The Source of Stress

I was watching GMA this morning while eating my Cascasian Farms organic granola, and I caught a segment on a book called The Source: Unleash your Natural Energy, Power up Your Health, and Feel 10 Years Younger by Woodson Merrell. First, I had to be intrigued by the length and seeming integrity of the title. Second, being that I am constantly plagued by ridiculous exhaustion, I thought that unleashing my natural energy would be a good idea. The segment had a variety of interesting advice, including that we should eat more cinnamon because it helps regulate our blood sugar and keeps us from having the spikes and dips in energy that sugar snacks can cause. I also learned that tumeric is an amazing natural anti-inflammatory. According to Merrell, it was almost as successful in tests as cortizone. But, according to the segment, stress is our number one energy zapper. He suggested two things that could be done on a daily basis to help relieve stress. First, he said that deep breathing a few times every hour is a good way to reduce stress. Second, he said that keeping track of the things that make you stressed or tired throughout the day is a way to find out what triggers stress. It occurred to me after hearing this that my blog might be a nice place to keep track of what my stress triggers are. So, here is what is making me stressed and tired today:

1) My 3:10 class. No, it isn't my students or the content of the class that is stressful and exhausting. It is, in fact, the hour of the day. I spend the entire day dreading teaching at 3 p.m. It is by far my worst time of day. See, I'm yawning right now just thinking about it.

2) NCA. I have not yet registered for the conference, nor have I purchased my plane tickets. This is hanging over my head in true guillotine fashion. Yet, every time I think about resolving this problem, something miraculously comes up.

3) Laundry. For whatever reason, I seem incapable of finishing laundry in one day. I get everything done except two loads and by the end it seems like too much effort to put away the clothes I have folded. So, there is still folded laundry sitting on the arms of my couch and loveseat in the living room. I really need to get that done.

Well, this first exercise in stress-journaling has illustrated that some measure of stress is a result of procrastinating. Does this mean that if I procrastinated less, I would have more energy? Hmm, interesting thought. In theory, I should be able to actively pursue checking things off my To Do list, hence being less of a procrastinator, resulting in reduced stress and increased energy. Notice I said "in theory." I've been fighting my procrastinate-y impulses since I started graduate school in 2001. I will attempt to be better at getting things done and will let you know how my stress is responding.