Rush is stress: Be calm, cool and collected
by Lionel Wijesiri
Pew Research Centre, an international non-partisan fact tank informs
the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. In
a recent report, it says: "Those who feel rushed are less likely to be
very happy, so much so that, 42 percent of the respondents who always
felt rushed were almost never happy."
Time
pressure is a legitimate stress that can cause psychological, social,
and physical ailments. The solution, according to Pew Centre, is to
simplify our lives. Simplifying lives, doing less rather than more, does
not have to be at the expense of success.
If you want to feel more energetic, relaxed, and confident to meet
the challenges and opportunities your day brings, you might want to
consider trading in the morning and an afternoon of mad rush for a more
measured routine.
Here are four effective strategies to help spend the day in a
calm,cool, and collected manner.
Step 1: Energy
The first rule is to have energy. It is important to know how to
acquire it and how to focus on it. But first, one must have it--and a
surprising number of people don't.
Energy is an active, positive quality, a desire to get things done,
and do it correctly, move from one point to another, rise to a specific
goal, advance to a new position or accomplish a given task. Some people
are born with it; they put their heart and soul into everything they do,
and invariably succeed. Others work hard enough, but it's an uphill task
all the way.
Perhaps, the best way to develop energy is: Split your day into the
smallest possible segments of time. Treat each segment as independent
and worthwhile in itself.
Once you've broken your work into components, you can launch first
into one thing, get it done, and then move to the next task. It will
give you a change of pace and a renewed sense of accomplishment.
For years, I began work in a state of anxiety and rage. My desk was a
sea of messages and mail when I arrived. The phone was continually
ringing, and people were lined up to see me. By 10.30 a.m. I was in a
frazzle, overwrought and resentful, so that I had worked for two hours
and not completed a single task.
Finally, I decided it was important to begin the day by accomplishing
something, however trivial. I decided to spend the first hour answering
the mail, during which time I would take no telephone calls nor see
anyone. I treated the mail as a separate block of work, important but
finite. After I had read it, answered, and taken necessary action, I
enjoyed a cup of coffee - my reward, for a task completed, and took a
walk round the office.
It wasn't long before I began to look forward to my first hour in
office; it gave me a sense of achievement and purpose. I could apply my
energy to a limited task, instead of letting it dissipate early in the
day by not being focused on anything.
Step Two: Control laziness
Too many of us fail because we delay in tackling the most difficult
jobs that would win us recognition. We are held back by simple laziness,
which produces a kind of permanent inertia if allowed to fester. The
trick is to use it, to transform a negative quality into a positive
reinforcement.
Say you have a big project, one that will take several hours.
Tell yourself that when it's done you can be 'lazy' again, and that
the only thing preventing you from enjoying being 'lazy' is the project.
Then, attack it as if it were the enemy, get it out of the way, and
give yourself a spell of earned laziness. Once you have developed a
capacity for turning yourself on and utilizing your full energy briefly,
you can go on to use it for longer periods.
The trick is to put yourself in touch with it in the first place, and
when it has been tapped, you discover it is an inexhaustible resource.
Step 3: Be natural
Many people spend their days locked in mortal combat with their
natural habits and behavioural patterns. Nothing could be more
counter-productive. If you're not a morning person, don't overload
yourself with major tasks early in the day. But if you like to go to bed
early and rise early, schedule your hardest tasks first.
If you thrive on routine work, devise one that you can live with and
enjoy. But be sure it is variable enough to give you an occasional
change of pace.
Naturally, you will have to make compromises from time to time. But
keep in mind that the more energy you spend fighting your inclinations,
the less you will have for the work in hand.
Step 4: Motivate memory
If one wishes to succeed, one can't afford to forget things. Yet, it
is a waste of time spent on trying to remember, what could have just as
easily been put on paper. So, become a list maker. Many successful
people are compulsive about written lists.
Another trick to help you remember things is to care about them. If
successful people have phenomenal memories, it's because they are
totally wrapped up in what they're doing.
It's no problem for them to remember facts, figures and names related
to their primary interests. But, since it's not essential to remember
everything, your first task must be to find out what is important, and
decide on your priorities.
These four basic but highly effective techniques known to successful
people everywhere can help you organize your days and get things done. |