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)

Take care, everyone, and have a Happy New Year!

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 ]]> http://mentalemotionalhealth.com/2009/11/05/the-importance-of-good-sleep-habits/feed/ http://mentalemotionalhealth.com/2009/10/19/preparation-vs-worrying/ http://mentalemotionalhealth.com/2009/10/19/preparation-vs-worrying/#comments Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:27:41 +0000 Devin http://mentalemotionalhealth.com/2009/10/19/preparation-vs-worrying/ 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.

What keeps me from the frequent or constant anxiety of being a perfectionist is in the way I evaluate myself. The most productive way to evaluate yourself is to take an attitude of curiosity. When you are truly curious, you are less critical.

Example:

Critical - Ugh! Why did I say THAT?

Curious - That’s interesting. I wonder why I said that. 

It is okay to examine how you think, act, and speak. Just try to be more objective, with a curious attitude. Avoiding self-criticism helps you feel better anyway.

• I have no more pleasure in hearing a man attempting wit and failing, than in seeing a man trying to leap over a ditch and tumbling into it.
• It matters not how a man dies, but how he lives. The act of dying is not of importance, it lasts so short a time.
• The longer we live, and the more we think, the higher value we learn to put on the friendship and tenderness of parents and of friends. Parents we can have but once; and he promises himself too much, who enters life with the expectation of finding many friends. (I disagree, and think a person can have many friends.)
• I had done all that I could; and no man is well pleased to have his all neglected, be it ever so little.
• Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful.
• Study requires solitude, and solitude is a state dangerous to those who are too much accustomed to sink into themselves.

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.

Take care of yourself!

Please look for a new post next week.

 Thank you and take care, everyone!

Devin