Overwhelmed? Try Keeping a Stress Diary

We all feel stress sometimes. You've got a resume you've been working on for days, and you just can't seem to find the right words to describe your client. Or a client has turned into a PITA. 

Stress is the natural response of our body to help us deal with difficult situations. Without it, we would be unable to survive. The problem is that nowadays, most people have too much of it. This can not only be detrimental to your health, it can also hurt your resume writing business. That's why it's a good idea to figure out what stressors are causing you problems and address them so you can be more productive and effective.

If you are having trouble losing weight, doctors will often recommend you keep a food diary. If you are having stomach issues, they will have you record food and digestive symptoms. Pain problems? Again, record your pain and anything that might trigger it.

If you're having trouble with stress, why not keep a stress diary? This can help you figure out not only what is causing you stress, but also what the most effective way to deal with it is.

You can use a blank notebook, or you can create your own form. Or, you can find stress journal forms online.

What you want to record each day is:

• What stressor you have faced
• How stressed you are.  Itís usually recommended to use a number scale instead of descriptive words.  This way you can easily compare different stressors and their effectiveness. 
• Physical symptoms of stress.
• What you did to ease your stress.
• How well it worked. 

Once you've kept your stress diary for a while, you can then start analyzing it by looking at your stress and looking for patterns. It might help you figure out what stresses you out the most or what coping technique works best for you. You may also find things you didn't think you would -- for example, that you are less stressed in the evenings or around meal time.

The key in using a stress diary is actually doing something with the information you learn. If you're lucky, you will find a simple solution, like using a coping method to stressors that seems to work better than others. Then you can simply use this method and reduce your work stress.

While it may seem to be a bit complicated, stress diaries are fairly simple once you get the hang of them. This will not only help you work more effectively, it can also improve your health and even save your life.

If you are having trouble finding patterns and useful information in your stress diary, you might try taking it to a doctor or psychologist. They can not only help see issues, they can also help recommend more effective coping techniques for dealing with your stressors.

Once you figure out what causes you stress and how to best deal with it, you'll find yourself working and feeling better.

Reduce Your Stress: Get Organized!

Julie Walraven, of Design Resumes, had an inspiring blog post yesterday ("Why I Spent Saturday Shredding.") That's Julie on the left there, and her office does look pretty good (from what I can see of it in the photo...) I asked her for a before-and-after photo of her office, but she didn't take one, unfortunately.

I find disorganization to be stressful. Like many resume writers, I'm surrounded by paper. I like to be able to work from paper documents instead of computer files, so I print out lots of stuff -- the client's old resume, their questionnaire, research materials (from which I cull keywords), work authorization files, drafts. Ugh. I am surrounded by paper. (I'm surrounded by more of it than usual at the moment because my shredder died, and the plastic tote box that contains my current pile of shredding is actually too large/heavy for me to "tote" to my favorite office supply store to have it shredded!)

Seeing the piles of shredding -- along with all my normal paper -- is stressful!

When I'm not organized, I'm stressed. When stuff is piled everywhere, I lose or misplace notes. I would forget about meetings and I was notorious for losing receipts. All of this made my stress rise through the roof.

When you buy something and it doesn't work, you stress. THEN when you can't find the receipt....it isn't a good scene. That's happened to me a few times, I admit!

I've heard of a program called Evernote (works for the Mac!) that I'm thinking of trying. Currently, I'm doing a little better with my "overall" notes and thoughts by using an online website called "Workflowy." I'm still searching for a better way to handle the volume of paper that I seem to accumulate, but at least I know that I perform better when I take the time to organize. As the old public service ad says, "Knowing is half the battle!"

Is organization (or lack of) is one of your stress triggers? How do you handle it? What tools help you stay organized? (Are you one of those resume writers who prints everything out too?)

10 Ways to Relieve Stress

This time of year can be stressful for resume writers -- all of those New Year's Resolutions to fulfill. Here are some stress-relieving tips from the University of Minnesota's Center for Spirituality & Healing:

• Be completely present for whatever you are doing. This is called "mindfulness" and it involves focusing on the task at hand.
• Include something you consider beautiful in your life on a daily basis, for example, fresh flowers.
• As often as possible, participate in activities you enjoy.
• Keep your pace relaxed.
• Take a break after meals to relax.
• Go outside once a day and enjoy the simple things in life.
• Take notice of the tension in your body during the day. Breathe deeply and gently stretch any area that feels tense.
• When you catch your mind racing and worrying, breathe deeply and gently shift your focus to something in the moment.
• Wear comfortable, loose clothing.
• Don't hold your feelings in day after day. Find a safe place where you can express and embrace them.