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Home » Business And Finance Articles » How To Reduce Stress And Boost Your Productivity

How to Reduce Stress and Boost your Productivity

Hi!

Did you know that 60-90% of all doctor visits are for stress-related illnesses?

Stress is costly in terms of our health, relationships and performance. When you're affected by too much stress your body wears down and you get sick. I find that highly disorganised people seem to be more susceptible to sickness as they are always under extreme pressure, running from one disaster to another.

Gary's Story

Gary has a business, employing 7 staff. When he contacted me he was at a point where the stress from his business was so bad, that he would constantly wake up 3 or 4 times a night worried about everything ...his cash flow, staff, lack of clients and the affect all this was having on his personal well-being and family life.

By working through exactly what the key issues were, the common denominator was his lack of personal organisation. He didn't use a diary, had no way of planning and kept everything 'in his head'. Often his staff were idle because he hadn't spent time training them. Being a perfectionist he felt it was easier to do things himself.

Gary didn't exercise and was overweight. He was constantly tired and uptight causing him to be moody and also very negative . His family and his staff would avoid him. He was spiralling downhill quickly but luckily he realised before it was too late, that it was time to get help otherwise he could lose his business, his family and even his life!

Step by step and week by week Gary has got a grip on the stress by using simple ways to reduce the pressure in his life and you can do this too.

7 Practical Tips to Reduce Stress

1. Get Organised

Learn how to manage yourself and your time. This includes how to plan and prioritise. You can do it the slow way by reading books or attending seminars or you can accelerate your results by getting coached.

2. Exercise Regularly

Exercise at least three times a week. Try swimming, running or walking. Your body needs regular activity.

3. Eat Healthily

Feed yourself healthy food and drink 6-8 glasses of water a day and you'll have heaps more energy.

4.Learn to say 'No'

Become more discerning about what activities you are prepared to do or participate in. If you're already overloaded, let people know.

5.Delegate or Outsource

Do what you do best and get rid of the rest. This applies to work and home.

6. Avoid Procrastination

Stop worrying about what may or may not happen if you make a decision, just take action.

The Final Word

I bet you probably knew all this, didn't you? Well my question is, if you are continually stressed what actions do you take on a regular basis to change your situation? If you've got a grip on the stress in your life, ...that's great, if not changes need to be made otherwise too much stress can dramatically impact on all areas of your life.

Have a great week

Lorraine Pirihi

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

Day Trading Skills

I received an email from a prospective client. His question caused me to think about the wisdom of pursuing trading as a worthy venture. I know that a lot of readers are investors rather than traders, but regardless of your trading horizons, the skills and concerns of active short-term trading are relevant to us all.

Question: "There are a lot of people who say that day trading is for 'fools' and that it is very difficult to make a living from Day Trading. What are your opinions?"

Trading is like most business: it requires commitment and perseverance. It is never easy to make money, but people who have mastered a skill make it appear easy. The really successful pit traders that I have known made trading look very easy, tantalisingly easy; but they all had many years of experience behind them. For every successful trader there has probably been a few hundred who have tried and failed.

Two core skills

I think people fail at any business if they approach it without an appreciation and understanding of what is required for success. The majority of traders fail, because they have no such appreciation and they have unrealistic expectations of themselves. Any trader who starts with the expectation of becoming an instant success is setting himself up for failure.

No one would decide to become a golf pro and assume that they could just pick up a bag of clubs and start winning tournaments. Yet novice traders do this all the time. Just to start with the understanding that trading is a skill that is developed over time, through experience, puts a novice trader way ahead of the competition.

There are two core skills in trading: first the ability to anticipate the market (read the market) and second, having the discipline to execute your plan. To learn to read the market you may as well use a trading simulator and only start to trade when you have demonstrated to yourself that you can anticipate the market. Discipline, though, has to be developed and tested in the real world.

Stick to your own rules

Discipline is really the crux of the matter and it is here that most traders fall down. Their failure is mainly due to the fact that they are not really aware of its importance. Just starting out as a trader with the intention of developing your discipline puts you way ahead of the average trader. If you can trade with discipline (i.e. stick to your own rules and limits) you are 95% there!

So I would say that for the average aspiring trader, trading is a fool's game; but for those of us who approach the business as a business, with a clear understanding of the unique challenges that trading offers, it is a rewarding and fulfilling career.