Stressful Times

Oct 1, 2010 | |
How you react during crisis  and manage your stress level tells a lot about you.

If you are like me where crisis strikes rarely, moments like this can be turned into learning experiences.

There are few things to keep in mind:

Handling pressure- Having to deal with the pressure is good perhaps because it keeps you alert and open. It also suddenly teaches you lessons of a lifetime in handling it and keeping your sanity itact also at the same time.
To learn more about stress and learning to handle it, read this.

Using the time effectively- When you encounter situations where decisions have to be made quickly, everyone wants to make the right use of time. 

Ensure:
·         You know your current situation based on reality and not assumptions
·         You know your goal and what you want to decide
·         You are aware of the time factor and not procrastinating decisions
·         You are using time effectively for your own benefit.
To learn more on stress management click here 

Support – Your social support is perhaps one of the most important thing at this point. If you are lucky, you already have a strong array of family and friends there for you. No one can make the decision for you, however they can be your sounding board to test ideas, talk about other options and just the fact that they area round you is enough to keep you going.

Creating Opportunity- You might not be writing a blog post out of it, but you sure can take the time to make the best decision for you based on the opportunities you have. 

Chances are you are more open to earning more about yourself and what you can do, this might be the best time to try out things you have been waiting to try.  Your acceptance of the situation and willingness to try new things can bring up more than you have been expecting. Before you decide, listen to everyone, look into every single details and most importantly listen to yourself. Don’t let the confusing time drag you down. Make the decision that works best for you- emotionally and professionally.

Vulnerability- When in tough situations especially if it is publicly known, feelings of vulnerability are natural.  It almost like standing in the glass box where people pass by freely with their opinions about you.  The fear of being judged on everything is a nightmare but if you look into more calmly, you will realize you get to know you, your fears which you have been avoiding and things that you haven’t really noticed before.  Use this as an opportunity to know from others and you what you should be working on, where you lack and what you can do about it.
If it can happen to pros, its ok if it happens to you.

Listen you your body- It never lies. You knew this was coming you just wasn't prepared for it. Next time, when your body gives up, don't take it for granted. it has more to say than we realize.

Want to read more and reduce your stress, try here .

1 comments:

Robert Steele said...

I especially like the last suggestion here - "Listen to your body."

I get very stressed at times, and listening to my body is the first thing I do. When I'm stressed, I wake up with my jaw locked in place, a pounding headache, and no feeling of rest. This happened often for the last few months of a job in sales. Customer dissatisfaction had been on a high, resources on a low, and project management in complete disarray. The company I worked for was trying to expand their business into multiple locations while dramatically distancing themselves from the locations they already had. Because of this, the top stressor at work was miscommunication in project management. Sticky notes were used to initiate projects, the priority of which no one knew. I could go on and on, but, in short, projects went unplanned, un-moderated, and poorly completed (if at all).

As I look back, the best thing that they could have done is introduce a work management tool. A mere project management tool would be great, yes - work management software even better. With it, this company could have organized its tasks, projects, programs, and regular operations in an orderly way that would best serve the employees, in turn serving the customers, and in the end serving the business. I am saying this because of the stress management skills I have learned as I have implemented work management software. I use AtTask in my current occupation, and my stress levels are minimal - I am relaxed, yet still able to be efficient.