How to be Productive While Stressed

First of all, you are only asking this question because you have the wrong mindset of stress. If you are able to change your mindset to see stress as a challenge instead of a threat, you will have 23% fewer stress related symptoms. Seeing stress as a mountain you can climb instead of a pitfall you fall into, you are already on your way to being more productive while stressed. I have learned many of the strategies below from this amazing productivity book that is personalized especially for teens that is very cheap on amazon. check it out here and I promise your life will be changed.

1. Change your perspective

When theres a mountain of tasks you have to face, identify the positives and negatives of each task. For example lets say of your tasks is doing laundry. You might start describing this task as “boring” and “mind numbing” but then you’ll start to say, “makes me feel productive” and “it’s nice to do a mindless task.” Change your perspective on how you see the tasks and you will realize they are not as daunting as they seem.

2. Don’t think about the stress, think about the opportunity

If you only think about the negatives of a certain task, you will only reap the negative effects. If you think about the positives, you will reap the positive effects. For example if you are stressed about a big presentation you have to give, think about how much your grade will raise if you present with confidence. Your brain will enact what you are thinking about. So if you are thinking about all the negative things that could happen, your brain will automate to get that outcome.

4. Decrease noise

Did you know that when your brain is overwhelmed with information it is less able to think positively? That means that taking sometime during your day to turn off your phone and computer to start thinking positively is one of the best things you can do to relieve your stress. I suggest this in the form of meditation. Taking some time in the day to meditate is hard for many people, but you can make it a habit. Here you can find a post on how to easily make a habit.

5. Set yourself up for success

When you are stressed about something you have to do, remember all the times you have succeeded at it before. If you are taking a test and are stressed by your number of “competitors” don’t think about them, only focus on you. if you are facing a challenge instead of starting with creating many contingency plans in case you fail, think of all the ways you can succeed first.

6. Train your brain to be more positive

There are five great ways to be more positive I have learned from Shawn Achor’s Ted Talk, The Happy Secret to Better Work. These are; write gratitude lists, journal daily about a positive experience in the last 24 hours, exercise, meditate and perform acts of loving kindness. A great place to write your lists and journal is a bullet journal. have a great guide to bullet journaling here.

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