by Elizabeth Campbell

Created on: October 04, 2008   Last Updated: July 23, 2010

To better manage your time and keep your stress level at bay, follow some or all of these tips.

1. Take Care of Yourself:  When I get busy, the first thing I tend to want to toss out the window are my Reebok's. And the first thing I want to embrace is the McDonald's drive through. What is my reasoning? Well, of course, it is the easiest way for me to save time. After all, doesn't it make sense that finding myself an extra hour of time each day will obviously give me time to relax, decompress, or at the very minimum, get some extra things done that are stressing me out to being with?

The problem with throwing out my Reebok's and ordering take-out is that I have forgotten the cardinal rule, which is that you have to take care of yourself first. It isn't selfishness. It's survival. Eating properly and exercising will do more than reduce my stress by keeping my blood sugar level and my blood pressure lower. It will provide me more energy, and release those feel good endorphins in my body, which increases my calm and happiness.

I also usually feel better simply because I know I'm doing something to take care of myself.

It can be hard to start. I always exercise first thing in the morning. I am not a morning person, in fact weekends off find me staying up until midnight and sleeping until ten. Once, when I had thrown the Reebok's out, and couldn't find any motivation to get started I joined a gym and put all my necessities to get ready in the gym locker. The only way I could get ready for work was to stop at the gym. Get creative and do what you need to do. As a side note, do not try my approach if the gym is closed on days you need to work!

2. Get & Stay Organized:  Getting organized does not need to be difficult. Simply find a system that works for you. I have a variety of methods. First, I have a phone that allows my Outlook work calendar to be downloaded on it. This helps me when I am at the doctor and need to make an appointment, I can easily see when I am available and not. I also load my contacts information into my phone. Secondly, I have a small address book in which I write down major items on my calendar. This allows me to see very quickly at a glance vacation days I have requested off, weddings, out-of-the-ordinary appointments and the like. For grocery shopping, I keep a spreadsheet on my computer with a quick list of commonly needed items in the general order of my store. My grocery shopping trip times have dropped by at least half since

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