How many times have you gotten angry at yourself for misplacing your keys, being late to meet a friend, or forgetting to pay a bill on time? Being angry at ourselves can be one of the most stressful experiences there is. We are our own worst critic. Trying to change this behavior for the better, even a little bit, can help you feel happier and less stressed. Try some of the following tips to get started.

If you procrastinate, you run the risk of increasing your stress levels without even realizing it. Even though most of us agree that we work best under pressure, the opposite is actually true. Are you actually doing your best when doing it at the last minute? The stress of having the extra pressure on your shoulders from the impending duty that you keep putting off automatically increases your stress level. Rather than procrastinating, complete your work as soon as you receive it in order to reduce your stress level.

Meditation can be a great way for you to relieve stress. Try meditating each night before you go to bed. Turn off anything around you, close your eyes, and clear out your mind. Don’t think about things you need to get done or problems that you need to solve. Just let your mind relax for a little while and focus on each breath. If your mind starts wondering, just bring it back to your breath. Shutting off your brain takes practice, but each practice session is working off your stress.

Make good plans and preparations for the coming day so that you will have less to do when morning comes. Each task you must do to prepare for work in the morning can cause stress to pile up. Be sure to prepare the outfit you plan to wear in advance. Get your lunch ready the night before. Then you will be far more organized in the morning.

If you’re in a stressful situation, before you doing anything rash, stop and count to ten. This will give you a moment to relax and cool down. It’ll prevent you from doing something you might regret and instead letting your mind calm down enough to make rational choices.

In order to keep your stress level under control, it would be wise to find something that you love doing. This will to keep your mind off of whatever may bring stress in your life. A little time out, if you will? This is important because many people need an activity that will help to give them an outlet, for their frustrations.

Smile your way to being stress free. Smiling shows that your are happy. But did you know that smiling can also make you feel happy and relaxed. When you smile you transmit nerve impulses from your face muscle to the center of the brain that tells you that you are calm. If you are feeling overwhelmed or stressed take a minute to smile.

Reducing clutter in your life will automatically reduce some amount of stress! Be it your desk, pantry or closet, anything over cluttering your physical environment makes it much harder to work and find things and just isn’t pleasing to look at it! By cleaning up clutter you can operate more efficiently, enjoy your surroundings more and simply be less stressed.

Eat food that will make you feel positive about yourself and build your body. Eating lifeless and fatty fast food will stress you out. Don’t think that the food that you eat has nothing to do with the way you feel and why you are stressed. Even if you crave the sugar or fat, these kinds of foods only lead to making you feel worse.

One way that you can attempt to manage your stress is to make a list of everything in your life that causes you anxiety or stress. This is important because after making this list, you will be able to tackle each item one by one and work to completely eliminate all the stress in your life.

A good tip to keep you from getting stressed out is to take breaks when you’re working on a difficult task. Forcing yourself to get something done might be a good intention but it’s not healthy. Taking the breaks you need will allow you to stay focused and thinking clearly.

Exercise to relieve stress. If you find that you are under stress from your job or personal situation, regular exercise can help you feel better. Taking a long walk, going to the gym, dancing or doing yoga are all forms of exercise that can help you feel less stressed.

As you can see, being kind to yourself really isn’t that hard, and it sure feels better than being stressed and angry. Don’t underestimate the ill effects of stress on your health. Factor the above tips into your daily habits, and you will be making a very positive investment in your health and your life.

Get Rid Of Your Stress With These Ideas was originally published on Spring