If you ask any expert how to cope with stress, the first thing they will suggest you do is to pause. Pausing is healing, so add it to your to-do list!
OH MY. You are stressed out?! I hope this post on how to cope with stress and find balance in life doesn’t stress you out even more!
I get stressed more often than a normal person. I could live my life working and spending the money I earn like what others do, but I would rather spend so, so much time on personal projects.
My day may not be filled with tasks from the moment I wake up, but I do many different things and that is exhausting. Here is how to cope with stress:
- Stop what you are doing and take deep breaths.
- Don’t try to accomplish many things within a short period.
- Disconnect from the internet to build better connections.
- Spend time outdoors.
Let’s begin.
How to Cope With Stress and Find Balance in Life
I am writing this in a library — working outside the house is one way I cope with stress. Words don’t flow in my mind these days, so I struggle with writing.
I am self-employed, so I do everything from finding clients to doing the work. But on top of my work, I work on personal projects. This blog is one of those.
I experienced being an employee, and life was easier back then for sure.
While I did tasks outside of my job description, I only needed to do what they hired me for or render the required hours per week to deserve to get paid.
It was easier to have a work-life balance. Now that I am self-employed, I can choose when to work, but that means I can go on many days not doing anything.
My work and my personal projects overlap. My personal projects and my life also overlap. I don’t see any boundary, so if one area gets shaky, everything gets shaky.
Sometimes, the reason why we get stressed is that we think about many things. Psychology Today has 10 ways to declutter your mind.
Sometimes, I consider going back to the corporate world to somewhat create a structure in my life. But my depressing experiences working under a boss — gosh, those make me not want to go back to that world.
This life I am living is stressful, but there comes a time when things will get easier because some areas run on autopilot.
Different people have different coping mechanisms, but if you don’t know the best way for you to cope with stress, you can do what I do.
Here is how to cope with stress and find balance in life based on my experience!
1. Stop what you are doing and take deep breaths.
I have been working from home since 2019. It is good because I don’t deal with heavy traffic and smoke-belching vehicles that give me pimples. But it affects my mental health. I am kind of isolating myself.
Whenever I am exhausted or, well, stressed out, I will sit on the couch and just breathe. I will go back to my workspace once I am okay.
Your workspace can stress you out. You can read this article by Psychreg to create a mental-health-friendly workspace!
I don’t have depressive moments anymore, but I still juggle many projects, most of which are writing-based. Writing for consecutive days is not fun!
If your stress is actually burnout, it may be because you have been doing the same thing continuously, and you need a break. So take a break!
2. Don’t try to accomplish many things within a short period.
They say that life is short, so we should do things quickly to reach our goals early. But “quick” sometimes means “low quality” or, worse, “burnout.”
If you expect yourself to accomplish more tasks than usual in a day, that will put pressure on you. You will not be able to think properly.
Maybe if you are feeling so in the mood for something, your enthusiasm will make it possible for you to produce more without sacrificing the quality.
But you are stressed out, right? You can’t even decide what flavor of ice cream to eat to feel better, so slow down!
According to BetterUp, being self-motivated is important to achieve goals because you need to keep moving forward at times when you feel like quitting or when people demotivate you.
If you try to do many things within a short period because you want to be done with the project or task as soon as possible, that will not work.
I did that many times — multi-tasking — and it just made working on the project longer. I needed to take breaks! It took a toll on me, and it will take a toll on you.
Take the pressure off of you, and take one step at a time!
3. Disconnect from the internet to build better connections.
I mentioned that I am writing this in a library. There is a WiFi connection here, but I am not connected to it. I am working on this offline.
My phone is in my bag at the baggage counter. I am using my tablet.
I am not talking to people because we are supposed to be quiet in a library, but I am with people, and I can feel them.
PsychCentral says emotional connection is a human need. Try to lock yourself in a room for a week, and don’t talk to anyone. You will be depressed.
A study found that too much social media use leads to poor real-life social skills.
If you are an extreme social media user, see if you can still build connections with actual people. You may be fine talking to friends and family, but not to strangers.
4. Spend time outdoors.
Even if you are the most introverted among the introverts, there comes a time when you will be bored at home. I know that because I am more introverted than average.
I take morning walks because the sun is a good source of Vitamin D. It also allows me to be around people and connect with nature.
Apart from that, I go to the public library, museums, and coffee shops. If you hear my friends or family say I don’t go out, don’t believe them. I go out!
Healthline says you shouldn’t stay too long under the sun because too much Vitamin D can lead to sunburns, heat stroke, and skin cancer, among others.
If you can wake up earlier than usual and it is safe outside, you can do some walking as it is proven to improve one’s mental health.
But I think that is only for those who work from home. If you work at an office, then that counts as “going out.” You meet people at work.
If your workplace stresses you out, then go somewhere else. Or find a new job.
Last Words
If you ask any expert how to cope with stress, the first thing they will suggest you do is to pause. Pausing is healing, so add it to your to-do list!
Many people think that it is good to be busy, and then they will say you are lazy if they see you not doing anything.
But our bodies have limits and have just enough energy to expend, which depends on the food or supplements you take in.
If you don’t recharge and eat the right food, and you continue working, you will burn out. Maybe that happened to you, so you wanted to know how to cope with stress.
You learned how to cope with stress.
If you enjoyed reading how to cope with stress and find balance in life, here is a video of me walking outside but not talking:
