Work Place Stress: Staying Calm Even During Times of Chaos

We all know that if you work, there is stress associated with it.?Trying to balance your professional and personal life causes stress.?It’s impossible to satisfy all the masters in our lives.

Combine this with looming deadlines, expectations about instant communication through text and more, dealing with other human beings and heavy workloads it’s no wonder more and more employees complain about workplace stress.??

We come to work often feeling tension or pressure from our personal lives.?We are bombarded at work with constant interruptions and more to do than is possible and feel pressure from work.?Then we leave the office to face the challenges of managing our personal lives.

It’s a recipe for overload, and when we are in overload we aren’t at our best personally or as productive and creative at work.

Don’t quit reading now thinking you might as well throw in the towel and accept workplace stress as just part of your life, and there is nothing you can do about it.?There are strategies you can use even when situations at work get more chaotic and amped to reduce your stress and stay calm during these times

Strategy #1:?Ignore the voice in your head.?

You know the one I mean.?The one that says “you should be more productive or you’re a failure or successful people get it all done”…the voice that says something negative about you.?All that voice does is stress you out more. You’re not only overloaded and perhaps overwhelmed, now you are listening to this voice that says “you’re a loser and won’t be able to get it done and make others happy anyhow.”?Don’t just turn the volume down, though that’s a good step, turn it off.

Strategy #2:?Not everything has the same priority.?

I sat down today to write this article and was starting to feel anxious, stressed.?All I could think about was how much I had to do and it really truly did need to be done this week.?

Writing an article takes me time, and time I felt I didn’t have.

I took a deep breath (really I did) and wrote a list of everything that positively, absolutely has to be done this week.?It’s not everything that is on my weekly plan, but it is the high priority items. If all I do are those items (which is still a lot to do) and my clients I will be satisfied. You have to drop something off the plate or hand something off.?There are no other options.

Strategy #3:?Keep your emotions in check.?

When we feel anxious or stressed, it’s easy to see everything as dark, wrong and frustrating.?We will focus on what’s not yet done, how far we have to go, what isn’t working and all the problems instead of what is working, how far we have come and solutions that are found.?

It becomes a vicious cycle of worry, stress, and problem-focused further increasing your stress.

Strategy #4:?Breathe or meditate.

I confess I am not that good at meditating.?I try to meditate regularly and truly believe in the benefits of meditation but I struggle with stillness.?

If you can meditation has huge physical and emotional benefits. Deep breathing exercises really help.

Sometimes I will do breathing exercises with a client before we start working because they are jacked up when they get to our meeting,?

There are resources on Google or if you want to send me your email and name I’ll send you what I use with clients.

Strategy #5:?Setting boundaries is critical.?

Over the last few months, I’ve written a number of articles on this topic.?You can go to www.incedogroup.com/blog and find them.?Bottom line is that you have to learn to say no, negotiate deadlines, options and more and put boundaries on your time availability.?

Strategy #6:?Accept your limitations.?

This is more than ignoring the voice in your head.?And it’s not about giving yourself excuses.

It is openly and honestly assessing what needs to be done, your available time, what is currently on your schedule and determining if it is a requirement or can be adjusted.?

This week I have about 20 hours of project work (writing etc.) that needs to be fit around client appointments.?

Right now I have about 15 hours of open time in my calendar.?My options are to push off something, delegate something (though that isn’t an option I actually have), come in earlier to find the extra hours I need OR accept that I can’t actually do what’s on my plan.?If I accept the limitations I have that are factual, then I decide how I want to proceed?

You can’t change the crazy stuff that happens at work or the crazy people you work with.?It exists in every company. You can change your response to the chaos and crazy though, which will help reduce your stress.??

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Linda Finkle

Executives and top performers in leading companies rely on Executive Coach Linda Finkle to call them on their blind spots, expand their influence, and create bigger things for themselves and the companies they lead. High-achieving professionals from Ameriprise, Mass Mutual, Blue Cross Blue Shield, major law firms, and dozens of others have come to know Linda as their secret weapon to overcome leadership and communication challenges that stand in their way of making an even bigger impact.

Linda is described as ‘the best of both worlds in that she understands revenue pipeline management as well as running organization day-to-day’ and ‘an invaluable resource and advisor’ by others. No matter how they describe her, clients regularly welcome the benefits that come from their work together. Most notably, clients’ gross revenues skyrocketed, communication skills have been refined creating a lasting ripple effect across the organization, allowing them to make bigger impacts at work and in their personal lives, and learn smarter ways of adding value without burning out.

Known for her great rapport and relationship-focused demeanor, she is often called direct and has a truth-telling way about her. Linda Finkle has coached and trained more than 2,000 leaders in six countries since 2001. Widely known as “The Elephant Chaser”, Linda has a reputation for going straight for the throat of whatever problems a business is having and working closely with leaders and managers to resolve them and to heighten the company’s overall performance. Whether working one-on-one with clients, as an inspiring speaker, as a leadership team facilitator, or with partnerships in distress, Linda is committed to guiding clients to clarity about their communications, behaviors, and stumbling blocks that stand in the way of their effectiveness.

Before launching Incedo Group, LLC, Linda built and managed an executive recruiting firm for more than twenty years. Her recruitment agency identified talent for Fortune 500 companies and small to mid-sized businesses as well and ranked among the top 10 recruiting firms in the country. Her ability to understand the corporate culture and needs of the company for both the long and short term ensured her clients returned time and again. Even today, clients and candidates from her recruiting days reach out to her for advice, help, and guidance.