Maintain Mental Health - Even Under Stress

We've all been there. An ongoing to-do list that seems impossible to complete by weeks end. The only thing is, you need to make the impossible, possible - because this to-do list has deadlines. Colleagues along with clients or even classmates in some situations are counting on you to complete the work. It's easy to eliminate activities from a daily routine but more often than not, these activities could have eliviated stress and even helped you complete tasks faster.

Speaking from experience, we often skim off the eating, sleeping and working out parts of our daily routine when under stress. But research suggests this could be hurting us. If you've ever gone for a walk, run, bike ride or participated in group class on a stressful day, chances are you have felt exceptionally better afterwards. "The link between exercise and mood is pretty strong," Michael Otto, PhD, a professor of psychology at Boston University says. "Usually within five minutes after moderate exercise you get a mood-enhancement effect." 

Investing in your mental health on a busy day could relieve the stress you are feeling and stimulate those creative juices. Below are some of the ways we blow some steam off even when we are on a time crunch.

• Wake up: Meditate. Meditation is powerful and you can do it anywhere. Centering your mind helps refocus your energy to successfully complete tasks on any given day. Take 5-15 minutes each day to sit, center, breathe and meditate. 
• Home or desk workout. It may sound silly but push-ups, jumping jacks, squats and lunges from your desk or around the house gets the blood flowing just enough to burn off the extra stress edge. 
• Fresh air. Take your work on the go if you have to but getting outside is one of our favorite ways to quickly and easily hit the reset + refresh button. 
• Take one thing on at a time. Don't let your ongoing to-do list fluster you. Take on and finish one task at a time. Starting a bunch of projects at one time can overwhelm you more.