutions have uplifted the living standards to an enormous level. As a result, stuff once a luxury is now being witnessed as average.
Expectations in all fields, be it finance, job, education, relationships, communication, and technical expertise, have also been heightened. Certain responsibilities from all these segments of life build up an almost insurmountable wall of stress. In adverse times, the combined burden of duties grows so wide that it overwhelms one’s mind and clouds one’s ability to make legitimate decisions.
As shown in the image, the top two reasons for acquiring stress are poor finance and work. Along with these two, many other factors, such as balancing work and home, struggling to get over a disease, leaving a bad habit, lack of a healthy relationship, or debts, can brutely weigh you down.
Ultimately, it’s always about getting organized, creating the balance between the things you can control, and stopping being anxious about the ones you can’t. If you, too, are a victim of severe stress and anxiety, the only viable solution is to stop worrying and start planning your time and resources. And here’s how you do it:
- Make a Habit of doing it Today
According to a recent study, 87% of today’s students claim to be procrastinators. The study was conducted on 1300 students, and more than 40% of them confirmed that it’s affecting their studies and lives.
Procrastination is one of the worst habits one can acquire. It is dangerous and strengthens over time, resulting in many people suffering from it in their adulthood worse than they did in their college days.
The common reason we procrastinate is the fear of beginning and committing to a mountainous task. And avoiding it seems like an easy escape for that point in time. Sometimes people tend to procrastinate a task for two or three times more time initially needed to complete it.
Remember, “it’s easier to break twigs separately than the pile altogether.” Hence, segment your bigger problems into smaller ones. Eliminate all the distractions from your life because they facilitate an escape from reality.
- Plan and Organize Your Life
Often, we designate so much time to take care of responsibilities that have trivial importance. Correspondingly, the highest priority tasks went uncompleted to grow bigger and haunt our peace of mind later. Being organized is a very easy but rare skill to have.
A to-do list is your best bet in such a case. Maintain one such list daily where you prioritize your tasks and assign them necessary attributes such as importance, deadline, the time required, resources needs, and the level of impact if went unfinished.
Mark each task as ‘checked’ as soon as you finish it. That way, you will not only save yourself from a meshed-up cloud of predicaments hovering above your head but also have a feeling of success every time you mark a task as ‘completed.’
- Calm Down and Don’t Lose Your Temper
I have never seen anybody who hasn’t experienced any tough times in their lifetimes. According to some of the most successful people in the world, such as Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs, obstacles make you stronger.
“Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith.” – said Steve Jobs in an interview. One must understand that while it’s human to get paranoid when you feel overwhelmed, a calm mind can get you out of that state more than a stressful mind can.
No doubt, remaining calm in tough times is an extremely rare ability because everyone has a break-down point. The thing here is – how far can you stretch ‘your break-down point’ by continuous practice and willpower?
The Bottom Line
Life is tricky. Sometimes, it furiously discharges a multitude of predicaments on you to test your perseverance. Undoubtedly, only some have what it takes to tackle a gigantic pile of sudden responsibilities or problems. But everyone has the thing to improve to become a better version of himself which is more organized, more combative, and a better stress holder. It all depends on your willingness to take action and stay persistent.
