Taking Time Out and Managing Stress

I'm the type of person that always likes to keep busy, there's no such thing as having too many things on my to-do list... Well, atleast I thought so anyway! Since Christmas my blog has grown, more and more opportunities have come around and I've just wanted to put as much effort into everything as possible - but last week I realised that I just needed to take a minute to relax, take a step back and stop being so busy.

Without even realising things got on top of me. I was pushing myself too hard and before I knew it I was stressed out when I really didn't need to be. As a student at uni I was always pretty good at stress management, the constant reminders from tutors to relax and take care of my mental health really stuck with me, and I managed pretty well. I never imagined that I would experience the same feelings after leaving, so I guess I was unprepared. Since then I've made a promise to myself that I'm going to put my well being first, no late nights doing emails or cramming in photo sessions after work.

Managing Stress

During the health module of my Psychology degree we learnt about stress and the impact it has on health, and that's something that's always stuck with me and I'm consciously aware of. A study found that wounds of people with higher levels of stress took longer to heal than those with lower levels of stress - How crazy?! It has an impact on physical and mental health. I've decided to revisit some of the things I did during my time as a student and try to implement them into my day to day adult life (adult in italics because I'm still incapable of making toast without burning it)

1) Mindfulness
I don't think I've ever mentioned this on my blog but I actually took part in an 8 week mindfulness course this time two years ago. I learnt so much from it and really tried to inject mindfulness into my day to day routine in a less formal way, basically by focusing and being in the moment during mundane every day tasks like brushing my tea or eating breakfast. Mindfulness really makes me relax and just live in the moment which definitely puts everything into perspective for me.

2) Exercising
I would say that I exercise on a regular occasion but I want to get into a really specific schedule and try to do some form of exercise 5 days a week. I'm sat down most days at work so getting away from a desk and being active has actually become something I enjoy. I feel more motivated and having that time away from a laptop screen helps me think creatively and I can focus on getting things done.

3) Getting organised
I picked up the beautiful blush pink diary pictured from Kikki.k last week and I've found it so helpful to organise everything and make sure everything I need to do is noted down. When I'm organised and have everything I need to do laid out in front of me it definitely makes life easier, then I don't have the added stress of forgetting to do something (which has happened on one or two occasions). I think being organised is so important, without it I'm never as productive.

4) Taking Time Out
There's hardly ever any time during the day when I'm not looking at a screen, I always give myself a little tech free time before I go to sleep but I don't feel like it's enough. As well as going to the gym, after work and before work I'm going to make sure I just have a little time to myself doing absolutely nothing - no phone, laptop or even a book, just relaxing!

What's your top tip for managing stress?
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