In every career, you’ll experience moments of stress in the workplace. In order to help reduce this, I recommend trying one or more of the following stress management techniques:
#1: Conduct “standing meetings”. When someone enters your office, stand up to talk to them. This will let them know that you have very limited time. Also, consider conducting a “walking meeting” so that issues can be discussed on the move.
#2: Learn the difference between the “urgent” and the “important” and make time for the latter. Are there any areas of your life that keep getting pushed aside? You won’t just “find” a few spare hours – you have to deliberately plan ahead to set this time aside.
#3: Let your actions spring from your personal goals and values. By living by your values, you’ll lead an authentic life where who you are is strongly connected to what you do. Values are part of the very fabric of our being and are fundamental to what makes us human.
#4: Eat your “elephant” one bite at a time. Break up your big projects into little projects. Turn your little projects into a list of individual tasks. Trying to put your whole “elephant” on one plate will only lead to overwhelm.
#5: Reward yourself for reaching particular goals. This helps to reinforce the behaviors you are developing. Ensure that your rewards don’t undo your hard work (for instance, avoid rewarding yourself for losing 2lbs by eating a large slice of pizza!)
#6: Take regular exercise. That means at least an hour of some moderate activity each day: try exercising first thing in the morning to make sure that you fit it in. You can split this into 20-30 minute segments if you prefer.
#7: Get outside during the day. Fresh air and sunlight are essential to your health and well-being. If you’re cooped up inside all day, especially in winter, the low sunlight levels will depress your metabolism, your energy level and your mood.
High levels of stress can be a symptom of poor time-management skills. To take back control of your time, get a free copy of my ebook Time Management Strategies and Tactics: A Workbook by putting your name and email address in the sidebar (top right).
