A Little of Everything

Almost everyone knows how to hum that song by Bobby McFerrin - ‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy’.

Yep, living a happy and optimistic life is great for your mind as well as your health. Being happy protects you from the stresses of life. Happiness can be found in everyone, in fact, it is there inside you. We have the power to make the necessary changes we want in life, so that we can be happy.

How to ‘be happy’?

Be grateful. Be thankful of what you have. Thank the taxi driver for bringing you home safely, thank your mother-in-law for a wonderful dinner, and thank the plumber who repaired your kitchen sink. Also thank your husband for cleaning up the dishes, the mailman for bringing you your mails, the waiter who serves you at the diner. Just be thankful for being alive.

Manage your time wisely, as time is invaluable and too important to waste. Learn to manage your time, or develop an efficient personal time management skill. Fine tune these skills and you will have that extra reserve to accomplish your tasks and create the results you desire. When you feel a sense of accomplishment, and being competent, you feel happy. More importantly, work on things that you feel worthy of your time.

News is stressful. Most of the news we read or hear is bad news. So get less of it. Starting your day without bad news seem to be a more sensible thing to do, and will keep you happy for a longer time throughout the day.

Laugh and laugh heartily everyday. As you have heard it so many times - ‘Laughter is the best medicine’. So, pread some good news, or tell a good joke as and when you can.

Express your feelings, affections, friendship and passion to people around you. Accept people for who they are. Try not to keep pent up anger of frustrations, as it is bad for health. Find ways to express them in a way that will not cause more injury or hurt to anyone. Let go of all kinds of resentments.

Continue to learn something new everyday. Learning adds on to our knowledge and broaden our horizons, and give us more opportunities in the future.

Stay away from negative elements, such as drugs, hazardous places, and loud noises.

Feel alive , or rather STAY alive by doing the things your body was made for. Exercise - run, jog, or walk. Dance. Hike.

These are the few simple things you can do everyday to be happy.

To be happy is relatively easy, just decide to be a happy person. The choice is yours.

I think I’m quite poor in time management. And poor time management (instead of the current economical situation) triggers a lot of stress in me!

You see, I’m one person with a plenty of plans going on in my head, and always feel that I’m oh-so-busy. I always have a one-day or one-week to-do list in front of me everyday. However, I can’t seem to be able to cross out all the items within the time frame I set for myself.

A typical scenario would be this: I have listed task A, task B, task C and task D to be and should be completed in a day. Somehow, while I’m working on task A, task E came across my mind, I will then insert task E between task B and task C. And when I finally completed task B, I thought of task F and immediately get onto it. At the end of the day, task C and task D have to be postponed to the following day. How can I not feel stressed out when, at the end of the week, I found myself left with more undone tasks than done ones! You see how poor time management can hamper one’s productivity and performance, and inevitably increase the stress level?

So, are you facing the same time management issue like me? Then, perhaps the time management tips below can help us improve our performance and productivity at work, and make us feel better about ourselves.

• Prioritize your time by rating tasks based on importance and urgency. Redirect your time to those activities that are important and meaningful to you.
• Time management is basically about being focused. Save time by focusing and concentrating on the task in front of you, e.g. it is best to turn off the internet line when you are writing an article to avoid distraction of coming e-mails etc.
• Deal with procrastination by using a day planner, breaking large projects into smaller ones, and setting short-term deadlines.
• Manage your commitments by not over- or under-committing. Don’t commit to what is not important to you.

Most importantly, realize that time management is about getting results, not about being busy. It should be a reasonable approach to accomplish tasks or to solve problems. Each and everyone of us has a peak time when we are able to focus and work very efficiently, and a time when we tend to slow down and our minds wander. For me, I tend to work better in the second halve of the day. So tap onto these natural cycles to do the more difficult tasks when we are the sharpest and most focused.

Global recession. It’s eating into everyone’s life.

While many of us already have a plateful of daily issues and worries and financial concerns to deal with, the current bad economic situations are making our lives more difficult and stressful.

While we generally think that a little stress in life is actually good, because it could push you to function at your best. However, if you are overstressed, the mental burden could take a toll on your overall well being - both mind and body. Therefore it is important to manage stress to prevent depression or anxiety.

Below are some helpful tips on managing stress.

1. Write down a to-do list

Having a things-to-do-list will help you to manage more easily errands that are all crumpled up in your head. Write down your tasks, put a specific time to do them. Once you accomplished them, cross them out from the list. You will feel more efficient and are more relaxed when handling other tasks at hand.

2. Do things one at a time

Focus and put all your attention specifically on one task at one time. It won’t help you or make you feel good if you go panicky about the other undone or to-do tasks. Thinking about them only adds unnecessary stress and distracts your mind, which could hamper your progress in attempting the present tasks.

3. Take it slow

Try not to expend too much energy on activities that are not in your priority list. Save those energy for more important tasks. If things can wait, let it wait, at least for now.

4. Delegate the tasks

You need not do everything all at once, and you need not do everything on your own. Get help - free or paid. If you feel you are overwhelmed with tasks at hand, then hire someone to mow the lawn or get a sitter for your children. This will remove a heavy load of unnecessary worry and anxiety off you.

5. Reward yourself

It is important that YOU acknowledge yourself for your own accomplishment, and that you deserve a reward (e.g. a nice meal on the weekend) for being efficient. This will help reduce stress and even make you happier in doing the next task.

6. Give yourself a break

Take short breaks during work helps to refresh and recharge yourself. It will make you more productive. Have a cup of coffee, take a quick brisk walk, or do anything to put your mind off work for a while. Actually you can still stay in your work and take a break - just sit with your eyes closed as you visualize a peaceful landscape or a serene and calming place you like.

7. Relax and be cool

You will be healthier, happier, and a lot more productive if you can stay relax and cool all the time.

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Learn how to conquer stress, enjoy great confidence, be bursting with energy, regain your passion for life, and sleep like a baby at night!