Low-Cost Stress Busters: 15 Ideas

Emotional spending and expensive junk food binges -- budget busters -- are often triggered by stress. Here are a few ideas for diminishing stress without spending a lot of money.

1. Cup of tea. A hot cup of tea is a low-calorie comfort food. Additionally, the process of fixing a cup of tea is a ritual that can halt negative worry cycles. Even sipping coffee can have a calming effect. A Harvard study about coffee drinking habits is quoted in a recent (Feb. 4) issue of Woman's World magazine. The survey findings: coffee drinkers are "less likely to be seriously depressed than non-coffee drinkers," according to Woman's World.

2. Repetitive Activities: Sewing, knitting, puzzle solving are a few activities that lower blood pressure and liberate us from the stress chamber. Boggle, jigsaw puzzles and other problem-solving puzzles can provide short-term relief from anxieties. Sometimes, I stumble upon the answer to a pressing problem while tinkering around with a puzzle or a word game.

3. Housekeeping: Washing dishes, sweeping the floor and other house-cleaning chores release pressure. Ironing out wrinkles from a shirt or skirt can also release tension. Cleaning can be a form of meditation. Deleting email files also has a soothing effect.

4. Music break: Classical music, in particular, can be very calming, according to Woman's World magazine: "Oxford University scientists say listening [to classical music] can decrease your heartbeat to a meditative, relaxing rate almost instantly."

5. Write: Picking up a pen to write a letter, a journal entry or a short note may help to break the negative spin cycle.

Other low-cost stress busters:

6. Exercise: dancing, walking, running and stretching release tension stored in muscles.

7. Make a list: Creating a list (blessings, groceries needed, tasks to be completed or other agendas) gives me a feeling of control. With a greater sense of control, I feel more relaxed and more productive.

8. Do a good deed: Doing something nice for someone else helps me to be less self-centered and in the process, I move far beyond inner circles of worry.

9. Take small steps: Breaking a large project into smaller goals can make the task seem less overwhelming and more do-able.

10. DIY aromatherapy: Small bottles of fragrant essential oils --lavender, grapefruit and other scents -- provide an anti-depression lift.

12. Toss out clothing: Purging the wardrobe provides a mental purge as well. It's like clearing space on the computer hard drive. Donate the extra clothing to charity and get a tax deduction.

13. Color or doodle. Test-phobic children should doodle a bit to relax before taking a test, according to one research report. The process may also work for adults.

14. Read: A novel or a poem can provide a lift into a stress-free zone. Even a short reading break helps me snap out of a funk.

15. Take a short nap: Fatigue is often the enemy. Many corporate rainmakers use short daily naps --5 to 20 minutes -- as a profit-producing tool. The logic: a well-rested mind is a revenue-producing mind.

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Daily Quote: Leo Buscaglia on Worry

"Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorry, it only saps today of its joy."

--Leo Buscaglia, author and teacher

I'm a worrier. But my worries are often paralyzing and self-defeating. What's more, negative wheel-spinning anxieties are a form of self-sabotage. Therefore, almost every day, I read a book that helps me spin less and work harder, namely: How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie.

I've actually earned more money since I've started using Carnegie's anti-worry strategies.

Related posts:
I Earned 20% More After Reading This Book

Say Sorry and Save Money: How I'm Shedding Emotional Debt in 2008


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How Fatigue Hits Our Bank Accounts

When we get tired, we're more likely to lose money, underperform and squander resources. That's an economic fact and I have proof from the worlds of sports and industry. There are concrete benefits for those who balance personal and professional accounts with plenty of rest.




Consider these real-life examples:



Basketball team: My son's basketball team recently played a squad that included players who were twice as tall as most of the players on my son's team. What's more, the opposing team had three times as many players.





The Surprise: The small boys rocked! My son's team totally dominated the opposing team during the first half of the game. The small boys moved the ball well, made excellent shots and played great defense. (My son had several awesome steals.)



The Downfall: In the last quarter of the game, the small boys fell behind. The problem: The opposing team included a starting line-up and two squads of substitutes. The opposition was constantly sending in fresh squads of rested players. But our team only included five starters and a single substitute.



The Role of Fatigue: Without a squad of subs, our boys had to play without much rest. And as they tired, their ability to make shots, play defense and move the ball deteriorated. When the game clock stopped, our team lost and fatigue was the deciding factor.



Business Example:





In the book, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, Dale Carnegie emphasizes the importance of rest and the economic benefits of avoiding fatigue.



The Scenario: An engineer from Bethlehem Steel Company calculated that individual workers should be able to load 47 tons of steel a day. But each man was only able to load 12 1/2 tons during the work day.



The Experiment: Based on the theory that rest was the culprit, the engineer created a test-schedule for one worker. With plenty of rest breaks, this worker only labored for 26 minutes each hour, with 34 minutes of rest.



The Results: The test-worker was able to carry 47 tons of steel, versus only 12 1/2 tons per man for rest of the workforce. That's a four-to-one improvement.



"The original John D. Rockefeller made two extraordinary records. He accumulated the greatest fortune the world had seen up to that time and he also lived to be ninety-eight. How did he do it," Carnegie asks.



The answer: Rockefeller took a 30-minute nap during every work day. Other famous work-day nappers and resters included:

• Eleanor Roosevelt




• Winston Churchill




• Connie Mack




• Henry Ford




• Thomas Edison

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Sharon Harvey Rosenberg is the author of The Frugal Duchess of South Beach: How to Live Well and Save Money... Anywhere!, which will be published in June of 2008 by DPL Press.

I Earned 20% More After Reading This Book

Within the last 30 days, I've increased my monthly income by about 20 percent and I give credit to a book (from 1944!) that has really rocked my world, namely: How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie. In this piece, I'll highlight the strategy that has really put more money in my pocket.

The Background

In past posts, I've calculated that my assorted worries cost me about $6,500 annually. Over the last few weeks, I've really focused on reading How to Stop Worrying every day and that daily ritual has quieted the chatter in my brain. (Of course, more Yoga/exercise, journal entries, meditation and prayers have also helped).

Why am I a worrier? I think it's just my nature.

Even as a little girl, I used to murmur prayers in the family car as my Dad drove us from our old neighborhood in Philadelphia to South Jersey, where I grew up. Now if you know, my Dad --Mr. Safety/Mr. Excellent Driver -- the backseat portrait of a little girl whispering prayers into her passenger window is odd. Now consider this: I am now 49 years old, and I still don't drive. But that's another story.

Bottom Line: I'm hard-wired to be a worrier.

The Book

I have different strategies for handling the worries. I have mantras, affirmations, etc. Those are fine & helpful. But Dale Carnegie's book provides a formula for dismantling worries. Part of his program involves reading the book--a chapter or a page--every day and that process provides a daily shield against worries. He points out that the smartest people in business constantly review their contracts and documents because it's so easy to forget the fine print.

Carnegie's three-step formula also provides me with a practical tool for banishing worries:

Rule #1: Live in a "Day-Tight Compartment." Basically, you create a mental box. Carnegie suggested the water-tight chambers in the center of a ship. I've been using an elevator chamber metaphor, in which I shut out anything beyond the current day. Actually, I have to shut out anything beyond the current moment. That's because at 8:30 pm, I will obsess and worry about an email that I sent at 8:30 am. Did I use the right words? Did I sound silly? Why didn't I delete the message? That's the bit that drills through my head...off and on for 12 hours or more.

But in my moment-to-moment chamber, I shut my elevator door on those worries. The chamber closes and I'm lifted off that horrible floor of unwise emails and obsessive regrets. The elevator opens on a different floor in the current moment. It's a visual exercise that keeps me traveling in the Here-and-Now.

Rule #2 . Face trouble with three basic questions:

• Name the worse that can happen. For example: The 8:30 am email recipient will think that I'm a total obsessive, delusional loser.
  
• Accept that outcome: Okay. Oh well. So be it. They probably thought I was weird anyway.
  
• Improve on the worst: "Calmly try to improve upon the worst--which you have already mentally agreed to accept."-- How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, p.36. In my theoretical email example, I can improve on the worst by learning to use the delete key or letting questionable emails sit in my draft box for a day, a week, a lifetime. I can mentally promise to sit on my hands if a similar scenario arises again. With that plan, I can just go on to have a happy life, even if I occasionally send out stupid emails.

Rule #3: Constantly remind yourself about the high costs of anxiety in terms of health & wealth.

"One of the worst features about worrying is that it destroys our ability to concentrate."--p. 18

How I Earned More.

A little while ago, a national magazine offered me an opportunity to contribute to their monthly reporting staff. But I was so overwhelmed by free-floating anxieties that I was unable to contribute to the first assignment. However, in the last few weeks, I've really worked on removing stress from my emotional arteries. And by worrying less, I really had more time to complete a new assignment for that publication, which means more money for me: about 20% a month. It's a mental exercise that I can take to the bank.

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Previous Posts:

Welcome to TheStreet.com Readers

I Won't Eat or Spend While Standing Up
DIY Invitations: Bar Mitzvahs, Weddings & Other Formal Parties

What is Luxury? Town & Country: Luxe is a Moving Target

Reformed Spenders Provide 10 Ways to Save in 2008

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Sharon Harvey Rosenberg is the author of The Frugal Duchess of South Beach: How to Live Well and Save Money... Anywhere!, which will be published in the Spring of 2008 by DPL Press.

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