Stressed Out With Work & School?

And so am I! Help!

I told myself- the best person who can help me most is nobody else but me. Am I making sense here? I figured, after observing myself for years and people all around me, that we truly do create most of our own stresses, joys and heartaches. What makes me uptight or happy is how I perceive and respond to situations.

For instance, these past few days, I have tons of things to do - work deadlines and four papers to complete this month so I'll graduate next month.

Here's how I tried to help myself...

Exercise: I exercised this morning (did leg and arm stretches) and this afternoon (light aerobics). It cleared my head so I could think more coherently and come up with a better itinerary for my new boss. The light aerobics this afternoon courtesy of www.SparkPeople.com eased the minor aches in my shoulders for doing computer work all day. I tried Spark People's 15 minute desk workout and I felt much better. Go try it sometime; it's fairly easy.

Delegate: There are so many nitty gritties to this itinerary - coordinating with people in 3 countries in such a short time-that I can't do it and still have time for my other work deadlines and make some headway on my school papers. So I was compelled to think of who can possibly help me with the coordination when I have no staff? Well, I realized that if I think hard enough, there are people in each country whom I can request to take care of certain things. I did that this afternoon-requested help in completing various details.

Essential vs Urgent: It's a daily battle with the "urgent" screaming for attention. Hey Abby, sit up and think! Take time to differentiate between what's essential and what's urgent. Taking time for solitude and exercise is essential. Washing clothes, sweeping the floor and fixing the clutter in the cupboard are "urgent." They can wait till the weekend.

Hugs, sunsets and kittens: Take a break from work and let someone give me hugs - my hubby or friends. This afternoon I opened the front door and caught glimpses of the setting sun. Before those glimpses, I watched our kitten play. And pretty soon the hugs will come...