Smart Tips: Managing Stress

Treat mental health with the same urgency as physical health by seeking support for stress, anxiety, and distress, just as you would for a physical injury.

Explore an Apgar-inspired model to spot early work stress by assessing appearance, performance, growth, affect, control, and relationships. Learn when to seek support from colleagues or an employee assistance program.

Identify your launch sequence triggers, name it to tame it, then identify what you can control, communicate expectations, and take responsibility for your reactions to manage stress.

Explore a free, open 24 hours mindset marketplace to borrow hopeful mindsets from peers, learn to choose empowering thoughts, and reduce stress.

Embrace yes, and name multiple perspectives to stress. Distinguish helpful stress from unhelpful stress with questions to identify advantages.

identify catastrophic thinking around presenting, name the thoughts, list internal and external resources, and find the core truth to turn worry into productive stress.

Ask yourself better strategic questions to manage stress by focusing on how you want to feel, avoiding blame, and moving from idea to action, like taking a walk.

Stand in the rain by pausing to recognize what's happening, check your thoughts, feelings, and body, and respond with compassionate, nonjudgmental inquiry to reduce stress.

Apply Cartman's three rules of openness to internal stress: bring it up, talk it up, wrap it up, and use six wrap-up strategies to move toward calm and clarity.

Learn to celebrate stress that accompanies wins and opportunities, balancing work and family. Recognize stress as a sign of progress and prevent it from turning success into loss.

Detach from a single outcome to reduce stress and open other worthwhile possibilities. See how outcomes like gaining insight, referrals, or future opportunities can arise beyond a yes today.

Learn to separate facts from stories when waiting for news, call out storytelling, and consider other possible stories to reduce stress and keep a story that makes you smile.

Use appreciative inquiry to shift focus from stress to what's working, identifying bright spots, past successes, and actionable mindsets, behaviors, and allies to manage stress now.

Learn to manage stress by recognizing halt (hungry, angry, lonely, tired) and addressing these needs quickly. Use simple actions like eating, moving, and prioritizing rest to halt stress.

Ground yourself by engaging the senses to stay present and reduce stress, using a five-to-one naming sequence and techniques like mindful eating, facial relaxation, full-body muscle awareness, and gratitude writing.

Identify and manage transitions to reduce stress. Learn three strategies: admit you're in transition, learn from past transitions, and ask for what you need.

Create a happy list in the notes app with simple, accessible activities you can do solo or with others; when stressed, pick something from the list and do it.

Recognize there is no correct way to manage disappointment and give yourself space to feel. Use setbacks to learn, avoid shrinking goals, and pursue new opportunities for growth.

Choose another you from your portfolio of selves to shift your identity when stress weighs you down, flipping through go getter, loyal listener, mentor, and compassionate confidant to boost confidence.

Break down your day into 15-minute blocks to reduce stress and feel accomplished. Tackle interruptions, decide what not to do, blast through paperwork, change your scenery, and acknowledge others' achievements.

Master stress management by understanding spoons, energy units you spend on daily tasks. Track spoon patterns, communicate your energy levels to others, and seek professional support when spoons run low.

Explore stress through four lenses—microscope, telescope, magnifying glass, and prism—to identify small stressors, challenge confirmation bias, gain distance, and uncover insights for better choices.

Practice self-compassion to boost wellness and stress resilience, recognizing real pain, embracing common humanity, and applying seven practical steps to be kind to yourself.

Carve up a hot, heavy turkey to break a huge stressor into manageable parts, then choose the first bite—the very next step you will take.

Move your body to reduce stress and boost mood, energy, and mental health, and write down how you feel before and after exercise.

Learn to manage stress by pausing to notice your feelings, reinterpret its meaning, put it into perspective, make a plan, and focus on something positive.

Take a mental health day to prevent burnout by pausing and regrouping. Choose activities that nurture body, mind, and soul to renew energy.

Manage stress by practicing 31 snack-sized habits—small daily actions that amount to emotional snacking, creating moments of peace, gratitude, and connection amid tremendous uncertainty.

Admit to yourself that you’re struggling with your mental health, then tell a trusted person using a clear, nonjudgmental script. Build support by choosing emotionally skilled confidants and sharing calmly.

Learn to ask for the specific type of help you need, moving beyond a single go-to strategy to use listening, planning, brainstorming, empathy, and resource connections.

Discover how to assemble a broad helper network to manage stress, from house cleaners and caregivers to professionals like doctors, mentors, and support groups.

Discover how helping others triggers endorphins and serotonin, delivering a helper's high that reduces stress and boosts feelings of importance and empowerment. Explore 20 ideas for helping others.

Learn to say no assertively to manage stress, balance commitments, and keep doors open for future yeses with clear, honest boundaries and practical phrases.

Use a body double to reduce stress and procrastination by working in the presence of another person, in person or virtually, easing resistance, restlessness, and rumination on boring tasks.

Apply new strategies to manage stress by adjusting mindsets, behaviors, and relationships, recognize stress as a normal part of life, and practice these techniques to become a lifelong learner.