Is the Stress Getting to You? 5 Ways to Cut Down on Work Time Worries
August 6, 2008
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Stress in the workplace has almost become a partner to the very notion of a full time job. Anyone who works is all too aware of this correlation, and unfortunately it is a nuance that often time gets the best of the individual over a period of time. Here are five proven methods to cut down on stress, as well as instructions on how to successfully carry these “stress busters” out:
- Work Pressures: Change your schedule. When most people get in to work, they check their e-mail and voice mail. Save it for later. Spend your first hour, when you’re the sharpest, on creative and strategic thinking. While you’re at it, break down your day into specific tasks, rather than trying to juggle everything. Studies now show that a 50-minute task takes four times as long if you juggle too many tasks at once. “Are you a starter of all and finisher of none?” asks Julie Morgenstern, author of Making Work Work. If you can, pick one day a week to leave 30 minutes earlier than usual.
- Personal Pressures: Change the habit, not the world. Destressing isn’t about eliminating all of your stresses; it’s about getting control of them, one at a time. To do that, you should make micro-adjustments in your life, not big ones that eventually add more stress, says Stan Goldberg, Ph.D., author of Ready To Learn. “What’s important is whatever [changes you make to your routine] need to be small enough so that there is a minimal amount of difference between what you’ve been doing and what you now do,” Dr. Goldberg says.
- Self Care: Eat the anti-stress diet. When you’re in stress mode, your insides produce more chemical reactions than Marie Curie’s lab and you experience surges of the hormone cortisol and sugar levels that spike and plummet, which can leave you feeling under pressure and sluggish. Counteract those reactions with the right foods, says Elizabeth Somer, R.D., author of The Food & Mood Cookbook. For breakfast, avoid sugary cereals or breakfast bars and eat whole-grain cereal and a piece of fruit. Then pop a vitamin with at least 500 milligrams (mg) of calcium and 250 mg of magnesium.
- Losing Personal Power: Always avoid “always”. One of the biggest booby traps in your life is over generalizing, first dates never work out, she always gets promotions before me, he always arrives at least 5 minutes late. Unconsciously, using “always” and “never” steers you away from feeling that you have any control over changing the things that stress or worry you, says Daniel Amen, M.D., author of Change Your Brain, Change Your Life.
- Emotional Symptoms: Schedule your emotions. If we let it, stress can eat away at us like a squirrel with a nut. That constantly worried mentality impedes decision-making, says Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, Ph.D., author of Women Who Think Too Much: How to Break Free of Overthinking and Reclaim Your Life. She suggests you write down what you’re worried about, then set aside some quiet time (say 30 minutes) to figure out solutions. That way, worrying won’t disrupt your work, and you’ll be able to think through the answers.
There you have it - five proven ways you can successfully shed some of that burdensome stress from your life. If you have any other suggestions, or have tested methods other then those listed above please feel free to let us know what worked and what didn’t.
The Bad, Worse & Downright Ugly: The Week McCain Would Like to Forget
July 10, 2008
To say that John McCain had a “rough week” would be an understatement. In all reality, the past five days under any other circumstances, with any other candidate, would represent the beginning of the end politically speaking. Yet somehow McCain continues to breeze on by with little more then a whimper from the mainstream media, a rather troubling trend that has become the “norm” in the “talking heads” coverage of the 2008 election.
Dubya Manages to Once Again Prove Just How Big of an Idiot He Truly Is
July 10, 2008
There is very little that our current President George W. Bush could possibly do to “shock” American’s, let alone the rest of the world - but somehow the brainchild in the White House has managed to once again out do himself, this time using the G8 Summit to deliver his jaw dropping statement that reaffirms the notion that he is in fact a moron.
T. Boone Pickens Moves Towards Energy Independence
July 9, 2008
Here is an interesting video for you to take a look at. It’s a national television advertisement featuring the infamous oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens, a vocal Bush supporter (financially more then anything else), as well as the man behind a million dollar offer for anyone that could prove the “swift boat veterans against Kerry” wrong. However the new ad has Pickens making a pitch to expand alternative energy options, as well as highlighting the importance of wind, and solar power in terms of softening our oil dependence.
Read more
How Bad has Dubya Been? So Bad That GOP Apointed Officials are Now Joing Team Obama
July 6, 2008
What would you say if I were to tell you that earlier this week a senior ranking Bush Administration official had resigned from his position, opting not for retirement, but rather to work for Barack Obama’s Presidential campaign? You may think I was crazy, and you would be right in your initial reaction - but I’ve got news for you - a Bush administration official did in fact resign from his position so he could become an aid to Senator Obama.
Obama, the ‘Youth Vote’ Supporting Him & the Impact they’ll Have in Nov.
June 28, 2008
Throughout the Democratic primary there was one demographic who really didn’t waver in their support of Sen. Barack Obama regardless of what their region, race, or religion was - I am of course talking about the always coveted, but equally equally as absent ‘youth vote.’ Politicians have been trying forever to really mobilize the youth, throughout the years candidates have attempted everything imaginable too mobilize the youth vote on their behalf, however none have really been successful in doing so. Well, that is until now.
Coronary Artery Calcium; the Great Predictor?
June 24, 2008
By: Stephen Elias
From the beginning of time an individual’s age seemed to be the unavoidable clock that would ultimately decide when they pass from this world. But through our medical and technological advances physicians are armed with an array of new tools and diagnostic tests that can help pinpoint health concerns and aim to remedy the vast array of problems with our bodies.
In a study recently published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology medical professionals have concluded that the key to increased longevity lies within the heart, specifically the coronary arteries. Equipped with such knowledge the question remains; why does coronary artery disease remain the number one killer among both men and women in the United States.
What researchers have discovered is that blood supplied to the heart through such arteries can develop hardened plaque, better knows as atherosclerosis, which can lead to heart attacks. This coronary artery plaque is composed of calcium, and using computer tomography (CT) scans we now have the ability to measure the amount of plaque contained within the artery walls. Utilizing these scans, patients are then given a “Coronary artery calcium score” which helps to quantify the health of the arteries, meaning the lower score the healthier the heart is.
The study conducted in Tennessee and California measured the scores of participants age 70 and older. After completion of the scan, each participant was given their individual score and studied over the next six years. As expected the younger the participant was the longer they lived, but the significant portion of the study yielded a much greater discovery; the coronary artery calcium score helped researchers predict who would die and who wouldn’t during the six years regardless of age and other medical issues.
With this knowledge it has been concluded that an older person with a lower calcium score may outlive a younger person with a higher calcium score. This breakthrough now aims to help physicians shift their focus from age to coronary artery calcium scores in helping to identify seniors at risk for heart issues. As always though, regardless of age, the key to having a healthy heart includes diet, exercise, lifestyle, and regular physician visits.
The Sad Reality of “Offshore Drilling”
June 24, 2008
There has been a lot of talk lately regarding whether or not the U.S. should begin “offshore drilling” as a measure to ease the energy crunch we currently find ourselves knee-deep in. The plan, which would include drilling in and around various sections of the U.S. coastline is widely supported by the GOP, and as you would expect, opposed to by nearly every Democrat in both the House and Senate.
New Bloomberg/LA Times Poll: Second Survey This Week Showing Obama +15 Points
June 24, 2008
June 25 (Bloomberg) - Democrat Barack Obama has opened a 15-point lead in the presidential race, and most of the political trends - voter enthusiasm, views of President George W. Bush, the Republicans, the economy and the direction of the country - point to even greater trouble for rival John McCain.
The Internet Is So ‘Elitist’: Tracking Political Websites & Their Party Affiliation
June 24, 2008
Earlier this morning I stumbled across a fascinating article that discussed the political “blog-o-sphere” (I hate that word, mainly b/c many of the sites aren’t even ‘blogs’) and where they fell in terms of the ideological scale ranging from “very liberal”, all the way to the far right, “very conservative.” The results were somewhat surprising, mainly because they manages to debunk an argument often heard from those on the right that claims; “internet politics is dominated by liberals“. That argument, is simply not true (surprise, surprise a conservative argument proven completely wrong), the result is a tight, “pretty” map that shows a decided red/blue (conservative/liberal) split in the US political blogosphere.
