If you’re a mom or a dad and you work, or run your business, you’ll know that time is of the essence just to get your mandatory duties done every day. In this day and age where everything has to be bigger, better and faster we tend to forget the importance of ‘downtime’ as we embark on our journeys of discovery and happiness. And, to throw another cliché at you, you’ll probably need to be reminded that it’s the journey and not the destination that counts in your search for happiness and prosperity.
Here are some real reasons you need to level the scales in your life and start to prioritize, aside from the fact that you only get one chance at life, well at least in this lifetime. You better make it worth it.
Stress Kills
You’ve heard it countless times before but you’ve got so much going on in your head and home that it doesn’t actually penetrate. Sorry, no euphemisms when it comes to the serious stuff, so here are some scary facts that might just shock you into action:
Stress can elevate your blood pressure to the extent that you’ll put yourself at risk of heart disease, strokes and heightened cholesterol.
Stress Can Make You Sick
Believe it or not, your body responds to stress on a biological level. On a primal level our bodies are equipped to deal with stress, be it acute or chronic, in the ‘fight or flight’ response. That means your entire system mobilizes and gets ready to deal with stress by either running away from it or sticking around and fighting it face-to-face. Either way you’re going to need a lot of energy so your body releases a hormone called cortisol to help it cope. One of the ways it copes is by depressing your immune system so that it can help your body focus on the stress in front of it. Cortisol is great, in small and controlled quantities, however when the stress is continued so is the cortisol release, meaning your immune system could be in for a bit of a knock, making you susceptible to illnesses.
Stress Can Make You Fat
Another coping mechanism that cortisol employs is to convert your carbohydrates, fats and proteins into glucose- to give you the energy you need to run away or stay and make a fight of it. If there isn’t anything to fight- because you’re so tightly strung that stress has become a seventh sense- all of that glucose gets stored for another time. And that storage takes place in your fat tissues- and usually around your middle. And if that happens every day…you do the math or read the scale, if you can still do up the top button on your pants, that is.
Easier said than done, right? Well, not necessarily. Juggling your busy schedule just to start enjoying your life doesn’t have to be an existential dilemma. There are simple steps you can follow to ensure that you get it all done, and get some satisfaction out of it too. After all, that’s what we’re here for isn’t it?
Keep a Diary
Or find an App that works for you, if that’s too old-school. Write down your priorities and make lists of everything you need to do every day. Check your lists through the day to see how you’re doing and make sure you are touching the sides you want to be.
Include things like homework time with the kids, a gym session or a Sunday lunch with your parents. Review your activities every week to see if you’ve missed anything or anyone out- and that includes yourself. Make sure you balance what needs to be done with what you want to do on a ratio of one to one.
Get Active
While your body will definitely reap the benefits of regular exercise, your mind will also get a release. Exercise and regular activity are great ways to de-stress and get endorphins pulsing through you. Not having any time is called an excuse and, if you’re a multi-tasker, you can cross more than one item off your list.
Running around a playground spending time with the kids qualifies as activity and quality time, as does a game of family basketball or a brisk walk around the neighborhood with kids in tow. Do that three times a week and suddenly you’re exercising without even really trying. Making your family time more active will improve the health of kids and parents, and give you that dose of quality time you need for family bonds.
You’re Never Too Old for Romance
Keeping your primary relationship with the man or woman in your life is especially important because it forms the foundations of all the relationships in your home. Tension between you and a spouse can cause bad vibes in the home and your kids will notice. No matter how busy you are, you need to try and find time for love, romance and sexual intimacy. It ranks on the third tier of Maslo’s laws of human motivation, and its part of your subconscious programming as a need that must be fulfilled in your path of self-actualization. Sound fancy? Well, it’s an important part of your identity and family life, so consider it a fun investment and something to look forward to.
Learn to laugh with your partner or take up a physical activity that keeps you both fit. You’ll both appreciate the company and you can have a lot of fun in the process.
Take Your Own Time-Out
Get out of the house or away from the kids, even if it’s just for five minutes a day. Moms feel guilty about everything, and taking some time “off” (shudder) doesn’t need to be something to beat yourself up over. Escape into the garden, away from the house or your office and let someone else help you out.
If you’re really splashing out, half an hour in the bath with some lavender-scented oil can do wonders for the morale. Use your time management skills to carve out some “me” time. It only works with the door closed and the kids attended to though.
If you’re in the office and starting to feel edgy, go for a drive around the block or take a walk to stay focused. If you’re working a nine to five job make sure you take some time out of the office at least once a day to regroup.
No matter how busy you are, you have to find the time for yourself as well. You’re only as good at your job, your parenting routine or your hobbies as you feel and can only do it justice when you’re at your best.
This is an article by our staff writer 
I once heard that writing things down – by hand, not typing – is good for several things: relieving stress, getting a good night’s rest, and setting and accomplishing goals.
Sonny recently posted..Design a Cover Too – Madden NFL in Adobe Photoshop
After I graduated college, I started to have a job right away in my field of study. I was so glad to start my profession and I was prepared to invest myself 101% in it.
You’re right. Work is one of the major source of stress and no matter how busy we are. We need to make sometime for ourselves. I bet the romance is quite good. I love to spend time with my loved ones and watch funny movies with them. Gotta do hard work now but just take it easy.
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To make each day a step further towards our ultimate goal, towards our ultimate potential of what we can achieve. Let’s make it happen, we shall be our own strength, our fuel of our motive power.
Cyndra recently posted..What You Need To Give Your Arowana A Good Home
Most of the time, we tolerate stress in our lives and forget how to enjoy. As a result, we get easily mad when things weren’t working as expected. We also tend to become insensitive of other’s feeling. Like what you’ve said, stress can make us fat too because some people especially girls choose to eat unhealthy foods like chocolates whenever they feel down. I know handling stress isn’t easy but its the best way for us to improve ourselves by balancing our lives.
Audrey recently posted..Fisher Price Butterfly Garden Papasan Cradle Swing Review
Unfortunately, stress is unavoidable these days, but we can reduce it by a healthy diet and daily exercise. I know these things tend to pose some problems when you’re used to staying in front of the PC 25 hours a day, but the positive results deserve some sweating for them.
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Hey Danica,
When the time where I still did not read your article, I am at the state of fully working my whole day that take a break only on the night time. I could even tell that my life is not that balance, but thanks for the reminder and new tip or me. I regained the life that I was before. Thanks.
Yaphets recently posted..Lumbar Multifidus Muscle: Key to Chronic Lower Back Pain?
Stress is known to cause many health complications like blood pressure, cardiac arrests, insomnia and even depression so its better to handle stress first then move on with the other things. Stress when left untreated deprives us of mental peace as well. Parents should take their time out and try to relax.
Thanks for the great post! Getting active has helped my stress incredibly. Really can make you sick.
Easy to say… the truth is you can’t have it all, so you’ll have to decide – what’s more important – money? family? what people think about you?
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I’ve experienced stress before it seems that I am not able to continue my work..
Working too much turn into stress that can really kill, that’s why I learn from it since then.. I can now divide my time of working.
Stress can have so many effects on your personal, emotional, and physcial life. I try and keep things in perspective when you see people dieing of malnutrition, aging, or cancer. When you see those things up and close you suddnely realize what your stressing out about isnt that serious.
For me, people even say i don’t stress enough. But that’s not true, i just look relaxed. It’s easy to let work take over your life and postpone everything else. But since when? At this rate, most of us will never get time for anything else but work.
I’ve made my plans to work hard another year or so and then lay back and balance things, because you can’t get time back.
Stan recently posted..Medela Pump in Style Advanced Breast Pump Review
You can’t avoid being stressed. Here’s what I’ve done to REDUCE stress: I have 3 stickers on the walls with the following messages: breathe deep; smile, tomorrow it might be worse; just play the blonde and approve. Also, I’ve chosen some favorite (and optimistic) songs which I listen daily. Last, at dinner, I have a glass of wine to relax and I watch a good movie.
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Thanks for sharing your knowledge, now I know the possible things that may happen if a person is over stress. I hope I can now control or at least relieve it every time I am stress to work, house, and other stuffs I am doing. We know that we cannot avoid to be stress but there are some ways to relieve it and that one of them is to relax.
I always thought keeping a diary means two things (if you’re a man): you’re either gay or retarded. Men meet in a bar, talk about what’s bothering them, drink beers. Writing lists means I can’t remember things, which is fals. However, I do agree with the other stress-free tips
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Stress is unavoidable but you can alleviate it. Because those of us who are internet markets must stay healthy! But it all goes back to enjoying the things we love the most.
All work, and no play makes Johnny a dull boy. So does all play and no work. The key is balance, and whatever you do, focus on it…do it….and leave it behind when you do the next item.
Stress can get to you. I watched my dad stress out, and have a heart attack. I am five years older now than he was….no heart attack, in part because I was able (not perfectly) to avoid stressing out.
Balance is the key…work then play. Thanks for your words of wisdom!
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great post, stress is huge these days, i find that walking in nature helps me loads, something about being at one with nature drops my stress levels immensly, none of us make enough time for ourselves these days
We work to earn money for a living and not to kill ourselves. We must know how to enjoy life while doing our work.