Like so many, I've recently been reflecting on these extraordinary times. The effects of Covid have impacted us all at individual, local and international levels. There has been a marked increase in stressors: on personal live, on work and on the ways in which we relate to and interact with one another as a human race when experiencing crisis.

Today I want to share a wellbeing tip called a ’stress audit’. Stress audits have proven to be a useful, reflective technique in helping to manage my own stress, and to better control the constant flows of information that we are pummelled with each and every day.

Auditing stress has helped me set boundaries and effectively filter the information I consume. It has also increased my awareness of where exactly stress sits in my body, and can serve as a useful early warning sign against stress that, unchecked, might metastasize into larger problems.

Here's how it works.

Take a few minutes throughout the day to reflect on which parts of your daily routine expose you to the most stress.

List where you experience both direct but also indirect stress. It might be through anything from a work email to an evening news broadcast, or by hearing a story from a friend, or receiving something in the mail. Think carefully and thoughtfully on all those direct and indirect moments, interactions and experiences that may have manifested stress.

Morning Assessment
When you wake up and are getting ready for work, what information do you consume via messages, social media, television, radio, podcasts, social media? How does this information make you feel?

At-Work Assessment
What meetings, conversations, emails, reports, deadlines and other work tasks cause you stress?

Evening Assessment
What radio, podcasts or books are you reading? What television shows or movies are you watching? What social media are you reading and consuming? What games are you playing? What friends and family members are you connecting with? Are you effectively consuming stress through any of these channels?

Once you have completed your list, start the audit:
1.     Underline the stressors you need to monitor.
2.     Circle the stressors you can lessen.
3.     Put a line through the stressors you can eliminate.
4.     Asterix the stressors you need support with managing.

Periodically repeat the above audit to see if your stress levels have improved, or if you may need to make a few more necessary adjustments. Keeping track on what influences in our daily lives contribute to stress levels (sometimes even unconsciously) can only help to unburden us and positively improve our state of wellbeing.

Lead photo by Top Down Tech second photo by Dana Tentis, third image by Matt Bango - all images from StockSnap.

Horatio O'Shea serves as a Wellbeing Officer at the Wesley Mission in Sydney, Australia. He is also the founder and director of Equanimity Consulting, raising awareness and offering support for those working in trauma.