As a society, we’re often stressed out and overwhelmed due to scarcity of time. It feels like there are millions of things to do every day and only twenty-four hours in which to do them. With unlimited work to do and limited time, something ends up being forgotten and that something is often ourselves. It’s no wonder we feel incredibly stressed out all the time.

While a little stress can help prevent procrastination, too much stress can have an adverse effect on your mental and physical well-being. Stress can lead to increased levels of anxiety and depression which can then interfere with your ability to focus and function on a day-to-day basis. Physically, stress can lead to high blood pressure, frequent headaches, insomnia and a whole slew of other physical ailments that can even lead to death. Plus stressed out people age faster, so if you would like to look older sooner then continue to stress about everything.

Once you accept that stress can be harmful to your life and productivity, how then can you make time for yourself and come up with ways to relieve your stress?

Using a to-do list or daily planner can help you section out your day into chunks of time that are assigned for specific tasks. This allows you to schedule periods of time to relax and helps you sort out all the tasks that need to be done so you never have to worry about forgetting to get an important task completed. A to-do list also helps in deciding what tasks are not important, which tasks can be delegated and what tasks are good for multitasking. This process also shows you how much available time you have left in your day that can be used for relaxation activities.

Part of destressing involves taking time to do what makes you happy. However, before you can allocate time to relax you need to find out what will make you happy.

Some people find enjoyment in being alone, reading a good book, having a spa day or spending time with loved ones. Once you decide what activity is best for you, you can begin to carve out the time and space in your life for it.

It’s important to understand that relaxing can sometimes cost money, especially if you relax by taking trips, doing expensive hobbies or parting in activities that you need to pay for such as spa days or dinner at restaurants. The money you spend on your self-care shouldn’t be considered wasted as it’s an investment on yourself. Additionally, you should allow yourself the freedom to indulge every once in a while. After all, while self-care is an ongoing activity, you won’t always need to spend money to destress as self-care will also include developing coping mechanism to relax. These would include yoga, meditation, getting a good night’s rest and of course exercise.

Working out ways to relax is a self-care step itself but you also need to allow yourself the time to partake in these activities without feeling guilty about it. After all, the only one who can take care of the millions of things you do is you (at least until you learn to delegate) so you need to be at your best to do so.