Stress Diaries

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Start the journey to a calmer life with a Stress Diary.

Many of us experience stress in some form every day, whether it's caused by rush-hour traffic, difficult customers, a heavy workload, or unpleasant news. But, if stress goes unchecked, it can affect our productivity and, worse still, our health.

This is where keeping a Stress Diary can be useful. Going through the process of logging anxious moments allows you to pinpoint the causes of short-term stress in your life. Often, these stresses flit in and out of our minds, without getting the attention and focus that they deserve.

A Stress Diary can also give you an insight into how you react to stress, and help you to identify the levels of pressure at which you work best. (After all, a little bit of pressure can be a good thing!)

In this article, we explain what a Stress Diary is, and how to reap the benefits of keeping one. Mind Tools Club members can also download a Stress Diary template, to log your own experiences. The download includes a completed diary example and accompanying analysis, to show you how to use a Stress Diary in your own life.

What Is a Stress Diary?

The idea behind Stress Diaries is that you regularly record information about the stresses you're experiencing, so that you can analyze and then manage them.

As well as this, Stress Diaries help you to understand:

• The causes of stress in more detail.
• The levels of pressure at which you operate most effectively.
• How you can improve the way you manage stress.

Using the Tool

Make regular entries in your diary throughout your day (for example, every hour), or after any stressful incident, and record the following information:

• The date and time.
• The most recent stressful event you experienced.
• How happy you feel now, using a subjective assessment on a scale of 0 (the most unhappy you've ever been) to 10 (the happiest you've been). Also, write down the mood you're feeling.
• How effectively you're working now (a subjective assessment, on a scale of 0 to 10). A zero here would show complete ineffectiveness, while a 10 would show the greatest effectiveness you've ever achieved.
• The fundamental cause of the stress (be as honest and objective as possible).

You may also want to note:

• The symptoms you felt (for example, "butterflies in the stomach," anger, headache, raised pulse rate, sweaty palms, and so on).
• How well you handled the event: did your reaction help to solve the problem, or did it make things worse?

Analyzing the Diary

Once you've kept a Stress Diary for a number of days, you can analyze it and take action:

• First, look at the different stresses that you experienced during the time you kept your diary. Highlight the most frequent stresses, and the ones that were the most unpleasant.
• Look at your assessments of their underlying causes, and your appraisal of how well you handled the stressful events. Do they highlight problems that need to be fixed? If so, list these issues.
• Next, look through your diary at the situations that cause you stress. List ways in which you can change these situations for the better.
• Finally, look at how you felt when you were under pressure, and explore how it affected your happiness and your effectiveness. Was there a middle level of pressure at which you were happiest and performed best?

When you've analyzed your diary, you should have a better understanding of what the sources of stress are in your life. You should also be able to identify the levels of pressure at which you are happiest.

In addition, it should also be clear which types of situations cause you the most stress. You can now begin to prepare for and manage them.

Next Steps

It's time to start getting your stress under control.

Start by looking at the people and events that cause you the most stress.

• If a person, or a group of people, is causing your stress, our article, Dealing With Difficult People   , can help.
• Does any of your stress come from disorganization, or from struggling with time management? If so, our quiz, How Good Are Your Time Management Skills?   will help you to target the key skills to build.
• Our article on Job Analysis   can help you to identify structural problems within your role that could be causing you stress.
• Is burnout contributing to the stress that you're experiencing? Our Burnout Self-Test   can help you to identify and manage problems here.

More Tips and Resources

• Use guided imagery   during your day to relax and reduce stress.
• Meditation   can also be very effective for dealing with stress, even if you can only meditate for five minutes at a time.
• Are you getting enough sleep   ? Most people need seven to eight hours of sleep a night. A lack of sleep can affect your health and productivity, leading to higher levels of stress.
• Do you find it difficult to "switch off" at the end of the day? Learn How to Relax After a Hard Day   .
• Consider taking a vacation   . Although the people or tasks that are causing your stress will still be waiting for you when you get back, a vacation can give you enough distance to relax, recharge, and come up with some effective solutions.
• Our Bite-Sized Training session, Stress Busters   , offers a comprehensive approach to dealing with stress. It outlines three key strategies to combat stress, and provides tools for long-term stress management.