Mar
18

Stress? I have NO clue what you’re talking about

Stress gotcha down? Read highlights from a recent workshop I attended (plus thoughts from yours truly) below.

I went to a great workshop today called “Accomplishing More with Less,” led by Pierre Khawand from People on the Go. It was chock-full of great time management and organization techniques, but the part I found most useful was the portion on stress reduction and stress management.

Three categories of stress:
1.    We have unfinished or unresolved items hanging over us
2.    When things or people are not the way we want them to be
3.    When we are overly concerned about what happened in our past or might happen in our future

The Assumption Wheel (Five steps to break something stressful into manageable chunks):

  1. Data: What are the facts? (focus on real data)
  2. Mind: How am I interpreting those facts? What assumptions am I making? Also includes opinions, conclusions.
  3. Feelings: How do I feel about the situation?
  4. Wants: What do I want? (Usually something deeper than the first answer that comes to mind)
  5. Actions: What do I do about the situation?

One of the main takeaways for me was that stress often comes from irrational beliefs that something should be a certain way, or that people should act in ways that are consistent with what we want. Pierre gave a helpful reminder to the class: we have more control over the action we take than the beliefs or feelings we hold. During stressful times, it’s important to step back, look at the situation from a fresh perspective, and identify actions that will move you forward (rather than spin in circles about why something or someone is the way it is). This makes us more creative, and puts us in a better position to move forward and influence situations.

The final technique from the workshop for dealing with stress is the tried and true (but often difficult to put in practice) method of being in the present moment. In Pierre’s words, “Only by noticing what’s happening now can we influence the future.”

I have a few other stress strategies up my sleeve…check out Stress Happens…Whaddaya Gonna Do About It? for more tips. Sneak preview of the five steps mentioned in my earlier post: Recognize, Breathe, Walk, Write, and Forgive.

Ultimately we’re all different (insight of the year!) and stress will rear its head in a variety of ways. I’d love to hear your strategies for managing stress in the comments.

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  • Sam
    Thanks for sharing this insight. Stress is something that I've been dealing with a lot recently, for a variety of different reasons. Sometimes, there's nothing you can do about it and you just have to ride out the storm. But, a couple of suggestions to add to your list: In addition to living in the present, think of something you're looking forward to in the future. Remove yourself from the situation by taking a break or delegating. Have some fun and let off some steam, or just step back for a minute and take a deep breath. Good luck staying stress-free!
  • @TO - Naps, lol! Completely forgot to add that to my list. We have napping pods at Google but I've never actually seen (or used) them. Seems like a great way to re-energize at work...as long as you don't oversleep. ;-)
  • No love for naps? The purest stress reliever available?

    I had a manager one time who understood the pleasure that naps could bring and was cool with the idea of people catching a 20-min breather when things got a little hectic.

    Unfortunately, when I transferred to a different office in the same company, my new manager wasn't as cool with that idea.
  • Thanks for your comments Jeff, Tom and Jeremy! Re-reading this post made me realize it's geared more toward interpersonal stress - but probably works to an extent for task-related stress too.

    Jeff - love what you said about focusing on what you can do, rather than dwelling on the past.

    Tom - it's so true that our mind can really get the best of us if we let it. I try as best I can to focus on what I know to be true, and not to make projections about situations or get into a downward spiral of worry (like your parent example).

    Jeremy - I'll have to Google that mp3 - it sounds fantastic. Thank you so much for the recommendation!
  • Jeremy
    We had a guy come and talk to us about Stress at work, and he was very good. Kind of similar advice to the above, but he also gave us a Relaxation CD which was brilliant. It uses hypnosis techniques, and is a great way to unwind AFTER a stressful situation, if you have to endure stress. He now gives away an MP3 version. I think if you Google "andrew johnson relaxation" you'll find the site.
  • tom
    Sometimes the stress is unnecessary and something we bring to ourselves and blame others for it such a parents worrying about the kid not calling at a certain time and then blaming them because the parent was worried.

    Other stress usually results in people being lazy and ignoring the issues at hand and not solving or at least discussing them.
  • I liked this article. I've found that sitting around and doing nothing when I'm stressed kills me. I feel much better when I'm trying to do something about the problem. Also, I try and focus on what can happen, and try to leave what has already happened (and obviously I can't change) in the past.
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