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Handling Pressure
Apparently, November the first was stress awareness day, well, well, well. I don’t know if this was meant to make us all aware that we should be experiencing stress, or if not perhaps we should go out and get some. Seriously though, stress does have its foundation in and a direct correlation to pressure, whether this is financial, in relationships or at work. All of those can result in stress.
Let’s have a bit of common sense here. Pressure can be good for us. It gets us going. It can raise us to new levels of activity, achievement and, of course, creativity but it has to be managed. We are all living in a world where we are inundated with information. We are all expected to achieve more and we all have higher expectations. But let me say it again, stress and pressure must be managed. If it is not it can lead to serious illness that requires expert medical treatment which this short article is not about to address. Surely prevention is far better than the cure.
The three biggest causes of stress at work requiring medical treatment are as follows:
Mismanagement of time. People not being trained how to manage their time and therefore not being on top of the job. Inability to prioritise, taking bulging briefcases home which remain unopened and leave them feeling guilty the next day. As we all know nobody can manage time, there are only 60 minutes in an hour and 24 hours in a day. We need to learn how better to manage ourselves in that given time. It is the biggest cause of people being off work under stress and requiring medical help.
People given a new job to do and then not being trained how to do it causes stress. This is caused by change, which none of us can stop but we need to understand it. The goal posts get moved. Individuals then are given new or bigger tasks that they don’t know how to tackle so they don’t do them. They then try to hide what they haven’t done and massive stress and fear builds up.
It is rare in the private sector but common in the public sector and is best described as sheer work overload with only a once a year appraisal. Far too few managers have been trained in appraisals. The once a year should be a 360 degree motivational event and can be interspersed with a half yearly or quarterly appraisal. But the really effective leader as opposed to a manager is appraising daily, watching and listening to their people.
So let’s address the finest and most effective way of preventing stress due to personal time mismanagement. Out of this simple idea all of the time management systems have evolved, from the filofax to palm computers, but very sadly they have complicated the original and most effective system of all. In fact, many people have discovered that they needed more time to manage their time management system! The original system that I use and propagate in all of my people and contacts is as follows:
At the end of the day just prior to finishing work write down the ‘to do list’ for tomorrow.
Now number that list in order of importance. In other words the most important job becomes number one.
The following day when you decide to start work, go straight to number one and keep at it until it has been accomplished. Then to number two and so on.
Yes this is incredibly simplistic but is astoundingly successful. Even if one only completes three tasks out of 20 they are of course the three most important. We all have the responsibility of managing our own brain. The brain is more motivated when it sees itself achieving. It has often been said that happiness comes from a ticked off to do list. And if we are happier we are less pressurised.
Richard Denny is chairman of The Richard Denny Group specialising in business training and executive recruitment. He is also the author of four international best sellers and speaks throughout the world on business skills. www.denny.co.uk
