Home
>
Stress Management
>
Bite-Size Chunks! The Power Of Daily Actions

Bite-Size Chunks! The Power Of Daily Actions

There may be so much you want to change in your life to make it less stressful. You can do it all, just not all at once! Feeling in control is an important part of saying Yes to Less Stress. Breaking down any problem into small, solvable parts makes things less overwhelming; it also gives you the sense that you are taking action.

Nothing happens in one big action, it is all the small actions we take daily that make the difference. If you only do one thing different, take one small action every day, it will make a big difference in the long run. If you only implement this simple suggestion, you will see some changes in your life. It looks simple and it is.

Fulfilling an ambition of leaving a stressful job, Dave dreamed of having a thriving consultancy business. He wanted everything to happen at once: two days a week on the golf course and time with his family, as well as continuing with charity work helping the homeless.

When he finally decided to quit his well-paid job, he thought that clients would be queuing up to work with him. He overlooked the fact that he needed to be proactive in finding new clients. He started to wonder how he had believed this new life would be better. Every day he felt anxious and worried. In some ways he felt more stress than he had felt from the job he'd escaped - he had escaped the office politics but the stress of feeling a failure was much greater.

Dave became fearful that maybe the dream he was trying to achieve wasn't ever going to materialise. This stinking thinking was overwhelming him. On the golf course, however, he had a flash of inspiration. He realised that he had been thinking rather than taking action towards fulfilling his dream.

Dave had allowed negative thoughts to get in the way of his progress. Before he could start developing his business, he needed to identify his prospective customers. So each morning he took a simple daily action towards building his client base. He committed to identifying 10 new prospects daily. This rarely took him longer than 15 minutes each day. He had initially put this task off as the thought of compiling a list of 300 prospects overwhelmed him. He was creative in asking for help from his former business colleagues as well as his golfing friends, and he was amazed at how quickly his list grew as a result. Within the first week, he added a new daily action. He contacted 10 people a day from his list. Of course, not all of these turned into customers, but in time he was well on his way to success.

Within three months, Dave had not only developed his thriving business but also improved his golf handicap! How? He included golf practice at his local driving range on his list of daily actions! His daily practice not only kept him fit, but allowed him thinking time; a time when ideas freely flowed into his mind.

Are you are sitting there thinking "I'm too short of time"? The good news is that you don't need a lot of time and you don't have to do a radical overhaul of your life. Don't let a big goal overwhelm you. Every goal, no matter how large, can be broken down into small, manageable, bite-size chunks.

Whatever you want to do with your life, you stand more of a chance if you just get started. No matter how small a step you take each day, over a year that will add up to 365 daily actions. I am always amazed when clients agree how obvious this step is, yet it is the one they have often overlooked. Start wherever you are and take one step at a time - that is all you can do!

It doesn't matter what has happened to date. The only thing that counts is where you are now and what you need to do to move forward.

If you are starting to feel a bit clearer about what you want in your life, the only thing that will move you forward now is action. Once you've worked out what it is you most want to do, now is the time to do it. Daily actions help to break old habits.

Consider actions that require 15 minutes or less to implement.

The daily action you take may not always be the right one with the benefit of hindsight - don't worry, some doors may close but others will open.

Everyone has bad days - don't let them turn into a bad week, month or year. Tomorrow, or even later on today, you can start afresh, with a fresh daily action.

If you feel about to crack under pressure, break up your larger plans into smaller actions that are easier to manage. When your day feels heavy, take one step at a time. Just decide your priority for the next hour.

Change happens when we change our actions. If we constantly do the same things, we will constantly get the same results.

What simple daily action are you willing to take today to reduce the stress in your life?

Carolyn Matheson is a nationally recognized Coach, Speaker and Author of "Yes to Less Stress."

Carolyn is a Master Certified Coach, and works with executives and their teams across the world. She has pioneered an innovative approach to coaching, combining many years of high performance coaching with a holistic approach to work/life balance and has coached hundreds of leaders and their teams. Her experience as a presenter, both nationally and internationally, spans 20 years, with clients currently in Europe, Australia, the Middle and Far East, and the USA.

Her book, Yes to Less Stress is available online from http://www.areustressed.com

efficient cleaning crew Northbrook ..

In The News:

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.

New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.

FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.

New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.

OpenTable now uses AI to track your dining habits and share insights with restaurants. Learn what data they collect and how to protect your privacy.

Google's discontinued Nest thermostats still secretly upload home data to company servers despite losing smart features, raising serious privacy concerns.

New Android malware NGate steals NFC payment codes in real-time, allowing criminals to withdraw cash from ATMs without your card. Learn protection tips.

DoorDash confirms data breach exposing customer names, emails, addresses after social engineering attack. Learn how to protect yourself from scams.

Concerned about Google's AI scanning your Gmail? Learn how to disable Gemini features that access your emails, Drive files and Chat messages for privacy.

Google warns Android users about dangerous fake VPN apps hiding malware that steals passwords, banking details and personal data from phones and tablets.

Apple's digital passport feature lets iPhone users breeze through TSA checkpoints this holiday season using Digital ID technology at 250+ airports.

A new phishing scam targets family photos with fake "Cloud Storage Full" alerts. Criminals steal credit card information through fake sites. Learn protection tips.

South Korean scientists create ultra-thin fabric muscles that turn clothes into robotic assistants, lifting 33 pounds while weighing under half an ounce.

Archer Aviation has acquired Hawthorne Airport for $126M to launch an LA air taxi network ahead of the 2028 Olympics, featuring AI-powered eVTOL operations and next-gen aviation tech.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Fake AI apps disguised as "ChatGPT" and "DALL·E" are flooding app stores with dangerous malware that steals data and monitors users without detection.

Fake buyers demand specific vehicle reports from unknown sites to steal credit card information from car sellers, but warning signs can help identify these scams before paying.

Android users can now manage apps across multiple devices more easily with Google Play Store's updated remote uninstall button in the latest update.

NASA's Perseverance rover discovers shiny metallic rock on Mars that could be a meteorite from an ancient asteroid, containing high levels of iron and nickel.

Holiday scams spike during Black Friday and Cyber Monday as criminals exploit your leaked personal data. Learn how to protect yourself from fake stores and phishing.

Commerce Department proposes TP-Link router ban over Chinese security risks. Learn how this potential prohibition could affect your home network and devices.

Bite-Size Chunks! The Power Of Daily Actions

Stress Management