YOU BOUNCED 2 CHECKS LAST MONTH

Why it’s happening: Stress can affect your concentration, and it can also make you clumsy, lazy and all-around cement-headed. Stress often manifests itself in mathematical mistakes or transposition of numbers, says Herbert Benson, M.D., professor of behavioral medicine at Harvard medical school.

If you’re making more mistakes than usual, don’t worry. Benson says. You’re not getting dumber, you’re probably not developing Alzheimer’s, and it’s not the beer, either. It’s your brain telling you to slow the hell down.

What to do about it: As soon as you receive a work assignment, make a schedule. One of the biggest reasons people make mistakes at work is that they procrastinate, then work too quickly, says Kenneth De Meuse, Ph.D., professor of management at the University of Wisconsin. You learned this hazardous practice in college (it was called cramming), and back then it worked out fine. But that was when you were 18, when staying up all night eating pizza and reading Balzac was kind of fun. You’re a grown-up now. Buy a day planner.

YOU CHEW A PACK OF GUM EVERY MORNING

Why it’s happening: Nail biting and foot tapping may be the telltale habits of anxious men, but any kind of repetitive motion chewing gum, biting your pen, picking your nose is your body’s subconscious way of trying to relax.

What to do about it: Your body wants repetition? Give it repetition. Go to a driving range, shoot 100 free throws or climb some stairs. Activities that involve repetition relieve tension better than those that require more varied activities a round of golf or a game of one-on-one. The repetition relaxes your body, stops the production of stress-causing hormones, and returns your body to normal, Benson says.

YOU IGNORE YOUR HOBBIES

Why it’s happening: When you’re stressed, it’s completely normal and sensible to spend most of your time focused on what’s causing the stress. But what if that’s at the expense of activities that might actually help you relax? Handling all the perceived negatives in your life leaves little room for interacting with people or enjoying outside activities, says Louise Holt, Ph.D., a California psychologist.

What to do about it: Free up time by doing jobs once and only once. The biggest waste of time in people’s lives is retracing steps, says Carol Goldberg, Ph.D., a stress-management specialist. If you have to go to the barber, pick up dry cleaning and hit the store, do it all in one trip. This keeps you from repeating routes and wasting time. At work, do the same. Break projects down to their simplest components and move from one step to the next, or you’ll simply repeat the steps you’ve already completed. This leaves room to return to your favorite hobby, whether it’s playing poker, shooting pool or robbing convenience stores.

YOU WATCH TV MORE AND READ LESS

Why it’s happening: Television requires little of what reading demands: concentration. Stress hinders your ability to focus, so it’s no wonder you’re watching other people do things instead of doing something yourself. Staring passively at images is much more soothing than processing words, and when your mind is taxed, it needs to relax. So you’ll watch anything, even cooking shows.

What to do about it: We’re not going to knock television. Television is one of the greatest stress reducers known to man, second only to skeet shooting. But at some point you have to ask yourself whether you’re watching television to relax or to escape some nagging anxiety. If it’s the latter, forcing yourself to read your usual novels instead of staring at the tube won’t do you any good, says Daniel Alkon, M.D., of the National Institutes of Health.
You’ll only have a harder time concentrating because you’ll be distracted, Alkon says. You need to rebuild your concentration levels. Instead of tackling Tolstoy, start with something simple, like newspaper articles or pro athletes’ autobiographies.

» Secret Signs Of Stress - Part 1