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...
Stéphane ParentSelf Employed / Semi-retired| Leader MakerPrince Edward Island, Canada
While I include some meditation in my day, I find a workout or run at lunch time a great way to manage stress. It breaks the day and you feel like your afternoon is a second morning.
Consider joining an outside organization like Toastmasters where you not only get to grow in your communication and leadership skills but also develop a professional network and some support. Toastmasters is a great esteem and confidence booster. Saving Changes...
Michael AdamsSolutions Architect| LANLLos Alamos, Nm, United States
Have kids! The stress of work is nothing compared to the stress of parenting...puts it all into perspective! LOL
More seriously, I agree with Stephane. I take Tae Kwon Do classes, twice a week. It is excellent exercise, requires focus, builds community, and just generally healthy.
I also try to tell lots of work related jokes. Also, if you don't step away and take some time to clear your head, your productivity and creative thinking for work will diminish, so even when you feel stressed (especially when you feel stressed) you have to step away and do something different...exercise, see a movie, talk about something interesting with a group of friends, etc... When you go back to your project, your thinking will be clear and you'll be more productive.
Finally, have you discussed the realities of the project with stakeholders and the sponsor? They may decide the thing to do is reduce scope and focus on specifically what the business really needs. Saving Changes...
Robert ProlProject Manager| KPMG LLPEast Sandwich, Ma, United States
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.
...
1 reply by Steven Zachary
Dec 30, 2015 1:07 PM
Steven Zachary
...
Awesome Haiku, i'll be using some creative licence on that.... ;)
Saving Changes...
Al TaylorI.T. Contractor| IndependentWaterloo, Ontario, Canada
good discussion...random thoughts...
1. On a recent blog someone used the phrase "the joy of the profession" Keeping in touch with the joy and embracing it is one way to eliminate stress.
2. Grady Booch called 'fixed period' projects Death Marches
3. Try saying NO once in a while Saving Changes...
Dominic LawProduct Manager| PCCW GlobalHappy Valley, Hong Kong
Root cause of the stress could be certain issues that cannot be solved right now. It is a good idea to explicitly list the issues out so you give yourself a peace of mind that you are dealing with the stress. Having some time "off the mind" such as meditation or physical exercise can help thinking from a different angle. Sometimes talking to someone about the issues, such as this forum, can give you the idea.
Note that different people feel different level of stress for the same issue, due to different background, training or personal experience. So some training to understand your own character can also help! Saving Changes...
Thejassu RaghavanEngagement Manager in Agile environment| WinWire Technologies LtdBangalore, India
Meditation or listening to music can relax you very well.
Also 15-30 minutes of personal time end of the day will re-energize you. This can be anything you like as simple as a walk. Saving Changes...
Sreeramulu BonthalaSr. Development Lead| MicrosoftHyderabad, Telangana, India
Agree with Raghavan view. Also, I always separated out professional & personal life. I gave prior information in home that, my availability will be very minimal during the upcoming period. This helped me in concentrating at work. Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
There are two things you are responsible for: your space and your time. Time and space come together. Nobody can take your time and your space. If you do not understand that there is no way to deal with stress because no matter the type or characteristics of a project stress will allways there by definition. So, sorry to say that, but the first thing you have to do is to assume that you are the owner of your time and space and it is your responsability what you will do with both. Saving Changes...
alan rossneyProject Manager| jacobs EngineeringDublin, Dublin, Ireland
12 pointers to Managing stress -
1 deal with issues as they arise
2, pace yourself
3, realise your limits
4, flex yourself
5, talk out the issues
6, be positive
7 distance the crazy makers
8, delegate
9 eat well & exercise
10, sleep
11.breathe..don't hold your breath
12. have fun.
I think I found this originally on a site called professionalism matters Saving Changes...
You will need to address the root cause of it. It looks like underestimation of the project is causing issue. if so buy in some time or try if possible to load more resources, try to avoid rework as much as you can. Saving Changes...
