The Find: The stock market may be going down but your blood pressure is probably heading up thanks to the increased demands of work in a tough economy; here are five tips to help you de-stress.- The Source: An interview with Donna Rae Smith, founder and chairman of Bright Side, on the HR World blog.
The Takeaway: If market turmoil and the gloomy economic climate have your manager demanding ever more of you, don't simply try to cram more and more into your limited work day. Smith suggests that there are concrete steps you can take to accomplish more in less time and with less stress:
- Streamline: start by focusing on accomplishing those tasks to assure your future happens the way you want. "Don't become distracted by the insignificant or get caught in the swirl of busyness doing things that don't add value," says Smith.
- Meet smart: make the most of people's time. "Brief, regular meetings to update progress, make decisions and commit to next steps are more efficient and effective than grand, comprehensive gatherings."
- The rule of three: free yourself from being chained to e-mail by restricting yourself to checking it only three times a day: in the morning, mid-day and near day's end.
- Chunk it: establish "chunks" of time where you are cut off and don't respond to others in order to focus completely on important tasks.
- Go off peak: instead of eating lunch between noon and 1:00 p.m., go to lunch at 11:00 a.m. or at 1:30 p.m. The lines will be shorter and you'll be served more quickly, and during the relative peace while everyone else is at lunch, you'll be able to focus and get more done.
The Question: Help out a fellow BNET reader: what's your best stress management tip?
(Image of miracle products by tuey, CC 2.0)
Jessica Stillman
Jessica lives in London where she works as a freelance writer with interests in green business and tech, management, and marketing.
