Stress is like an annoying pimple. It just pops up out of nowhere and doesn’t really care who you are, what you do or how you do it. You can be a Joe Bloggs on Wall Street or a Mike Smith waiting on tables, it happens to E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E; we’ve all been and do get stressed.
Think about it…if you love painting and you do this on a day to day or weekly basis, then one day, you find out there’s a competition to win a place for the possibility of displaying your art in a gallery. The rules require submissions to be sent on a given date and so you have to strive to meet the deadline.
For you, this is a brilliant opportunity to showcase your work but being human and feeling like you are not enough, self doubt kicks in and your mind races to predict what the outcome will be. It automatically makes a mental to-do list of all the things you will need to have in place to ensure your painting stands out from all others.
Our nature in wanting to know the outcome causes worry (in the mind) and this causes stress (on our body). When these two come together, they form anxiety (happens in both the mind & the body). I read in the New York Times that, “small doses of worry, stress and anxiety can be positive forces in our lives” and I somewhat agree to an extent despite other research also showing that, “we are all too worried, too anxious and too stressed”.I believe we can find ways to regulate stress and as a result, I offer you some antidotes you can implement in your own lives.
- 2 Minute Rule: I always say if you have a heavy workload and something comes in that takes two minute or less to do, do it and get it out of the way. Before writing this blog, I assumed this was my invention because I’ve continuously worked on this basis and hand to heart, my productivity always surpassed “the expected level of productivity” posed by peers and employers alike.
But after research, I am now equally humbled and pleased to know that David Allen, a productivity consultant, highlighted that the 2 minute rule is a key in being productive at work and I agree. I link this with coping with stress because the more you get rid of the little things, the more space you clear up in the mind and at work to focus on the bigger tasks which leads me to the next point. - Create a priority list: The reason behind this is so that you can capture in writing what the top priority is, what can wait, what can be delegated and what you can simply delete — The 4 D’s.
- Do: do it now
- Defer: do it later, meaning this task can wait
- Delegate: ask for help by passing down a task someone else can do
- Delete: if it doesn’t add any value
There are lots of to-do list apps out there but if you are not into many apps, a good ole pen to paper list will do just fine and you can number or label it to determine what’s more urgent and what can wait.
There’s an element of mindfulness in this activity as you reflect and bring to the surface what exactly needs to be done. This naturally halves the overwhelming feeling of just how much you need to do. It’s also okay to ask for help so do so either by asking for extra time to complete a task, asking a colleague for their input or delegating to someone else.
Stephen Covey, author of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (a good read, in my opinion) chart as below can be used to streamline your priorities. For extra reading, the Eisenhower Matrix also proposes a decision making principle for prioritising which if applied can help reduce stress.
3. Sabbath your lunch hours: It’s very tempting to sit glued to your desk at lunch or during break at work and honestly speaking, I have done it loads of times. My point here however is that getting rest or taking a break from work helps to reduce stress and frees up your fast moving mind wanting to complete every single task at once.
It doesn’t matter if you read the scriptures or not, my Sabbath your lunch/break hours suggestion is to:
- Walk away from your desk
- Leave and go for a walk even if it’s circling the building/block or to sit on a bench outside
- Go to the kitchen or anywhere away from your desk
You can alleviate stress without sacrificing your availability. Your lunch time is your free time and during this free time, you don’t have to be available. Being at your desk is a temptation for you to view all incoming emails whilst biting your sandwich and typing away to reply. In simpler terms, “you are STILL working, mate!” I know I’ve been guilty of this behaviour so this suggestion is as much for myself as it is for you. Take advantage or incorporate breaks in your day to detach, rest and reset so that you can be back feeling refreshed.
Practicing these steps with your tasks at work and even in life can also have a positive knock on effect on your overall sense of self and view on what’s important. You will also find that seeking this balance or gaining this perspective as an antidote to stress, will boost your productivity and decrease your stress.
Thank you for reading.
Love & Light
Amida
