How to Harness Stress for Greater Productivity

We know it all too well -- that nagging feeling that scratches at the back of our minds. That thing that makes us tired, at times overwhelmed, and even emotionally or physically sick.

Stress. 

Because stress is such a universally experienced negative stimulant, it gets a really bad rap. 

However, there are actually two types of stress called distress and eustress. And the latter can be used to your benefit to fuel your productivity. 

Here are 6 ways and steps you can take to harness your stress for better time management, prioritization and mindset practices. 

1. Name and Reframe

First and foremost, give your stress a name. 

Maybe today your stress is called “I’m so afraid I’m not going to meet this deadline,” or “I’m so mad I didn’t close that client.”

Once your stress has a name, you can find the actual and specific source of the negativity. 

Then it’s time to reframe it from a rational mindset perspective. 

So “I’m so afraid I’m not going to meet this deadline” can be reframed with all sorts of positive action words. For example, we can call it “I am going to meet this deadline because my co-workers and clients are excited to see the final product.”

And “I’m so mad I didn’t close that client” can be relabeled as “The sale didn’t go the way I expected but now I know what does and doesn’t work in some negotiations.”

With this simple exercise, the stress becomes a lot less scary and much more actionable. 

2. Schedule a Meeting With Your Feelings

Yes, pencil your feelings into your daily calendar. 

Schedule a quick check-in with yourself to take the temperature of your mental and emotional capacity each day. 

One of the key ways to harness stress is to acknowledge it and have a conversation with it.

In fact, numerous studies indicate that the best way to shift, deflect, or harness stress is to first address it. 

Great ways to incorporate a daily stress check into your morning routine or lunch break are ten minutes of meditation, journaling, daydreaming, or stretching.

3. Prioritize Based on Outcomes and Importance

Once you have named your stress and addressed it in your daily stress check in, it’s time to tackle it head on. 

Make a list of open tasks that, once completed, will get your stress levels down. 

Break each task into three smaller sub-tasks. 

Once you have all of these tasks jotted down, order them from most critical to least critical.

Commit to completing at least one sub-task every day. 

By the time you know it, your to-do list will be complete. 

Sure, it may be slow-going in the beginning, but over time, these small steps of diligence will yield huge returns while lowering your stress levels.

4. Use a 1:1 Yes/No Ratio

The Yes/No ratio is precisely where eustress, or ‘good stress’ comes into play. 

This is an exercise designed to apply a bit of pressure in order to kick your brain into its most productive gear. 

With the 1:1 or Yes/No ratio, you simply choose your stress. 

Think about all of the things that are stressing you out. Now say ‘yes’ to stressing out about half of them and ‘no’ to the other half. 

For example if you’re stressed because you need to write a business plan, start a new social media channel, find a new babysitter and hire a virtual assistant, you say ‘yes’ to two of these stressors and ‘no’ to the other two. 

In short, you’re going to focus your attention this week only on writing your business plan and finding a babysitter. You’ll say ‘yes’ to two other stressors next week. 

The Yes/No ratio puts you in the driver’s seat of your stress and it’s a proven way to harness ‘good stress’ because it gives you a higher sense of control. 

5. Delegate and Automate

We live in a digital age where lots of work can be automated by programs. 

Additionally, our modern age is marked by connection, cooperation and community. 

Harnessing both of these are a great way to keep your stress positive instead of overwhelming or all-consuming. 

Use calendar tools to see your whole month or quarter at a glance. We’re partial to Google Calendar, Taskworld and Hubspot. 

Invest in a budget planning tool or spreadsheet. You’ll find plenty on Etsy. I offer my clients access to budgeting and planning tools. 

And if you’re able to, hire a virtual assistant or ask someone in your community for help with administrative tasks. 

6. Create Your Very Own “Dreamland”

Last but not least, the key to harnessing stress is understanding why the stress is worth it in the first place. 

Where is your stress taking you? What is your end goal?

Dreaming and manifesting are crucial to leaning in to eustress and succeeding in business. 

You can create a dream board. Find images of what your future dream life looks like and paste them up on a board that you can look at every day.

Also, take the time to manifest. This means closing your eyes and thanking yourself for all of the work you’re investing into your future. It also means being grateful for the blessings and rewards that are coming your way.

When you truly believe that your future will be bright, you trick your brain into positivity and cut the negative thoughts. You completely restructure your mindset to be aligned with your future vision while lowering stress levels at the same time.

Have a great weekend!