Crazy Busy No More

By Jean Caton, MS, MBA, RD

Ten tips to prevent stress from stealing your energy, your health, and
your productivity

Congratulations for taking the time to read this article if you are “crazy busy.”It is an indication that you realize crazy busy is an unacceptable way of living and that you are contemplating change.Being high on stress, drama, and adrenaline from being excessively busy is, unfortunately, a way of life for many people.I often wonder why the workaholic is an admired addict when other addictions are scorned.However, stress is harmful to your health.Controlling stress is an essential component of a healthy lifestyle, along with healthy eating and exercise. The ten tips to manage stress in this article can help.

Stress in Context:

These are truly stressful times.But aren’t all times potentially stressful?Unfortunately, today’s society considers crazy busy as a normal, unavoidable state.

When you begin to think about being less busy your first thought may be - is it possible to reduce the stress in my life?Not only is it possible it is critically important to do so.The benefits are worth it.The scientific community understands more and more about the negative impact stress has on health.Excessive stress is a drain on workplace productivity.When it comes to wellness, stress management programs are worth the investment.

Let's step back for a moment and consider what we mean when we say “I’m so stressed?”Stress is not real.You cannot fill a box with stress.You cannot put stress in your office rubbish barrel and dispose of it.The American Institute of Stress says that “there is no definition of stress that everyone agrees on, what is stressful for one person may be pleasurable or have little effect on others.We all react to stress differently. If you were to ask a dozen people to define stress, or explain what causes stress for them, or how stress affects them, you would likely get 12 different answers to each of these requests.”www.stress.org

My definition of stress is a physical, mental, and/or emotional response to an event that causes tension or an uncomfortable feeling in our body or mind. Simply put, stress is a result a situation that has an effect on us, primarily because of how we think about it in our mind. We can choose to change how we think about what we must do and choose instead to do only those things that are truly aligned with our most important priorities.

Frog in boiling water:

The frog in boiling water story is a wonderful analogy for what has happened to our society when it comes to the level of stress we consider acceptable.The story states that if a frog is placed in boiling water, it will jump out, but if it is placed in cold water, that is then slowly heated, it will not jump out. It will die. Translate the message in the story topeople’s inability to notice and respond to a gradual increase in the stress in their lives.Smart Phones, Social Media, instant gratification, and the arrogance of indispensability are resulting in a way of life that is increasingly stressful.The temperature of the water in our lives is reaching the boiling point.

Being Stressed is Choice:

People have lost sight of the fact they do have a choice - they can jump out of the water before it boils over and kills them like the frog. People are smarter than frogs!They can turn off their mobile phones. They can check e-mail 3 times a day rather than every time a new message arrives. They can choose to more carefully select the priorities for how they use their time.Despite what you may think you are not indispensable.

Strategies for Life Management

If you are serious about reducing the stress in your life here are ten tips to help

1.Make a commitment to reduce the stress in your life.

2.Focus on the solution.Don’t stay tied up in the problem.

3.Manage the source, root cause, of your stress not just the symptoms.

4.Identify the root cause using the 5 Whys technique. http://tinyurl.com/276crr

5.Tell others. Request they respect your commitment.

6.Recognize that time management is a myth.Instead, manage your priorities. Use your time carefully, spending time on your top priorities

7.Get over guilt. Set reasonable standards about what you realistically can accomplish with out creating excess stress

8.Exercise your “Saying No” muscles, Set boundaries about what is and is not acceptable.

9.Monitor your productivity and compare to your priorities.Is dawdling on social media sites, surfing the Internet, or taking personal phone calls mean you will end up working longer to get your project completed.

10.Don’t forget self-care comes first. It can help you better manage those excessively busy days without ‘losing it.’

Self-Coaching Tips:

•Start today by taking control of your stress by focusing on your top three priorities.Write them down.Notice how you spend your time When you are too busy, eliminate what is not a real priority

•Select two tips from the list.When you have mastered those two select another one.

Resource:

A wonderful book on this subject is Inner Peace for Busy People by Joan Borysenko PhD.It is divided up into 52 very short vignettes - one for each week of the year.

“Stressed is Desserts spelled Backwards “ Brian Luke Seaward

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Jean Caton is a speaker, coach, and marketing strategist. She works with businesswomen in corporate America, Healthcare, and entrepreneurs to challenge and support them to attain their professional and personal goals and live a life full of achievement, self-acceptance, and serenity. Jean can be reached at: MyCoachJean@JeanCaton.net