Written by: Michelle Greene Rhodes, Executive Contributor

Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.

We are in the age of the female founder, advocacy for equal pay for women, and where minority women are making major moves in both the workplace and in entrepreneurship. From developing happy families, to helping developing nations, everywhere we are contributing consistently. It is impossible to ignore the importance of any of our roles, but with that demand comes the effort to remain well mind, body and soul.

You see, it has been noted by the American Psychological Association (APA) that women are more stressed than men 40% of women and 35% of men, (APA, 2008). It has also been noted that married women are 3 times more stressed than single women. With money being the 1 stressor, closely followed by job stress and family stress, it is important that we find coping strategies that support us in these areas.

Thus, the growing demand for women's wellness programs here at Greene Rhodes Consulting focuses on stress relief, increased productivity through strategic planning, and overall family wellness.

Here are 5 quick tips to help you remain focused during these difficult times. Through soul searching, goal setting, taking small steps, remaining gentle with yourself, and having an accountability partner can be a great start to finding balance in life right now.

1.Get back to 1

Get clarity about yourself, who you are, your purpose and your passions—schedule time for yourself to explore these continually and to create from your why. Try to figure out details about your strength, interest, fear, and other emotions. Listen to your heart; meditating might be a great time to do this. Don't get confused with others' opinions without comparison. Make a list of the top 20 percent valuable tasks that energize you and add value to your life. In other words, put yourself first and dedicate yourself to walking in your authenticity. Be sure to write down what you discover. Not only can self-empowerment relieve stress, but it brings clarity of purpose and vision while increasing confidence.

2. It’s time to work

Emotional wellbeing in the workplace is essential to improve your productivity and outcomes at work. Set small goals daily and try not to multitask. Multitasking can provide too many options that can lead to decision fatigue. Strategically how you will hit short term, long term and stretch goals. Create what outcomes look like on the other side of your hard work. The vision will lead you towards meeting and exceeding business or work key performance indicators (KPI’s). This can in reflect in our paychecks which can in turn lead to the primary money woe, being somewhat alleviated.

3. Explore the Bright Side

Every event of our life has both bright and dark sides. Try to explore the bright side and remain optimistic. Increase your productivity with the power of positivity. Sometimes we can create feelings of happiness by spreading positive vibes. Positive thinking does not necessarily mean avoiding or ignoring the bad things; instead, it involves making the most of the bad situations, looking for the best in others, and viewing in positive ways. A great way to foster feelings of happiness in life is to know where you or your organization are going. We at Greene Rhodes Consulting have found that strategic planning is a great way to alleviate stress as we help you create your plan for each quarter or each new year. Knowing where you plan to go and how to get there is half of the battle.

4. Empower Others

Exercise emotional wellness strategies to empower others, which includes your family. Spread your care and creativity to do healthy things with your family is a great way to fulfill your dreams. Friends, family or a coach can help hold you accountable, which is often underrated. Mobilize your A+ team, and yes, that includes YOU! Motivate others to do more and take your goals right along with them by making it a team effort. Not only will engaging others closest to you help you to achieve goals done in the shortest possible time and effort, studies show that positive team efforts (team = trusted relationships) can boost performance by 30%.

5. Have Fun!

Yes, the items above are important yet can be difficult when it comes to remaining positive in difficult times. Yes, we must focus and avoid distractions in order to get things that are important to us, done. However, how can you make your work process interesting and easy? Simplified and fun? If you have now committed and prioritized your goals, how can you now gamify this process? Make a personalized scoreboard for yourself. Create a challenge with others. Plan on rewards and be gentle with yourself. What is something that you have been holding back on doing? What BIG thing can you reward yourself with, now?

After all, women have a lot on their plates, and we process stress differently than men. Our emotions can lead to a negative physical processing of stress, such as an over release of cortisol (stress hormone). This can lead to problems such as weight gain, affect sleep and blood pressure. These 5 steps are just a few ways towards starting to balance wellbeing in the home and workplace. Start developing your mindset, strategy, goals, and improving outcomes today with the Executive Coaching available at Greene Rhodes Wellness Consulting.

Visit our website for more info and connect with us on LinkedIn!

Read more from Michelle!

Michelle Greene Rhodes, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine

Michelle G. Rhodes is a Corporate Wellness Consultant and is Certified in Managed Care and Licensed as a Registered Nurse. By combining her love for Managed Care/Population Health background with her innate ability to create educational programs and cost savings solutions uniquely designed for each employer, Michelle is sought after for her multiple successes in cost-saving and exceeding targets. She has helped corporations craft wellness programs that offer definite returns on investments and assists them in meeting and exceeding their annual performance measures and goals. Michelle creates various wellness initiatives for awareness campaigns all the way to the creation of wellness culture transformations. Michelle Rhodes Media LLC is also a continuing education provider for Nurses, by the California Board of Nurses, and provide workshops for Nurses to learn continuously.