Stressed out? Anxious? Just out of sorts? Stress can wreck havoc with your creative productivity. Here are some thoughts on how to manage it.

These are stressful times, and you’ve probably noticed that it’s hard to be your best self when you feel crummy. Learning gets difficult, energy levels sink, and good habits start to crumble.

In this 18-minute episode, I cover five management strategies to beat stress-induced procrastination and find your happy place again. I talk about:

• The first question to ask when your habits start to fall apart
• How to use rituals and processes to put productivity on “auto-pilot”
• Where to find the time to do some stress-busting exercise
• The ways we sabotage ourselves by trying to do “the right thing”
• The kind of person you want to seek out as an accountability partner

Listen to Copyblogger FM: Content Marketing, Copywriting, Freelance Writing, and Social Media Marketing below ...

The Show Notes

• My new series (on my personal blog) about positive reinforcement and business
• Karen Pryor’s useful book, Don’t Shoot the Dog (just one of many good books on the topic)
• The Freedom app (a favorite of mine, but just one of many that can help you manage digital distractions)
• My post on the power of small habits
• My post recapping the creative rituals of the Copyblogger editorial team
• My post detailing a creative process for writing blog posts (this also works for podcast episodes, video tutorials, webinars, etc.
• I’m always happy to see your questions or thoughts on Twitter @soniasimone — or right here in the comments