31 No-cost Ways to Take Care of Yourself

31 No-cost Ways to Take Care of Yourself

Stress is a major issue in the workplace, resulting in real costs for individuals as well as their organizations. If you are interested in increasing the quality of your workplace – for you and/or for your staff - without spending a lot of time and money, then consider the following list of 31 no-cost ways to take care of yourself. By incorporating just a few of these tools or techniques into your daily routine, you will find that your stress level decreases – leaving you more relaxed, productive, and able to enjoy your life. Isn’t a dramatic improvement in your well-being worth a few behavioral changes?

  1. Put your own oxygen mask on first

  2. Watch your self-talk; the way you talk to yourself determines how you treat yourself

  3. Paint a picture of how you want to live your life; relentlessly jettison things that don’t support it

  4. Zealously guard your time

  5. Choose how you will experience a situation; refuse to play the role of victim

  1. Surround yourself with people who infuse your life with positive energy

  2. View your life as a whole rather than creating artificial “work” and “non-work” lives

  3. Attend to all aspects of your being: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual

  4. Focus on the things you can control; release those you can’t control

  1. Make a conscious choice about how to experience each day

  2. Focus on your strengths and talents

  3. Release the people and things that no longer serve you well

  4. Focus on opportunities rather than obstacles

  5. Forgive yourself

  6. Ask for, and receive, help

  7. Be kind to yourself

  8. Reward yourself on a regular basis

  9. Delegate relentlessly by asking yourself, “Am I the only person in the world who can do this task?”

  10. Look realistically at what IS instead of what MIGHT BE by seeking objective evidence

  11. Create realistic expectations of yourself

  12. Surround yourself with people who support you

  13. Identify realistically the level of risk you are willing to accept

  14. Keep your “to do” list reasonable and realistic

  15. Regularly create “quiet” time for yourself by scheduling appointments with yourself and treating them just as you would treat appointments with others

  16. If you are not willing and able to make the necessary behavioral changes to achieve a goal, stop beating yourself up for not doing what you “should” do

  17. Refuse to accept others’ “monkeys”

  18. Enjoy the simple pleasures in life

  19. Look for life’s rainbows – literal and figurative

  20. Be open to whatever life brings your way

  21. Make decisions that are consistent with your values

  22. Assumptions have expiration dates, so question your assumptions regularly

Pat Lynch, Ph.D., is President of Business Alignment Strategies, Inc., a consulting firm that helps clients optimize business results by aligning people, programs, and processes with organizational goals. You may contact Pat or call (562) 985-0333.


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