3 Steps to Free your Mind from Stress and Get More Done

Last Updated on July 6, 2012 by Work In My Pajamas

If you work at home, you may find it to be both a curse and a blessing. You have the ability to run out and get those pesky little things done that the average 9-5er has to ask of in order to do, or fight rush hour traffic to accomplish before they finally make it home. On the other hand, with that sense of liberty also comes the heavy weight of, well, being able to get everything done, at any time. As hard as you try to focus on work while at home, it can be difficult to free your mind of everything that needs to be done. There are, however, several steps you can take to rid yourself of those tiny stressors, and, hopefully, get the most enjoyment (and productivity!) out of your sweet work-from-home job as possible.

1. Get rid of the to-do list (the one in your mind, that is).

The first step to getting a little peace and quiet up there in the old ticker is to rid the space of unnecessary information and worry. Most of the things we worry about, we stress over because we know we will have to do them, but don’t know when. Instead of trying to keep track of every little detail about a particular project,  every idea that passes through your head, or every ingredient you need to pick up for tonight’s pot roast, give all those details to someone (or something) else to hold onto. They are not helping you actually accomplish future tasks and are only making it more difficult to focus on the work at-hand. Figure out the best way for you to store information. Maybe it’s an app, a small calendar, an old tablet, or a personal assistant, but, whatever it is, your brain can’t handle everything. Once you can clear away the clutter, you will have much more mental “room” to focus on what immediately needs to get done.

2. Know how to prioritize realistically.

Instead of basing your day, or week, around lofty goals about all the things you hope to get accomplished, take a dose of reality and prioritize according to what you can actually accomplish in real life. The best way to do this is to set an estimated time for each task, so you can plan in a realistic manner. Then, once you know how long everything will take, number your to-do list from most important to least important. Simply start with the most important to-do’s and schedule them in a manner that will definitely leave enough time to get them done. This is a much better way to feel, and be, accomplished than to constantly set yourself up for failure by packing to many expectations into one day.

3. Leave the rest for another day.

Once you have determined what you will have time to do each day, try your best to let go of the worry associated with the rest of the things on your to-do list. There is nothing you can do to make them go away, so there is no point in worrying about things that you don’t even have time to take care of at the present moment. Allow yourself to feel at ease with at least writing them out, prioritizing and then scheduling them. Then, simply follow your daily schedule and forget the rest until the time comes.

This guest post is contributed by Lauren Bailey, who regularly writes for online colleges. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: blauren99 @gmail.com.