7 Uncommon Ways To Decrease Stress and Boost Energy

Are there things detracting from your ability to be at your best, to do your best, and do the work that is best for you to do? If so, select one or two actions from the list below, test them out and see what impact they make on your stress and energy levels.

1. Create a list of things you are tolerating and work to remove them.  This may result in such things as removing yourself from situations that are problematic for you, learning to stand up for yourself against a disrespectful co-worker, or getting those files put away once and for all!
2. Put yourself on a complaint diet.  No complaining for 30, 60, or 90 days. During a relatively trying time, my husband and I adopted this practice.  It ensured the conversations we had on the issue were constructively focused on problem-solving.  Talk about a stress reducer for both of us!
3. Examine your current commitments and renegotiate them.  Are the commitments you made several months ago still relevant to your priorities?  Often times we continue to fulfill commitments that no longer serve us.  If they have minimal value and are no longer relevant to you, figure out a way to respectfully and graciously bow out or renegotiate them.
4. Examine your relationships.  Who are the people in your life that light up the room when they enter?  How can you spend more time with them?  On the contrary, who are the people that brighten the room when they leave?  How can you spend less time with them?
5. Procrastinate.  Yes, procrastinate.  Let the small, unimportant details fall to the side.  Often times they get resolved on their own, get completed during the gaps in your daily agenda, or eventually don’t matter anyway.   Use this with caution; what may be unimportant to you may be very important to a team member.
6. Find someone whose play is your work.  Are there things on your busy plate that must get done but make you cringe? Chances are there is someone who loves to do what you loathe!  This is one the benefits I see when a team completes an Everything DiSC assessment.  They learn what things motivate and demotivate each team member and create plans to leverage one another's strengths and interests.
7. Get to know your values.  This will help you set goals that are in sync with what is most important to you.  The founder of CoachInc.com and the International Coaching Federation, Thomas Leonard said, “When you spend your days doing what fulfills you, it attracts others."  Why does this attract the attention of others?  Because you are less stressed and have greater reserves of energy!