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I have been super stressed this year. So many things going on and my upcoming back surgery is not helping things. I am always working so hard and can not relax. I am always trying to answer emails and icq's at all hours of the day and night. I work 7 days a week. My friends come over and I still check my mail and make sure everything is ok and even sometimes work when friends are over. Anyone have any suggestions for trying to relax and reduce stress?
Thanks,
Mark
Mark,
Hmmmmm.. your whole story there sounds a bit familiar.....
Minus the back surgery.
My stress levels were appoaching the 3rd Sun of Jupiter, but I am HEAPS better now...
My tips..
#1 Exercise. Everyday. Get off you butt, go to the gym, shoot hoops, walk a couple of miles, go for a ride on your bike. but get out and do something physical.
#2 Drink LOTS of water and green tea. I do at LEAST 2 litres of water everyday, plus 6-8 cups of green tea (added hint - throw a small piece of fresh ginger into your cup and leave it there everytime you refill).
#3 Have one "doona" day a month. DO NOT get out of bed. Turn off the phone. Sleep, dial pizza.
#4 Have good sex at least 4 times per week. Any less does not work any where near as well. Preferably with someone you care for :-)
And finally...
Don't worry about worry.
My old man always said to me:
Son you don't die from the first heart attack, you die from worrying about the second one.
The preceeding advice will cost you 2 beers and a bowl of pretzels in Florida.
:biker:
We're all with you, I'm sure.
Try and take a day where you get away from it all. If you can't do a day start with a couple or hours and work your way up.
Instead of jumping out of bed in the morning and running for the e-mail, try sitting outside for 15 minutes and just being quiet.
Try to stop working 2 hours before bedtime.
Farm out some of your really boring, but time consuming work. There are people on this board who will do odd jobs. If you're making good money, pay them to do it.
Cheers
Dzinerbear
I find unprovoked, explosive and unrestrained violence to be a fantastic way of getting rid of stress.
Sheepo
I suggest exercise, one non-computer day as a rule, and daily blowjobs.
Stop working.
Really.
Stop checking your emails and ICQs when your friends are over. Stop working 7 days a week.
I don't think you're "stressed", I think you're obsessive compulsive, and it's stressing you out.
Or, and this is the only thing that worked for me, take up motorcycling, and go for a nice long loud ride. Rev your engine. Leave the world behind you as it whizzes past your helmet.
All joking aside, Yoga, Boxing, scented bath oils and insense aren't going to treat an obsessive compulsive disorder, and you sound like you may be in the early stages. Bite the bullet, get some help. don't work youself to death. You're too cute for that.
Large ammounts of beer, and hot nasty sex does it for me... :specs:
i know some people here are going to laugh at me saying this, but you cannot work 7 12+ hour days and expect to relax. ya just can't. find something to do away from your computer - and you know what? at first, you will jones for your email and your icq.
do NOT talk about work. a good way to start to take your mind off might be to go to a movie with your cel phone OFF.
ask yourself this: do you really NEED to work that much? if you took a day off a week, or at least a half day, would your business collapse? if the answer is yes, perhaps you can change the way you do business... but i bet the answer is no. if it is, go roller skating, or go to the movies.
ya know what i do? i go to band practice twice a week - only two hours each, but at least i get away from work and get to play!
I work a helluva lot, as well.
10-12 hours per day (wake up, do a little work for an hour, drive to the office, work for 8-9 hours, drive home, work a couple more. chill out. go to bed.)
Then weekends will also hit up the work thing at least 6 hours per day - if I don't plan anything else.
Which is why I make it a point to plan other things.
I can still get the work I need to get done on the weekends, fiddle about, answer emails and IMs and switch up some site stuff or catch up on something and get ahead of other things a little bit.
But I also make it a point to do other things. Even chill out and watch some movies. Go out to dinner with my boyfriend. Whenever he comes over I can't get any work done and so that actually helps a lot. I'll do errands, drive along the beach, wash my Jeep, do a little shopping. Stuff like that to just break up the monotony.
Both my b/f and I have been working a lot this last week so as a stress-reducer for both of us I'm gonna get us a room at a really cute looking little bed and breakfast like 2 blocks from my apartment. It's literally within spitting distance so not some grand vacation. We don't even have to drive there it's 2 blocks away. But it's a chance to be alone with one another - and away from computers! - for a couple days at a nice place. That always helps, I find, as well.
Your default position is at your computer working. So you just gotta tear yourself away from it and force yourself to do something else. The compulsion to work is so strong that the motivation to do something else won't come along on its own. Ya gotta just plan and make yourself do somethin' else. :)
Thankfully, Internext is comin' up! So that's a chance to get outta town and go down to FL and have fun and get a change of scenery and see tons of new and old people - all as part of work! So it should be great :)
Thanks so much for everyones advice. Everyones advice was really good and I will try a bit of all of it. I am trying to take care of myself better. My Mom can't sit still and always has to be doing something so I think that is where I get it from. My brother is also can't sit still for a second and is very hyper. Thanks again everyone, I appreciate it. :)
Mark
oh....
I so relate...
I remember panicing wondering what I'd DO on an airplane
for the flight from Dayton, Ohio USA to Las Vegas, Nevada USA
back in Jan. 2004 for Internext... so I gathered up some
AVN Online magazines to take and a note pad to make notes...
thank goodness I wasn't sitting next to anyone with children
or any prudes...
sometimes I'll just be sure to have a notepad with me
when I know I will be stuck somewhere away from the
computer and still have my hands free...
I'm excited about the opportunity to get away for a few
days - going down to Florida for the Internext Expo...
even though it will be relaxed and a slower pace than
I am used to - I will still be getting some business
done while there.... I've got tons of people to meet
and a couple of "job" talks arranged... so I am so looking
forward to that...
now if only I could think of a really tactful way to stall
saying yes to a company - so I can hear out the others offer
without offending them... that's always been a stressful
situation... but I know whatever is "supposed to be" will be...
and I think there will end up being more than 2 companies
I talk with anyhooo... so maybe... the response I should give
is that I'm not committing to anything till after I get back
home from Internext and will respond back by Friday 8/20
problem might be though - that they would want you to do the
paperwork or sign some NDA's while IN Florida - in person...
I guess I could sign them contingent on accepting the job
offer by such and such date...
I do know that I am not going to pack or wear "interview"
type clothes... for goodness sakes webmasters/marketers
promotoers (etc.) that primarily work FROM home - don't
need to dress in "interview" attire... LOL... and I wouldn't
work for a company that would expect that... too regimented
for me... LOL...
it's exciting to wonder - which company will end up being
the lucky one to get me... I know that whichever one it
is - I will work my butt off... I can be such a dedicated,
loyal person - when I am committed to a cause...
but I think allot of you already KNOW that about me :)
(oh Bell... look what you've gone and done taking Mark's
stress thread and making it about yourself... shame on you...)
seriously though Mark - I think WRITING things down
and making lists for yourself will help you ALLOT...
it's when we try to pack so much in our heads to try to
do this and that and this and that (sometimes all at once)
that we feel stressed and if we wrote it down - we'd know
it was there - and wouldn't get forgotten - so we could
clear some headspace - LOOK at what needs to be done
and be better able to prioritize and organize things in a
more logical manner - often times to the added benefit
of being able to skip some planned tasks altogether
because they often times can be a bit redundant in multiple
projects - when if we had only taken the time to stop
and breath and plan... we could have accomplished allot
more in possibly even a shorter time frame...
working your ass off without a PLAN
is never a good thing... it leads to burnout...
and ends up wasting more time than we think it saves
working ourselves ragged...
and on a closing note I say:
folding clean clothes fresh from the dryer,
candles, fresh air, sunshine, lots of water,
walking, less caffeine, hugging someone you care about,
and PLANNED recreational respites (even if only 30 minutes)
will ALL help you...
~Bell
Go to a tanning salon, get a facial (the non sexual kind lol) or just go out for dinner one night.
They would be my suggestions :)
Regards,
Lee