Excerpted from "A Year of Health Hints"
365 Practical Ways to Feel Better and Live Longer
Most people expect too much of themselves. Attempts to
accomplish too much in a short period of time causes lots of
unnecessary stress. The result is something doctors call hurry
sickness, a constant state of rushing around trying to meet an
endless line-up of self-imposed deadlines. Stress is the
inevitable by-product of this frenetic level of activity.
Here's how to turn your activity meter to "slow"
instead of "go."
Leave your
wristwatch at home on days you don't absolutely have to be
somewhere on time.
Practice doing one
thing at a time instead of two or three things at once (like
talking on the phone
and reading your
mail).
Make a deliberate
effort to speak more slowly. Don't cut other people off in
midsentence.
Walk at a slow,
steady pace, not a racewalker's clip.
Smile and greet
people instead of occupying your thoughts with where you're
headed or what
you're going to do
next.
Drive no faster
than the posted speed limit.
Get used to
waiting in line without getting agitated.
Allow a buffer
zone of 15 minutes between appointments, to give your brain and
body some stress-
free “breathing
space."
Schedule some free
time into every day. It's not a waste of time to rest and do
nothing.
Take time to
"smell the roses"--that is, to notice beauty and
appreciate the little things in life.