I hate deadlines and I believe the same is true for most of us.  It is our habit of procrastinating things that makes us dread deadlines.  Most people tend to defer some tasks.  They only start scrambling on it when the deadline is on its eleventh hour.  Some people experiences several unwanted symptoms of anxiety when the deadline is fast approaching.  Students and employees of all ages must read the following tips to reduce one’s anxiety.

1. Plan your daily schedule.  There are times when we tend to spend more hours on watching television than doing our assignments.  But, nothing’s wrong with this as long as you are not depriving yourself of enough time for doing some other important things.  By planning a daily schedule, you will be able to set how much time you should spend on watching TV or reading your favorite book and in doing your school assignments.
2. Know what to prioritize.  Busy people who have a very hectic schedule tend to experience anxiety more often than those who don’t have much to do.  One’s failure to decide which task to prioritize will lead him to suffer from anxiety when deadlines are about to occur. The more busy you are, the more that you should know what to prioritize.  Once you have learned how to prioritize everything, you will less likely to experience anxiety attacks.
3. Know how to simplify your tasks.  Sometimes, we get stuck with those difficult things that we find it hard to move on and continue doing it.  This is when simplifying tasks becomes necessary to ensure that deadlines will be met. Huge tasks must be broken down into smaller things so that you will not get stuck in the middle of nowhere.
4. Ask for help.  If the situation permits, you should know when to ask for help.  If you think that the given task can’t be finished at the specified due date, ask somebody else to help you.  This way, you will be able to delegate the other parts of the task or assignment and lessen your load.

Deadlines can be dreadful but these are necessary for us to finish one up and move to another task. Deadlines are also helpful in making an individual become more efficient at work and in everything that he does.

Being a mother of two kids is reason enough for me to experience anxiety attacks every now and then.  Every day, my routine includes preparing for breakfast, ironing clothes, checking the children’s bags and other school needs, and the list seems endless.  Sometimes, when something gets in the way of my smooth daily schedule, I panic.  This is because I don’t want to be beaten by deadlines in doing the things that I am responsible for. To all the mothers out there, here are some anxiety exercises to lessen our anxiety.

1. Anxiety reliever object.  If you’re starting to become anxious, find an object that will pacify your negative emotions. A friend of mine squeezes her teddy bear key chain whenever she starts to become anxious.  As for me, I just prefer to listen to my favorite “Mike Francis” songs on my iPod.

2. Believe in yourself. This is important especially when you start to become anxious because you think you are inferior compared to other people you know.  Believing in your self will help you realize that you do not have to meet other people’s expectations.  Otherwise, you will always fall short of their expectations.  Believe that even when your efforts are not good enough for other people, you are already happy with what you have achieved.

3. Don’t try to do everything all at the same time.  Stop the habit of worrying about your kids’ requirements in school while you are busy catching up for that deadline of paying your bills.  In most cases, things get out of hand because we worry too much about them.  It is when we worry too much that we can no longer think what needs to be done the right way. If the task can be done later, don’t worry about it now.  Focus only on what you must do right now.  This way, you will be able to do things correctly in a relaxing pace.

4.  Practice deep breathing.  This is one of the anxiety exercises which have been proven to be very helpful during an anxiety attack.  Learn to breathe in and breathe out slowly and deeply.  Take it from your diaphragm and focus only on the way you breathe.  This will prevent you from experiencing shortness of breath or hyperventilating when anxiety attack occurs.

5. Let experience be your best teacher.  Once you experience an anxiety attack due to a certain object or event, keep that in mind.  This is for you to learn from such experience.  Start looking for ways to reduce your anxiety.  This is important so that the next time you experience that same anxiety-provoking situation, you will already know how to better handle it.  This is contrary to just being afraid without seeking for ways on what to do about it.