1. If you feel like you’re always rushing. Many people find themselves too busy these days, which causes stress. The reasons vary from person to person, but the following are some main ones why people find themselves too busy, along with time management and stress management ideas to help.

2. It's OK To Say No : Many people end up overscheduling themselves because they feel uncomfortable saying "no" when people ask things of them. This may be because they don't want to admit to themselves that they can't "do it all," or perhaps because they don't want to disappoint others. Unfortunately, they ultimately disappoint themselves by not having enough time to do what's important to them. Does this apply to you? If so, learning to say no might be a good time management priority. Here's a resource on how to say no. Use it to create space in your schedule for what's important to you.how to say no

3. Just say, “I’m sorry. I can't do this right now.” Use a sympathetic, but firm tone. If pressured as to why, reply that it doesn’t fit with your schedule, and change the subject. Most reasonable people will accept this as an answer, so if someone keeps pressuring you, they’re being rude, and it’s OK to just repeat, “I’m sorry, but this just doesn’t fit with my schedule," and change the subject, or even walk away if you have to.

4. Let me think about it and get back to you. If you’re uncomfortable being so firm, or are dealing with pushy people, it’s OK to say, “Let me think about it and get back to you.” This gives you a chance to review your schedule, as well as your feelings about saying "yes" to another commitment, do a cost-benefit analysis, and then get back to them with a yes or no. Most importantly, this tactic helps you avoid letting yourself be pressured into overscheduling your life and taking on too much stress.

5. Be firm -- not defensive or overly apologetic This gives the signal that you are sympathetic, but will not easily change your mind if pressured. If you decide to tell the person you’ll get back to them, be matter-of-fact and not too promising. If you lead people to believe you’ll likely say "yes" later, they’ll be more disappointed with a later "no." If asked for an explanation, remember that you really don’t owe anyone one. “It doesn’t fit with my schedule,” is perfectly acceptable.

6. Be Clear On Your Priorities : Others become overscheduled because they add activities to their schedules for the wrong reasons, and end up spending their days doing things that don't reflect their values and priorities. Then they find themselves struggling to fit in what's important to them. Necessities like adequate sleep and other healthy habits fall by the wayside. Is this you? To find out, make a list of what's most important to you. List things like family, friends and career. Then look at how you spend your days. See how much time goes to these things. Is it a good match, or are you spending an inordinate amount of time doing things that aren't as important to you? It's never too late to make changes. (See this article for more on setting priorities in your schedule.)adequate sleephealthy habitssetting priorities in your schedule

7. Map It Out : A common time management trap many people fall into is that they don't know where their time goes, or they overestimate the amount of time they have available and underestimate the amount of time each activity takes to complete, and become overcommitted. How many times have you found yourself adding new activities to your schedule when you don't really know how you'll find the time to do them? If you remember several such instances, you may need to keep a careful schedule, writing down everythingyou do. Don't agree to new activities until you've found a way to pencil them in, overestimating the amount of time you think it will take to complete them.

8. Stay Organized : In addition to keeping an organized schedule, as mentioned above, it's important to maintain an organized home. Most people don't realize how much time and money are sucked up (not to mention stress created) by living in an environment where things are difficult to find and relaxation is a challenge. This section on staying organizedcan help you to stop the drain on your time that a messy home can create.organized homestaying organized

9. Home Relaxation When we come home, we want to feel like we’re entering a refuge, safe from the demands of life. But does your home provide a safe harbor from stress, or is it causing you additional stress that you might not be aware of? If you have a cluttered, poorly decorated or somewhat disorganized living space, home relaxation can be virtually impossible!

10. Clutter Stresses You Just sitting in a cluttered room can create stress. Whether you conceptualize this in Feng Shui terms as ‘stagnant chi’, in cerebral terms as too much information for the eye to process, or in practical terms as a visual reminder of how much work you have to do to get your house clean, you probably already know that mess means stress. Living in a cluttered home can create constant low-grade stress and subtly but steadily drain your energy. Feng Shui

11. Organized Homes Save Time, Money and Other Resources: A messy, disorganized home can cost you more than just your inner peace. If you don’t have a ‘home’ for all of your belongings, you spend more time trying to put things away when you’re cleaning up, and waste time looking for items when you need them. If you don’t have anorganized system for filing your bills and other important papers, you may end up paying things late, which results in fees and additional stress. There are many other ways your mess may be draining your resources that you don’t even realize. organized system for filing your bills

12. Let your home be your sanctuary A Well-Ordered Home May Bring More Good Things: Followers of the Chinese discipline Feng Shui believe that a well-ordered home aligns vital energy in your life to bring good fortune in other areas of your life. Whether or not you believe in Feng Shui, given the above information, it’s hard to argue that an organized home wouldn’t bring additional benefits, chief among them being reduced stress.Feng Shui

13. To Thine Own Self Be True : Knowing yourself well can also help you to avoid getting overwhelmed. How? For one thing, by knowing your limitations, you avoid taking on too much. For example, if you know you're not the best manager of people, you can avoid putting yourself in a position where you'll be asked to do management-type tasks, saving yourself stress and the extra time and energy it would take to learn to do this better. Also, if you constantly put yourself in a position of taking on more than you can handle, take an honest look inward to help you figure out what's behind this. That way, you can stop.