The daily grind is stressful. You have myriad job duties during the day at work, and then come home to a list of never-ending chores. Don’t let your lengthy To Do list stress you out – check out these tips on how to keep calm during times of stress.

Identify What’s Stressing You Out

Make sure you know why you’re feeling the way you do. Sometimes stress can be a lot of small things piling up on your shoulders, but often you can trace the stress back to its root. When you can find the source of your stress, it will be easier to manage and reassure yourself about what you can do to stay calm.

Take A Break

You might not have time for a getaway to a tropical paradise, but try to take a break any way you can. If you’re at work, take a literal break! Five minutes standing in the fresh air can do wonders to clear your mind. If you’re home, find an empty room where you can have some quiet time and not have to rush around. Take time to breathe deeply, listen to a favorite song, read a good book. Taking a break from the daily grind might help you keep your stress in check because you’re making time to do things you enjoy, not only the things you feel obligated to do.

Choose How You’ll React

When you’re caught up in the emotion and hopelessness of stress, it might seem like the only way to react is to take the path of least resistance. You need to realize that you have choices in the matter; you can determine how you’re going to react. This knowledge alone will make you feel more in control of your stressful situation. Once you realize you have power over your stress, then you can figure out how to handle it. You don’t have to let stress freak you out. You can take charge and nip it in the bud, accomplishing what you need to before things get out of hand. You can choose to eliminate the source of stress completely, or address the problem so it won’t be a stressful issue in the future. Know you have options, list them out, and figure out the best solution.

Make A Plan

Once you know how you’ll react, make a plan to implement. This way you’ll feel more secure knowing you don’t just have an ideal solution, you have the steps to get there. Having a plan also helps keep your stress levels down, because you can make the steps manageable and space them out so your To Do list is never too unbearable.

Shake It Off

Sometimes the best way to keep calm and manage stress is to know when you just need to shake it off. Whether you can’t come up with the right solution or it seems like nothing is working, all you’re able to do much be to let it go. This can actually be very freeing, because you’re realizing that stress doesn’t have to own you. Instead of worrying about it and making a plan of attack, the best way to keep calm might just be to let it go.