STRESS

REASONS NOT TO GET STRESSED?

1. STRESS MAKES YOU GAIN WEIGHT There are several ways in which stress can contribute to weight gain.

ONE HAS TO DO WITH CORTISOL, A STRESS HORMONE. When we’re under stress, the fight or flight response is triggered in our bodies, leading to the release of this hormone.

Higher and more prolonged levels of cortisol in the bloodstream (like those associated with chronic stress) have been shown to have negative effects, such as: Increased abdominal fat, which is associated with a greater

amount of health problems than fat deposited in other areas of the body.

Some of the health problems associated with increased stomach fat are heart attacks, strokes,! Source: www.wellsphere.com

2. STRESS AGES YOU! There is a lot of evidence to suggest that emotional stress is perhaps

the SINGLE GREATEST AGING FACTOR. We have all seen how quickly presidents age after four years (of

fighting unnecessary wars, for example). This is because stress damages the body in many different ways.

Recently scientists have identified a link between premature ageing and stress

Source: http://stress.about.com/od/stresshealth/a/weightgain.htm

REASONS NOT TO GET STRESSED, CONT…3. STRESS CAN KILL Simply stated, stress allows your

immune system to fall down on the job. It can heighten your risk of CANCER AND AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE, AS WELL AS INCREASE YOUR RISK OF INFECTIONS. It also increases your possibility of arterial aging, heart disease, stroke, impotence, memory loss, and early wrinkles of the skin.

Continuous stress can also create a vicious cycle of sleep problems: if you don’t sleep, you’re even more

stressed. And if you’re more stressed, you don’t sleep. It’s a brutal cycle and one of the greatest causes of insomnia.

Chronic stress can also lead to anxiety disorders. Anxiety disorders can affect your mental and physical health and well-being.

Source: http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Can_Stress_Kill.html

CAN STRESS BE A GOOD THING Positive roles of stress:

Stress is sometimes needed as a MOTIVATOR. If we have a tight deadline, stress can push us toward completion of a project

If we face a new challenge—stress can keep us mentally sharp

 Therefore…eliminating stress is not necessarily good, Limiting Or Managing Stress Is More Realistic And Necessary

WAYS TO REDUCE STRESSAs workers we can reduce stress by CHANGING THE WAY WE MANAGE TIME AND TASKS—proper management of these things will reduce stress and create a more satisfying work environment.

TIME AND TASK MANAGEMENT Most people are more satisfied

when they are productive. Time and task management results in productivity

5 time and task management skills that will make you more valuable to your company, an effective professional and more productive in your personal life

1. Target your efforts on the most important tasks—value clarification

2. Be a goal getter, not a goal setter

3. Do the constructive things first

4. Avoid time-wasters5. Effectively delegate (even if

you are not the boss)

TARGET YOUR EFFORTS ON THE MOST IMPORTANT TASKS—VALUE CLARIFICATION WHAT ARE YOUR VALUES? Value clarification should be your

high priority. Try to understand your companies values, your work values as well as your own personal values

When your values are clear you can make quicker better decisions about the use of your time and efforts First, name the value that is

important to you Naming and defining values provides

criteria for evaluating the tasks that you face

Work first on tasks that support your values

YOU ARE PRODUCTIVE when you use your limited time to complete work that is valuable to you (you should not get sidetracked by unimportant tasks).

BE A GOAL GETTER NOT A GOAL SETTER

Setting goals is great, getting goals is better Goals should come from your values Time should not be wasted on things that do

not translate into you achieving your goals You goals should meet the following six

criteria1. Written—an unwritten goal is only a wish2. Concrete and specific—clear goals

motivate, fuzzy ones do not3. Realistic—goals should challenge us but

not beyond what is reasonable4. Measureable—Find ways to count actions,

example: exercise goals…count the number of miles that you ran

5. Tied to a deadline—a deadline creates constructive urgency

6. Value-anchored—value-based goals create direction in the mind. Goals that do not support your values are useless

DO CONSTRUCTIVE THINGS FIRST Try the ABC’s of prioritization Create a list of all the things that you

need to do tomorrow In your list, put the letter A

next to items that MUST BE DONE—this A priority means that these things are important that they must be done—these things move you towards your goals—THESE PRIORITIES ARE DETERMINED BY YOUR CORE VALUES

Use the letter B to indicate things that you should do—

these tasks are not as critical as the A list but they are worth spending time on

Use the letter C for could to items—these are worth

listing if you get all of the A and B’s done you can start to complete the C’s

If something unexpected pops up during the day ASSIGN IT A STAR –be sure that the task is urgent and important…USE THE STAR RARELY

USE A PLANNER SPEND 10 MINUTES A DAY PLANNING

BEFORE YOU BEGIN YOUR DAY You can focus on constructive

activities with daily planning. Use a planner system for recording your plan of action and for tracking key information.

Your Planner should: List and assign priorities to tasks for

each day Record notes and follow-up information Display your goals and values File frequently referred to information,

especially addresses phone numbers and email addresses important dates customer preferences etc…

When a planner is used at work employees usually see about a 25% boost in their productivity

AVOID TIME WASTERS1. Interruptions or fragmented

work Assertively decline to be interrupted,

if someone asks have a minute, let them know you do not

2. Unproductive communication Choose the right media and choose a

productive one. Do not send an email when a personal visit is necessary. Do not sent a letter when a phone call is necessary.

3. Clutter, paperwork and overload computer files

Handle each paper or each email only ONCE. Learn to make decisions and do not postpone actions on each email, letter, memo or document.

4. Work area Clean up and de-clutter. Organize

your work area. Minimize the number of electronic files that your print.

TIME WASTERS CONT…

5. Procrastination (put things off) Understand why you procrastinate

Fear of failure Fear of success, or The desire to rebel Use your daily priority task list to limit procrastination

6. Perfection paralysis Some things just do not have to be perfect and

striving for perfection will just waist time. Get yourself doing something and then adjust what you need to adjust as necessary.

DELEGATING TASKS TO REDUCE STRESS You do not have to be a boss

to delegate. As an employee you can delegate a task whenever someone else can do it more efficiently, cheaply or better than you can.

If you can delegate work, you excuse yourself from doing it. This is also efficient.

The more you can delegate the more you have time to complete other activities. You may also relieve yourself of a lot of unnecessary stress.

WHY PEOPLE MAY NOT DELEGATE?

Lack of confidence in others The job may not get done exactly as you like or at

all. You may have to get rid of the notion that there is only one way to do something and accept the way that others to the job.

I can do it myself reasoning You probably can, but you have to ask yourself the

question…is doing it yourself the most productive way of doing it?

Fear of not getting recognition You will get credit for productivity no matter who

does the work. Leaders know that productive people rarely do work alone. They accomplish work in efficient ways and it almost always involves the efforts of others.

MANAGING STRESS EFFECTIVELY

Time and task management is one of the most effective techniques fro keeping stress within reasonable bounds.

All jobs have stress but some of this stress can be useful. The challenge that workers have is not to eliminate stress but manage it.