This Stress Cannot Kill Me!

_{Tim Gouw}

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Life is hard.

This is something I have come to learn as an adult. And the annoying thing about it is that it does not get any better, instead, we get better at dealing with it. And even that is not for everyone, because there are some people that will never be able to.

The pressures of life are in their numbers and they come at any time at all, with no sense of rhythm in any way. Issues and problems can come at you from all sides and you would have no idea how to tackle them because you have no clue where to even begin. That is usually where the stress stems from.

Having way too many problems than you feel you can deal with, and I can tell you this; it is not a good place to be.

Sometimes, it can be work that is stressful having to do the same thing over and over again, for every day of the working week, in the same pattern and getting the same result. It can also be an unhealthy working environment, having to go long distances just so you can sign in on time just not to hurt your chances of getting that promotion. The list goes on and on.

We can bring it closer to home, where the family issues are unending on their own. From school fees to rent to feeding. You have to do these things whether you want to or not, and the little children are not going to understand when you tell them you do not have an answer. A hungry baby is going to cry whether you have money or not. Also, the utility companies will also not spare you as you have to pay all your bills if you have to use all the services. Then, we have the cost of transport that is always on the increase, almost to the point of cutting our throats…

As you can see, I can easily list out everything here and it would be enough to make a post. The causes of stress are just numerous and a number cannot be put to them because everything we do can also be a source of stress. As long as it is not something we are doing for fun, then it has the ability to stress us.

And stress is so bad that if not managed properly it can lead to severe health challenges. From high blood pressure to other kinds of ill health that can inadvertently lead to death. Stress is a slow killer, and the sad thing is that you might not even notice that it is killing you. You would think everything is going alright until everything stops going alright.

_{Inzman Khan}

So, how do I cope with stress?

When I tell people I work from home, people think it is a walk in the park. It can be very difficult indeed, especially when you have a lot to achieve in just one day. I spend at least twelve hours each day at my work desk, sitting hunched over my laptop and tapping away. With so little to do and so little time in a day, I have to giddy up if I am going to meet the deadline.

At first, I was working it at a stretch, that was when I just started and I was not that well versed in how working from how could really be. But I got to learn that sitting in one position for such a long time, and not just for one day, but every single day was terrible indeed. It was bad for my body posture and it was bad for my health. I started to develop headaches whenever I sat down to work.

I knew something was up, so I decided to start taking breaks. But back then, my breaks were irregular and they only happened when I was feeling tired or the thought crossed my mind. And the length of the break was determined by how long I was willing to rest. So, it was very irregular. And that also affected my productivity because there were times I would say I was going for a break and I would end up not working again for the rest of that day.

As we all know, the number one enemy of a remote worker is their own bed.

_{Andrea Piacquadio}

Anyway, I started getting a grip on things when I decided to have a schedule and I chose to stick to it. I split my working hours throughout the day and did it so that I could have breaks at different parts of the day as well.

I have what I do in the morning, what I do in the afternoon, and what I do at night. And in between the jobs, I take my breaks. I usually do my house chores and then, use the opportunity to walk around and flex my muscles. And if there is still time, I will use it to watch movies and series. One episode per break. And by the time I am done, I will be fresh-eyed and ready to return to work. There are times I do not even watch series, I just go on social media platforms to watch comedy skits or movie clips. And there are times when I just take a nap.

It is my break, I do what suits me at that particular time.

What matters is that when I return to work I am ready to tackle it and face it head-on.

When I am working in the afternoon, I always accompany it with music which I usually sing along to.

Music makes me happy, and being a writer also makes me happy. The fact that it is my job can make it stressful, but when I do the job in a way that will make me happy and fulfilled, then the stress would be far from me.

So, once I discovered the secret, I stuck to it. I created a schedule and I stuck to it as well. I don’t use my breaks to play, and I don’t use my working hours to play either. When issues arise, whether work-related or otherwise, I always make sure I take a deep breath before I tackle them. That has saved me from a lot of hasty decisions that would not have favored me.

And as I keep on growing and learning, I will probably get better at this so that I will take on more responsibility and it won’t even affect me negatively. There is indeed time for everything.

_{Craig Adderley}

Thank you for reading. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section; I would love to know what you think. Till we meet in the next post.

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_{This post is inspired by the first topic for this week which is Coping With Stress. Feel free to try it out.}

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_{Borderimage credit: @deimage.}