Summer is supposed to be the most carefree time of year, but what if stress and worry spoil that? No one can do their best on-air work when they are feeling the pressures of the world. Here are some ways to find your happy place this summer.
First, identify your demons. You can’t clear the worries from your mind if you don’t know what’s got you stressed.
One way to do this is to write down what’s bothering you. It may sound simplistic, but writing it allows you to clearly identify what’s going on. Once you’ve identified your worries, you can set them aside more easily. This keeps your brain from multitasking like worrying and trying to do your on-air work at the same time.
Writing can also help you at the start of the day. A recent study at Michigan State University showed that students who wrote abo
ut their feelings for 8 minutes before a computer test scored higher than those who didn’t write. If you want to start the day laser focused, get those worries on paper early in the day.
But your writing doesn’t have to be as long as 8 minutes to be helpful, and it doesn’t have to be a tell-all journal. It can be as simple as jotting down a memo on your phone or on a napkin at Starbucks. No one is going to see this but you so make some notes and destroy them right after if you like. Just putting your feelings out there is enough.
And, of course, we all know that exercise helps drive away stress. One recent study showed that just 60 minutes a week of any kind of exercise has a significant effect on reducing depression. This large, 11-year study of 33,000 people was reported in the American Journal of Psychiatry. It showed that the intensity of the exercise or how you break up the 60 minutes does not matter. You can take a 10-minute break to climb stairs or go for a short walk, for example. Do this 6 times in a week, and you’ve got your exercise in for the week.
If you’re not making time to exercise, you’re missing out on a real stress-buster. To read more on the benefits of exercise, check out this previous post of mine.
So this summer try writing down your feelings and getting at least 60 minutes of exercise a week so you can kick back and enjoy the summer ahead while doing your best work.
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