Business and Marketing

Keep things in perspective. When people become anxious and stressed out, they tend to view all irritations and problems as critical. If you become emotionally drained over small, inconsequential problems, you will deplete energy resources that would normally be reserved for dealing with critical challenges. In this respect, you will perform like a marathon racer who exhausts herself by running a series of high-speed sprints before the race is even under way. To conserve your energy, learn to keep your problems in perspective by identifying those few work situations that truly require a high level of vigilance and effort.

Make decisions during low-stress periods. Although it’s impossible to predict with 100% certainty the types of situations that will trigger excessive stress, if you carefully track your stress over a period of days or weeks you will probably find that you experience a stress cycle of predictable highs and lows. For example, your stress level may build immediately before you are to meet with your manager or certain customers. Highlight on your weekly calendar any upcoming events or responsibilities that are likely to create stress for you. If possible, avoid making key decisions during these periods, and save important decision making meetings for times when your stress level is moderate and your attention is fully focused on the task at hand.

Be ruthlessly honest with yourself about recognizing situations in which you are not emotionally and mentally prepared to wrestle with difficult work issues. Regulate your level of work direction. Managers experiencing excessive stress tend to have difficulty balancing the degree of supervision they provide to their groups. Some managers intervene too quickly, resulting in micro management and nervous hovering. Others go to the opposite extreme, procrastinating about acting on stressful work situations until their stress level builds up to the point where they overwhelm their group with critical feedback on a variety of problems.