Argh – I’m Stressed

There are many contributors that cause stress as a leader and some of the most popular triggers are;

• Busy schedules - time

• Meetings

• Emails

• Phone calls

• Employee interruptions

We all cope with stress in a different way. The key to a healthy life both at work and in pleasure is to manage yourself to reduce or eliminate the stress factors. This is the ideal world and rare for all of us.

So if we cannot eliminate stress, we need to understand how we can self-manage it and how it impacts on us and our behaviours. The key is that in order to better manage stress, we need to change our ways – not something we are always happy with.

Tips to manage stress…

• Use a priority list
  

  • Plan your next day before you leave work for the day.

• Email management
  

  • Check emails during set periods each day. If anyone urgently needs you they can call you or better still, come and see you.

• Meeting management
  

  • Ensure every meeting you attend has a clear goal, agenda and detailed action items following the meeting - make sure it makes a difference

• Time out
  

  • Take 5 minutes an our to rest your brain. Take a walk, look away, do some stretches etc to give your mind a break

• Focus on HPA’s
  

  • By focusing on High Payoff Activities you pay attention to tasks that make a difference and systematically stop focusing on non value add distractions

The key is to understand your stressors and work towards eliminating, reducing or managing them to make your life more enjoyable and productive.