How to take the stress out of everyday tasks and make your day even easier! 

1.    ‘Begin with the end in mind’, as quoted by Stephen Covey in his book, ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’. At the beginning of each day or task ask yourself 'what do I want to achieve here?' Write it down and stick to your target.

2.   'To do' lists work, and they work even better if you feel in control of them rather than they of you. So, limit your list to no more than 10 tasks or actions per day. You can include things such as; answer emails, see a movie, do the shopping, pay a bill, research information for work, see what’s on at the cinema I include a mixture of easy and challenging tasks. Once you have your list, prioritize by putting numbers 1-5 (1 is less important, 5 is very important) beside each item, and do the most important tasks first.

3.    Decide how much time you will spend on the task before you begin, and consider how this will fit into whatever else is happening in your day or evening. If you’re unsure, ask yourself what you will gain by going by achieving it, and also what you might miss out on or feel bad about if you miss it out or spend too much time doing it.

4.    Do you get stressed or frustrated doing mundane tasks, such as shopping or paying bills? Research shows we are creatures of habit, doing the same things again and again. Maybe now is the right time to stop and ask some new questions: do I need to do this task in this way/ can I share or delegate the task/ can I do this on the phone or online?

5.    Ask an expert, or better still, take a course to improve your online skills! I set myself a goal to learn to touch-type last year, and now I can touch type easily. It makes work, keeping in touch, buying music, and all other online tasks easier, and I feel so good about it. What new online or computer skills would you like to learn? Spreadsheets? Building a website? Creating a Blog? Learning to touch type? Uploading information or being able to work remotely for work? Whether taking a class or downloading an online course, learning new skills is both enjoyable and a great way to feel better about your computer experience. 

6.    Think in reverse! That’s right, spend a few moments before you begin taking a deep breath, closing your eyes and imagining what a great day would look like for you. We do tend to get what we focus on. See yourself at the end of the day happy and relaxed, knowing you’ve achieved what you wanted. Then bring the visualisation forwards to a point where you’re on the doing each task, smiling, focused, having fun. And finally, bring it back to the present moment, eyes closed and knowing you’re now totally connected with what you’re ready to do. Open your eyes, and do it!

7.    Talk yourself up. Make sure how you refer to yourself when talking with yourself and other people is positive and forwards thinking. ‘I’m no good at that’ could become, ‘I’m learning new things all the time’, ‘I can never find what I’m looking for’ could become, ‘with a plan I can always find what I’m looking for’, and ‘I spend so much time queuing I don’t know where the day goes’ could become, ‘I plan, focus and do what I need to do in the best way possible.’ You could have the mantra; 'I'm going to this and then it's done!'