Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Watch those plates!

Do you ever get the feeling that you have 'too much on your plate'? Of course you do... Having too much to do at the same time is a major cause of work stress for me and I am sure for you to.

Why do we always end up with being responsible for TOO MUCH?

Ironically enough, it is precisely the fact that we tend to take on so much responsibility that makes us successful in like. But this strength is also our greatest weakness when it comes to managing stress.

All of us with typical Type A personalities (and if you don't know if you are type A or not, take this quick quiz on this link:
http://www.managing-stress.org/stress-tests/assess-your-type-a-behavior/) suffer from the same malady - we pride ourselves in our abilities and we tend to take on a lot of responsibilities. This sometimes leads to stress at work since it means that we are trying to juggle too many tasks at the same time.

Being aware of this problem is the first step towards doing something about it. Here is a good tip for making sure that you do not take on too much responsibility at work.

If your work situation is such that your boss tends to overload you with work, start keeping track of all your responsibilities and activities associated with it. It is a good thing to have this written up somewhere. If your boss asks you to take on another responsibility or do a specific activity, refer him or her to your list of responsibilities and ask him/her which one should be dropped in favor of the new task or responsibility. Point out the amount of time that each task or responsibility is already requiring to prove that the new task or responsibility can just not fit into your schedule.

If you tend to take on responsibilities yourself, try and keep track of how much time you have to spend on all your responsibilities. Do not ever make the mistake of thinking that you can handle 'just a bit more'. It is a common problem with Type A personalities to under estimate the amount of time required to do things.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Tips on How to Manage Stress

Stress is everywhere. And with the fast-paced life that people live nowadays, stress has been a part of life. In fact, people are so used to it that they treat it as a normal daily occurrence. This is not so. Stress, when not managed properly, can lead to all kinds of health problems, primary of which is heart problems. This is especially true with people who have had family history of heart problems.


Stress management is however really easy to do when you make an effort. In fact, if you keep in mind to prevent it from happening, you can actually live a stress-free life or at the very least be able to cope with it easily. After all, dealing with stress is stressful in itself.


Below are some tips to help manage the stress. You don’t actually have to go to elaborate ways to release the stress. You can get rid of it by preventing its occurrence in the first place. Read on and you might just keep those wrinkles from showing up.


1. Keep it organized

Stress is so usual these days that it’s already expected. So it’s better that you prepare yourself for the big ones and let go of the smaller, insignificant pests. You can only do this if you keep your life organized. You may not know it but simply looking for your misplaced pen in the office can already put you in a lot of stress, not to mention, cause you to lose your concentration. Don’t let that happen to you. Keeping your things organized will make you more prepared to deal with the bigger ones.


2. Start early

It is not true that creative juices only come out in cramming times. It only comes out during those times because we are forced to think. And with enough willpower, we can certainly think of creative concepts without stressing ourselves for lack of time. Starting early will also mean that you don’t have to hurry when you are working on the project. You can take your time and really think about what you are going to do to it. This will not only prevent you from getting stressed out but also allow you to make a great creative work.


3. Live healthy

Stress levels will rarely affect you when you are prepared for it, health-wise. You see, when your body is healthy and is full of energy, you are more or less protected from the effects of stress such as lowering of energy levels, nervous breakdown and sometimes, even heart disease. This can only be done by living healthy through eating the right kinds of food and having the requisite sleep each day.


4. Take the time off

If you feel that you are already nearing your breaking point, don’t be a martyr. Take a break. This will do you a lot of good as it will help you recharge and de-stress yourself. If you are too busy, don’t postpone it. Doing so will only make the stress fester inside until you become too stressed out to even be productive.


This is the reason why employers give vacation leave so that people can take a full day of rest or a couple of days of rest to regain their former energy levels and creative selves.

To check just how stressed you really are, you can take this quizz:

http://www.managing-stress.org/stress-tests/how-stressed-are-you/