How to Develop a Plan to Manage Stress

culled from:wikihow.com


Stress is often a common feeling in many people's lives. If not dealt with accordingly, it can consume you. However, if you can find ways of managing your stress, you may discover that you never have to deal with stress again. Consider the following in your attempt to develop a plan to manage stress.

Steps

1

Create a list of all the causes of stress in your life. In order to manage your stress, you need to identify where it's coming from. You may find that there is more than 1 area in your life that causes stress. For example, your job and your financial standing may both be stressful for you. Design your list on a spreadsheet so that you can move things around, if needed.

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   Try to narrow the causes down to specifics, if possible. Your work may be the cause of your stress, but ask yourself if there is a specific factor about your work that is the actual stress source. For instance, you may work in sales and even though you enjoy the job itself, you get stressed by the cold calling portion of the job requirements. Breaking down the source of your stress into specifics will help you find a more precise solution.
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   Review your list and prioritize the stressors. By listing them in order of the most stressful, you can focus your stress management plan on the biggest stressor. This step also helps you put your stresses into perspective. You can determine whether a specific stress is really a concern that needs dealing with. You may decide that the least important stressor on your list is no longer relevant in comparison.
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   Consider each stressor and decide on an action plan for dealing with it. If your finances are bringing you down because you cannot afford your current lifestyle, you need to make a list of ways in which you can cut back. If your bills are always late and you are getting notices, set up reliable payment systems with your bank. Whatever the stressor is, make a plan for resolving the issue.
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   Evaluate all your resources and how you can take advantage of them. In the case of a financial concern, you could meet with a family member or friend and ask for suggestions for an action plan. Consider meeting with a professional financial advisor. There are also many online tools and resources that can help you get your finances back on track.
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   Add the solution next to each stressor on your database. Create realistic goals when putting together your solutions. Don't set yourself up to fail with unrealistic timelines and action plans. If you decide that taking a class will help you reach your career goals, but that class is just another thing on your list of things to do, reschedule. Change your class or rearrange something else in your life. You need to create a balance in your life. You need to decide what the priorities are and work the rest of your responsibilities around them.
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   Schedule timelines for each solution, if applicable. Then add dates for review sessions to see if your plan for managing stress is working. If you find that a solution is not working, then replace it with another. You may also find that some action plans are working and those original stressors are gone. In such cases, remove the stress from the list. Accordingly you can add any new stressors and their actions plans.