| 6 WAYS TO DE-STRESS AND GET MORE DONE |
| Stress is an unhealthy emotion. When stress is your response to a work situation, you may think it helps you get things done—faster, if not better. But instead of powering productivity, stress diminishes it—by wasting energy on worry and fear, instead of focusing all of it on getting the job done. |
| Where does stress come from? Look in the mirror. The experts say stress is entirely self-imagined and self-imposed—you’re letting stress get in the way of getting more done. The good news is, if you’re creating stress, you can also control it—it’s only as powerful as you allow it to be. You can let stress throw your day off. Or, once stress appears, you can address it. You’ll wind up spending the day getting things done—instead of stressing over how much there is to do. Here’s how to get stress under control. |
| Finish yesterday. If you’re stressing today over something you didn’t do yesterday, complete the task now instead of worrying about it. Don’t go crazy over everything on the list. Only knock off the items that need to get done. Then focus on today’s tasks. Work to realistic deadlines. Don’t accept tight deadlines. If someone else is setting it, negotiate one that gives you enough time to do your best work. The stress you feel from an insane deadline may speed up your work but makes it difficult to deliver a quality result. Take 5. When you’re all worked up about getting something done, stop doing it. Take a 5- or 10-minute break. Calm down, rest, get fresh air, meditate, pray, or close your eyes and think happy thoughts. You’ll return to the task with a clear head, making it easier to work more efficiently. Get help. If you need help, ask. With another person, you’ll double productivity, and “a worry shared is cut in half.” Determine that you can’t do the job alone as soon as possible. You’ll avoid pushing yourself unnecessarily and hurting the quality of the work. Keep your eye on the big picture. We stress over things that aren’t as important as we think. Do what needs to be done, but before you stress over it, consider its significance in the big picture. Unless a situation puts you in physical danger, it’s probably not worth getting upset about it.When you’re stressed, write down what’s making you feel that way. Then, write down the worst outcome that can possibly happen. Look at this later and see whether what you were stressing over was all that important. |
| Here’s information on how to reduce employee stress, including stress brought on by sleep problems. |
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