Red Pencils and Running Shoes

It shouldn’t be much of a surprise to anyone that I am a Type-A, anxiety-ridden individual.  A lot of people in my profession are certainly Type-A, and a lot of people in my family deal with anxiety. 

Even as a baby, I showed signs of anxiety.  I mean, seriously, look at those little fists of fury!  What infant gets so stressed?  Not much has changed 23 years later - I find myself balling up my fists when I get tense.  Since during busy season, I’m tense approximately 90% of the time, I’ve noticed this happening more and more. 

Some things have helped.  Yoga, for one, has been a huge help.  By focusing on my balance and my breathing, it’s hard to focus on much else at the same time.  Even just 20 minutes in the morning helps start the day on the right foot.  Running helps too, but not as much.  I am able to take out any frustrations on the treadmill, and I feel so strong after a good run. 

Sometimes though, the stressors swell up and it feels like all the yoga or running in the world won’t wash them away.  It gets a little hard to breathe, everything irritates you, and you have to peel your fingers out of the fists you catch yourself making.  What if it’s the middle of the workday, and you know that since you’ll be working until 10pm that you won’t be able to lay your anger out on the treadmill until the following morning?

Here are a few tips I’ve picked up from an article I read in Real Simple a few months ago.  This is one of the few articles that I keep returning to over and over – I should just tape it to my refrigerator!  I hope this helps you all ease your mind when times get rough.  You can read the whole article here… and I really hope you do!

1)  Make it worse.  There have certainly been times when I start to panic.  “OMG I have to lead this conference call, what if I forget what I’m supposed to say?”  “OMG I can’t believe the senior manager saw me trip.  What if he kicks me off all his jobs because I’m embarrassing?”  Real Simple says that instead of controling your anxieties (which only makes them worse), exaggerate them instead,and see what happens.  Go ahead and trip in front of your manager.  Maybe he’ll tease you a little bit for it, but chances are he won’t even notice.  (Take my word for this one.  I almost fell on my face last year in front of a manager, and yet somehow I’m still on all his jobs!)

2)  Set aside worry time.  I love this line from Real Simple: “All too often we take a “Crackberry” approach to our worries: They show up unannounced, like constantly dinging e-mails, and we stop everything to address them―even if we should be doing something else.”  In case the crackberry wasn’t bad enough with real emails – then we get these stressors pinging ups all the time.  I have observed in myself and my coworkers that we spend so much time focused on how much everything sucks that we could have spent that fretting time doing something productive.  Real Simple suggests writing down your worries throughout the day, and forgetting about them.  Then take 20 minutes later in the day to look over your whole list – how many of those worries do you actually still care about?!  Chances are there will be very few.

3)  Breathe it out.  This one really hit home for me.  Ever notice how you hold your breath when you’re stressed?  Think about it – you probably do it more than you realize.  (I was doing it just now!)  We can’t forget to breathe, guys!  As if you weren’t already worried enough – your body is worried that it’s suffocating, and it just makes you feel worse.  Concentrate on your breathing as though you are in yoga class.  For a minute, just breathe.  Don’t let anything else cross your mind.  Even a few deep breaths will help you relax and stay focused!

I hope these few tips helped you out.  There are so many more in the article itself, and I hope it helps you as much as it has helped me.  Godspeed my friends – busy season is almost over!

What do you do to stay relaxed?

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