Similar to the letting go exercise, a prioritization practice can help you determine which stressors are actually worth your worry time. “Prioritization of how we spend our time is really important for stress reduction, because it’s so easy,” notes Epel. You see, many people face what’s known as “time stress,” or not having enough time to do all the things you want to accomplish. “So there’s this rush every day, and it really is self-created stress,” adds Epel.
So take a step back and reflect on how you really want to use your time. Can you shuffle tasks around to better serve what’s most meaningful to you?
“Life is much shorter than it feels, and there’s this preciousness to every day,” Epel continues. “There’s so much wisdom in that for thinking about stress, because stress is daily—we can either live in it every day and bathe in a chronic stress lifestyle, or we can actually wake up and do things to reset our course, to focus on joy, to have moments of ease, to stop the daily rush, so that that doesn’t become our whole lives.”