Although many of us are familiar with stress, some experience it more than others or find it harder to cope with. Stress can easily build up, impact your mood and even cause physical symptoms like headaches, nausea and insomnia. The current lockdown is a new source of stress for all of us, but these hints will help you manage it.

Eat, exercise and sleep

Although we hear about these three all the time, their impact is often underestimated. Aim to eat proper meals instead of multiple snacks and prefer home-cooked food over take-aways. Keep in mind that exercising doesn’t have to be a daily 3-mile run: even choosing to take the stairs instead of the lift or parking the car further away from the entrance to a shop will help you get in more every-day exercise. The demand for sleep depends on personal needs, so learn to listen to your body!

Routines

Making lockdown – or any other situation – easier to cope with requires setting up routines. Try to wake up and go to sleep at the same time every day and have lunch and dinner around the same time. This will help letting your body and mind know what’s up next.

Prioritise

Even if you wouldn’t be much of a list-writer, lists can help you keep on top of everything you have to do and checking a box on a to-do-list gives feeling of accomplishment. However, writing a long list of everything that must get done creates even more stress, which is why it is important to prioritise. A great technique is to fill in a table with four squares and write lists under “urgent & essential”, “urgent & nonessential”, “non-urgent & essential” and “non-urgent & nonessential”. Start by completing the tasks under “urgent & essential” and carefully consider if you even have to do the “non-urgent & nonessential” tasks. You could make two separate tables: one for work and one for other duties.

Tidy environment

Some of us like chaos, while some will find seeing one item in the wrong place disturbing, maybe without even realising it. No matter if you’re stressed about work, finances or an important event, cleaning up your surroundings helps. On the other hand, try not go over the top with tidiness.

Learn to say no

Responding “yes” whenever we are asked to do something comes out easily and without realising. You don’t always have to do everything alone, even if it’d be a small task such as emptying the washing machine. Besides, often other people are happy to help!

Take the time to reflect and relax

This doesn’t mean a 10-minute daily meditation session since even sitting down for a minute and thinking of what you got done during the day can be exactly what you need. You could also watch a film, read a book or even take a nap. If you’re running out of ideas, check our latest blog post 15 Ideas for Beating Lockdown Boredom.

Stay organised

Finally, because stress is something we can’t easily manage, staying organised with other things gives you the feeling of being in control. Stay organised with not only work and household chores, but also your wardrobe and pots and pans in the cupboard.