It is easy to get lost in daily and weekly routines. If you are like me, there are times that on Sunday night as you head to bed you’re thinking: I need to get this <one thing> done this week. Then Monday starts, leads into Tuesday, and the week slips by without accomplishing that one thing.
Basic time management suggests writing what you need to get done into your schedule. I am not much for using daily/weekly calendars. I have tried using them in the past and used them for a few weeks before the blank pages started accumulating.
What has worked for me is writing short reminder lists with no more than 5 items. This keeps my lists from becoming overwhelming and stress-inducing. I also email myself reminders sometimes, since I check my email daily. By using paper and email, I have found two good ways to remind myself of what I need to get done.
For 2010, I plan to use a smaller version of daily calendar, mainly for appointments and a few deadlines. I also plan to keep using my note and email versions of reminders, since that works for me pretty well.
Finally, there is the old saying that certainly has merit: “Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” (Retrieved from www.clichesite.com)
I have a great guest article today. As a Clinical Therapist I agree with Amy Cook, who has written the following article about sleep for this site. Be sure to check out her site.
Sleep is important. Thanks, Amy!
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How Healthy Sleep Habits Help You Manage StressMany of us take good health for granted, and we often don’t realize its value until we’ve lost it. Not for nothing has it been said that health is wealth and that we must do all we can to ensure that we stay healthy for as long as we live. In order to do that, we need to eat healthy food, exercise regularly, and avoid things that are bad for us like cigarettes, drugs, alcohol and stress. Now while most aspects of good health are within our control, stress is something that is not. We are prone to be affected by it no matter how many relaxation methods we adopt and however hard we try to unwind. Work, relationships, situations – they all contribute to our stress level, and the more we stress, the more we lose our health. One way to combat stress is to follow healthy sleeping habits. When we sleep, our body rejuvenates itself and prepares for a new day; we are in effect recharging the cells that were worn out the previous day. And when we don’t get enough sleep or if our sleep is disturbed, we tend to wake up cranky the following morning and progressively get worse as the day goes on. The average human being needs at least 7 hours of sleep every night. So when you deprive your body of this, you build up a sleep deficit which in turn affects a host of factors – you are unable to think clearly, you lose your edge in crucial situations, your reaction time and vision are impaired and cause you to make serious errors when driving or doing other activities that require your full concentration, your performance suffers, you cannot recall facts, and you are very impatient and cranky all the time. So you can see how your stress level is bound to go up when you haven’t had enough sleep. To bring down your stress and negate any chance of the ailments that are associated with it, you need to:·Sleep at relatively the same time every night and wake up at the same time every morning so that your body is used to your sleep pattern.·Try taking a power nap during the day – all you need is 15 minutes of shut eye to rejuvenate your body and prevent fatigue (a major contributor to stress) from affecting your concentration and performance during the later part of the day. ·Avoid drinking caffeine after 5 pm – it could impair your ability to fall asleep at night.·Try to get a sound sleep at night. If your sleep is disturbed, relax first before hitting the bed. You could listen to soft music, read a light book, drink a warm glass of milk, or take a hot bath to get your body to ease up and prepare for sleep. ·While you may enjoy your lie-ins on holidays and the weekend, don’t sleep for too long as your body becomes confused and finds it hard to wake up on Mondays which leaves you cranky and stressed at work. ·Practice meditation to help calm and relax your mind so that you don’t find your sleep disturbed and end up tossing and turning throughout the night. By-line: This guest article was written by Amy S. Cook, who regularly writes on the topic of lvn to rn . She welcomes your comments and questions at her email address: amy.cook@rediffmail.com
Here’s the difference between mentally preparing and worrying:
Mental preparation is decisive and active. You think about options or situations ahead of time and decide how you will handle them. You resolve something here.
Worrying is indecisive and passive. You also think about options or situations when you worry. But you don’t make a decision on how to handle them, and then the situations happen to you. Worrying does nothing to resolve a concern or problem.
Even if your preparation turns out to be incorrect, at least you will not have wasted time as much time worrying.
Compassion fatigue is what I call a long-term reaction to providing care. This can happen in health care providers, emergency personnel, personal caregivers, and other situations. The term “Secondary Traumatic Stress Disorder” is also used to describe this condition. I think that sounds scarier than compassion fatigue, but if it gets a caregiver’s or provider’s attention enough to watch out for and prevent the signs, then I suppose that term is useful.
Compassion fatigue happens after focusing on others’ needs over a long period of time without practicing enough appropriate self-care. Caring for others can give energy and take away energy in general, but over time the energy can drain away and the caregiver can become less compassionate or can feel burned out.
A good website for this condition is here . The bottom line is: if you are providing care for others, take care of yourself. Taking care of yourself includes decent eating and rest habits, and probably walking or an exercise program.
I have been guilty of slacking on these at times, and as a clinical therapist I can attest that sometimes I have gotten worn out. Taking care of myself after I haven’t for a while helps me bounce back fairly well. It’s amazing what proper rest, eating, and some regular working out can do to rejuvenate. Vacations are nice too. Most important is breaking up your routine if it is becoming a grind.
I like to get word out about resources that seem useful. Today I am providing some words from the Counselling Directory, which is located in the United Kingdom. I looked through the website and found it straightforward in presenting a good list of resources for finding mental health services.
I have copied some information below. I hope it’s helpful for those of you in the UK.
Counselling Directory was set up with a simple but much needed purpose – to put those who need help in touch with those people who provide it.
Over an average year, around one in four people will experience some kind of mental health problem - whether it be work-related stress, a family crisis, or something more serious like abuse. Depression is the most common mental illness, affecting one if five people. Counselling provides a welcome alternative to medication, and encourages people to deal with their issues rather than continually suppressing them, which can lead to more serious problems.
Of course, the decision to undertaken counselling is not one that anyone takes lightly. Many consider the idea for months or even years before deciding to take the plunge.
The main hurdle anyone must overcome before opening themselves up to counselling is accepting they have a problem that needs dealt with. Whether it be an addiction, a mental health illness, suffering abuse or an eating disorder, no one likes to admit they are struggling. Often friends and family will try to encourage the person to accept they need help, but the decision must ultimately come from the person themselves.
Finding the right counsellor is essential, and there are many things to consider. Counsellors often specialise in certain areas, so it’s important the individual finds one that addresses their specific needs, with an approach they’re comfortable with.
There are practical considerations too, such as location. Despite assured complete confidentiality people may prefer to see a counsellor that is perhaps outside their local area, but still in surroundings they are comfortable in.
In the current climate, price is becoming more and more of an issue. Many counsellors are now offering reduced rates for those unemployment or claiming benefits, and many are very accommodating so that all those that need help can have access to it.
Perhaps most importantly is ensuring the counsellor is fully qualified to practise. Currently there are no laws to regulate counsellors. However, there are accrediting bodies and qualifications guidelines suggest counsellors should obtain. There are academic qualifications in counselling - under-graduate, post-graduates and doctorates. Being accredited by a professional body - such as the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy - means that the counsellor will have met several criteria, such as a certain number of hours of training undertaken, and hours practising under supervision.
This is where Counselling Directory comes in. A comprehensive searching tool, the site allows postcode, town and country searches, and produces a list of counsellors registered in this area. Each counsellor has a profile, listing a bit about themselves, their approaches, what areas they deal with, and all their training, qualification and experience and fees. The site shows which counsellors are registered/accredited with a professional body, and full profiles are only displayed after insurance and qualification documents are checked or membership with a professional body has been verified.
The site has also become a huge information bank - there are articles written by the counsellors, as well as comprehensive information on all kinds of distress - from depression to eating disorders to abuse, to help people identify their problems and become informed, not scared. There’s also a blog that reports the latest health news and developments.
We’ve heard from many people who have found Counselling Directory invaluable, reducing the amount of stress and worrying that can contribute to an already difficult enough process.
