What to do when you’re STRESSED OUT!
Sometimes it feels like you can't possibly finish everything you HAVE to get done between now and a certainly deadline.
So you stress out about it.
But that is a waste of your emotional energy, and when you waste emotional energy you are draining the energy that you need to get all of that done.
When I'm tearing around the house shouting "Aaaa! I'm so STRESSED OUT!"
My husband says "So? Stop stressing out!"
We all know it's not that simple, but over time I learned that my stress level WAS something that I could control, to a certain degree.
1) Recognize that stressing out is a waste of your energy
The state of being under stress is not something you can control, but you can control your behaviour: how you respond to it. A stressed out person is frantic, edgy, shouts, runs around trying to do everything at once. A not-stresed out person is calm. Speaks softly. Addresses one problem at a time. Ignores the unimportant. Change your behavior to match the non-stressed (even if you are) and it will help change your mood.
2) Write down everything you need to do before the deadline. Remember: NEED to do - not probably should do.
This is an emergency! I don't have time to write a stupid list!
This is an emergency. This the time when you ABSOLUTELY need to focus only on what is critical.
3) Prioritize.
What are the consequences of letting something slide for an hour? a day? a week? a month, even? If it's not on fire TODAY, put it at the bottom of the list. Remember your BIG ROCKS.
If there are still lots of things that need to get done, do they absolutely have to get done BY YOU? Are there things you can take care of by phone or online? Can you get your friend, husband, or coworker to take one or two tasks off your plate? Can you hire a task out instead of doing it yourself?
Be RUTHLESS with your list. Focus. Survive.
4) Work from the top of the list down.
Ignore everything that can be ignored, starting with everything electronic. If it isn't a call you are expecting, related to the urgent tasks at hand, let it go to voicemail. Answer them in batches after lunch or at the end of the day. Politely tell people that you're dealing with a crisis and would prefer if you could talk to them later.
Bail out of meetings, or ask whether they can be moved.
Keep at problem #1 like a dog on a bone until you can cleanly scratch it off the list. Then work diligently on the next.
Remember that stress is a response, not a mandatory state of being when you're busy.
There's no use stressing out over what you need to do. Just calm down and do it.