Chintan Jariwala, PMP, CSMProject Manager, IT Business Analyst| Sailfin Technologies India Pvt LtdSurat, Gujarat, India
Working in Fixed Period & limited budget IT Projects, I have faced tremendous difficulties in balancing Professional & Personal life. Frankly, It was my personal life which suffered a lot. Although, I am not a person who takes the stress that easily, I incorporated meditation in my daily life.
Could you share your thoughts how you did or you would manage the stress & esteem your self to work? Saving Changes...
Andreas MadjariSenior Consultant| consigma Management Beratung GmbHVienna, Austria
The previous posts already sum up quite nicely very good approaches to dealing with stress:
The most important thing of course is realizing that you are under stress, then take a step back to relax a little and come out of the vicious circle. This will allow you to follow up on the good advice already given here. Looking at the root cause, as with any issue, is important to avoid getting into the same situation again. A lot of the other suggestions will help you to sustainably stay out all of the unhealthy stress level.
Among the problematic aspects of long-term stress is that it diminishes your ability to distinguish between urgent and important. Following up on the urgent stuff regardless of its importance is very likely to keep you on the stress continuously and at the same time negatively impacting your efficiency.
Also remember: your health is a precondition for your job, so looking after your health also means properly preparing for your job. Saving Changes...
I (try to) set priorities. Family first. But, it's very important for me to do not allow my work to climb the priority I originally assigned to it.
Every once in a while, make a stop and review how the things are going. At least, every time you feel uncomfortable with something, even if you don't know what it is, stop, and try to identify the problem as a first step to solve it. Saving Changes...
Bala S DuvvuriProject Manager| ShellBangalore, Karnataka, India
I came across an article which is relevant to the subject in discussion and thought i will share here.
Once there were a group of man – a young hot-blooded guy and a big
number of old folks, doing timber job in a jungle (i.e. chopping down
trees).
This young chap is very hard working. He always continues to work
through his break time and complains that those old folks were
wasting time, having to break few times a day to drink and chat.
As times goes by, this young guy noticed that even though he worked
through break time and hardly took a rest… those old folks are chopping
the same amount of trees as he did and sometimes did more than he
did. It was as if those old folks work through the break time as he did. So
he decided to work harder the next day…unfortunately the results
were even worse.
One day, one of the old folk invited him for a drink during their break
time. That young guy refused and said he has no extra time to spend!
Then the old man smiled to him and said “It was just a waste of effort
to keep chopping trees without re-sharpening your knife. Sooner or
later you will give up or be so exhausted as you have spent too much
energy.” Suddenly the young man realized that actually during break
times while those old folks were having a chat, they were also re-
sharpening their knife at the same time! And that’s how they can chop
faster than him and yet spending lesser time! The old man said “What
we need is efficiency by making use of our skill and ability
intelligently. Only then can we have more times to do other things.
Otherwise you will always keep saying … I have no time!”
The morale of the story: –
By taking a short break during work, it would make you feel fresher,
think well and work better after the break! (Or am I just finding excuse
to take a break?)
But by taking a break, it is not to stop work but to rest and re-think our
strategy to go about it from another angle.
Think smart, work smart and rest smart. Saving Changes...
I haven't tried this way but worth trying this technique I suppose
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1 reply by Steven Zachary
Dec 30, 2015 1:10 PM
Steven Zachary
...
I've tried this. I think David Allen's work hits it on the nail. He processes to zero, which i've never been able to do. But dealing with everything in a comprehensive system with checks and balances and reviews is essential.
Saving Changes...
Steven ZacharyDirector| Alberta Health ServicesCalgary, Alberta, Canada
Dec 15, 2015 1:27 PM
Replying to Robert Prol
...
Here's a Haiku to help you:
Always find the root /
or you'll solve the wrong problem /
and pain continues
You need to determine what the root of the stress is, and address that. Sometimes it's unrealistic expectations from management, lack of expertise in getting the work done, pressure to work longer hours for more "face time". Each of these has a different solution. Fix the underlying problem, or you'll just suffer more.
Awesome Haiku, i'll be using some creative licence on that.... ;) Saving Changes...
Steven ZacharyDirector| Alberta Health ServicesCalgary, Alberta, Canada
Time is scarce. It's all about prioritization.
I wish I could do more in a day. Stacks of books and magazines, blog posts, emails, friends and family, podcasts. It's endless.
I like to refer to this as the information firehouse. Inevitably it's not being to proud to ask for help, delegating where you think someone can do a better job, viewing things at a higher level and prioritizing. Saving Changes...
Steven ZacharyDirector| Alberta Health ServicesCalgary, Alberta, Canada
Dec 24, 2015 3:52 AM
Replying to Sandilyan Ramadoss
...
That reminds me this, one popular technique pomodoro
I haven't tried this way but worth trying this technique I suppose
I've tried this. I think David Allen's work hits it on the nail. He processes to zero, which i've never been able to do. But dealing with everything in a comprehensive system with checks and balances and reviews is essential. Saving Changes...
Saurabh MathurProject Manager, PMP, PMI-ACP, CSM, ITIL®,SSGB| Publicis SapientGhaziabad, Uttar Pardesh (U.P.), India
Stress is part of life nowadays.you can not ignore it but you can try to limit it by following rules:
1) Start you days with a good morning walk.fresh air bring fresh thoughts.
2) set ground rules for Proffesional working,dont try to please everyone.
3) Take a small break in during work.
4) Do discuss the problem,Do root cause analysis.
5) Keep sharing the tasks.you can not do all work by yourself.
6) Keep Team environment healthy.They are the ultimate one makes tasks stress or fun. Saving Changes...
Al TaylorI.T. Contractor| IndependentWaterloo, Ontario, Canada
@Saurabh....great post...very good points!....Al
#5 is a very good point; I have seen PMs internalize their project and try to do it all themselves
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1 reply by Saurabh Mathur
Jan 05, 2016 2:01 PM
Saurabh Mathur
...
Thanks @AI Taylor
Saving Changes...
Michael AdamsSolutions Architect| LANLLos Alamos, Nm, United States
