Sales can be stressful. We all know that.

And to remind you how stressful sales can be, tomorrow is National Stress Awareness Day – yes, it’s a real special day!

How you can reduce stress?

1). Set priorities – don’t try to do everything at once. Have a clear plan for your top goals on a daily basis. Yes, it’s tough to do that because there are always emergencies – a client calls to complain, a package wasn’t shipped out on time, your computer crashes, etc. But if you write down your daily goals, that will help you minimize your stress.

2). Sleep – yes, it’s tough. But getting 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night will help.

3). Listen to relaxing music when commuting – while I love Rock n’ Roll, I prefer listening to classical music when I commute. It helps to relax me.

4). Turn off the news – at least until you get home. In sales, you always want to maintain a positive attitude. The last thing you want to do is listen to bad news while heading to work. That will only make you more stressful.

5). Avoid negative people – yes, that’s hard to do in sales if you have some angry clients who are always bitching and complaining. That comes with the territory. But if you are dealing with negative people at work, try to avoid them as much as possible.

6). Exercise – you don’t have to go to the gym every day. Take a walk. Maybe walk during lunch. Maybe bike ride to work.

Stress is a killer. According to the American Institute of Stress, work stress increases the risk of heart disease, heart attacks, and stroke. In fact, according to the Institute, stress is the basic cause of 60% of all human illness and disease.

So please – take good care of yourself. Work is important. But so is your health.