Tag: coping

I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag. 

Today’s tip is to pick an achievable goal for the week and make progress.

I actually did this last week. I have had a lot of things on my list of things to do this year, and sometimes I get a little paralyzed by the length of the list. There are also some larger projects that I find myself putting off because I keep thinking “I’ll take a day” or “Take a weekend” to do this.

The reality is that I never will likely get a large block of uninterrupted time, when I feel ready to tackle things.

I got up, had some breakfast, and then went outside recently. There were a few other things I could do, but I started with a chainsaw and chopping down some juniper bushes in our front yard. My wife has been asking to do this, and I keep delaying rather than getting started.

I got one out, taking a few breaks as I tried to cut down the tangled limbs and drag them to a nearby gully. My breaks were on the lawnmower, mostly because I needed to get that done as well.

The next day I went out and tackled a second one. I managed to get down to two stumps.

I took a few days off, but then spent about an hour one night working on the third one. I didn’t get it out, but I made more progress.

Baby steps were helpful to me moving forward.

I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag. 

Today’s tip is to start the week with some movement. Exercise in some way today.

An easy coping tip for me, as this is something I regularly do. I’m writing this a few days early, but in this case, I’ve scheduled a yoga class for Monday afternoon. Now that it’s on my schedule, I’ll get up early, get to work and be ready for a break after.

I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag. 

Today’s tip is to find fun ways to distract yourself from unhelpful thoughts.

We likely all have negative and unhelpful thoughts. I know I do on a regular basis. While I can be upbeat and positive, I can also feel stressed, sad, or angry about different things. Working to actively change your thoughts is helpful at times to coping.

One thing that I’ve done is spend a few minutes doing something that requires some focus. For me, that usually falls into one of a couple areas:

• Guitar
• A quick game
• Duolingo

These are not in any order, but I have found that I can take a couple minutes to strum a song, open Duolingo and go through a lesson, or pick a game that makes me concentrate. I tend to use things like Sudoku or recently, Water Sort Puzzle, as a fairly quick way of timeboxing. A round here takes 2-3 minutes, which is about what a song or a lesson take.

I’m slightly running away, but I’m distracting myself. Time is a great healer, and often a short break gives me a slightly different perspective. I can start to cope with my fears, anger, sadness, or whatever in a better way, or at least a more calm way.

It might take a few rounds of thought, distraction, thought, distraction, etc., but it’s helpful for me.

A HUGE CAVEAT:  I am not susceptible to depression, at least not as I see it in other friends/family. My coping is much different than I might do with someone who might be more susceptible or have a mental illness that makes it hard to cope. If you have challenges in this area, please seek out others, especially professionals. Illness is illness, and needs treatment at times to ensure you cope and thrive in life.

I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag. 

Today’s tip is to challenge yourself when you feel negative. Look at something from a new perspective.

It’s been a hard time, with very hot weather, lots of little tasks, and the need to make some decisions. None of them big, but the sheer volume is a little overwhelming to me.

I’ve been feeling a little negative about getting through the week lately, and wanting to vent and complain a bit. A few people close to me have been good at listening, which is helpful. However, I need to stop and review how I see things.

One place I’ve felt negative is the lack of progress in a few spring maintenance operations. My wife reminded me I have kids here willing to help and I should review how I look at some chores. Ask for help, remember that it’s not all on me.

That’s a struggle as I really try to be independent. However, I made an effort to look at it from the new perspective, that others are willing to help, and asked them to take a few things off my plate. It was a good lesson for me.