Want to reduce your stress level? Take baby steps, baby

In a previous post, I mentioned my incessant need to make the bed, not only to keep things tidy, but as a form of mental therapy.
Weird, I know.
My goal here is not to simply recap the previous post (how boring would that be?) instead I'll just hit the high points for the sake of clarification. Basically, I'm the bed-maker in my family. I do it because it's a job I've inherited and also because, over the course of 25 years of marriage, I've discovered making the bed in the morning sort of sets the tone for the rest of my day.
My wife, on the other hand, is a completely different kind of person. She's one of those self-starters who just gets up and starts working, no motivation required.
Anyway ...


Contrary to what you may have already read, today's post isn't about bed-making or chores around the house or the different responsibilities married couples take on. Instead, I want to write about the little forms of mental therapy many of us do every day.
A friend of mine tells me that whenever he feels stressed out, he stops what he's doing and looks for something to clean. The theory behind it is, if you're stressed out it's because you probably have a million things swirling around in your head, each one clamoring for your immediate attention.
When this begins to occur, a simple way to deal with it is to narrow your focus and do just one thing at a time. In theory it could be anything, but for my friend, it's to clean something.
I've adopted this theory and, for me, it seems to work. Whether it's making the bed, cleaning the kitchen, doing the laundry, working in the yard, 30 minutes on the treadmill or even writing a blog post, all of it can help reduce stress. Even if you're at work and it seems the walls are closing in on you, stop and take a walk for a few minutes. Find the water cooler ... anything to narrow your focus from a million things to just one thing.
Remember the movie "What About Bob?" starring Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptmP1lziJw4
Great movie. Very funny.
It's about a guy with all sorts of different neuroses and his therapist, who seems to have his life completely in order. At one point the therapist, Dr. Leo Marvin, gives his patient, Bob, a copy of his book, "Baby Steps" and advises him to live his life one step at a time. Every step is a baby step, that way nothing ever gets too big to handle.
Funny movie. Wise concept.
If you've never seen the movie, check it out. You'll laugh out loud, then you'll find yourself thinking, "That whole 'Baby Steps' thing really isn't a bad idea. It actually makes a lot of sense.'"
Now, back to work. I've got a million things on today's checklist.