AMiable Solution #165: The Stress Less Strategy, Part 3

Now that we’re nearly through November, stress levels are rising higher.  Although we can’t take the stress triggers out of your life, we know something you can add into your life to make things a little better.

Exercise.

We know, we know.  Exercise takes time, and who has time to exercise?  Actually, you do.

According to the Mayo Clinic, just about any type of exercise can induce stress relief, and you don’t have to exercise in 30- or 60-minute stints to reap the benefits.  Even taking a ten-minute walk during your lunch break can help increase the production of your “feel-good” neurotransmitters and make your general perspective better.

Can’t spare the time at work?  Walk around the block when you get home, or get up just a little earlier and bust a move (bonus: you might beat a little traffic!). 

Whenever you do it, making the decision to add a little or a little more exercise to your week will make the coming months easier to handle.

AMiable Solution #164: The Stress Less Strategy, Part 2

It’s pretty easy to feel overwhelmed at any time, but we’re particularly susceptible to such feelings at year-end, when inventory, budgetary, or holiday activities seem to reach a peak.  How can you survive the stress? 

To steal a page from psychologist Karl Weick’s playbook, look for a small win.  Instead of focusing on the exhausting task of compiling year-end reports, focus on one aspect of the report.  Instead of looking at that dreadfully long list of to-do items, select the easiest or quickest task, complete it, and check it off the list.  Once you accomplish one small goal or one small part of a larger goal, the whole task seems a little less insurmountable and more feasible. 

In their May 13, 2011, Harvard Business Review article, “Small Wins and Feeling Good,” Teresa Amabile and Steve Kramer echoed this sentiment, saying, “Because setbacks are so common in truly important problems, people become disheartened unless they can point to some meaningful advance most days, even if that advance is seemingly minor, and even if it involves nothing more than extracting insights from the day’s failures. This strategy propels long-term goal achievement.”

So go on.  Take on your “opponent” one play at a time, one small victory at a time.  You can win the game: you just have to get the ball moving. 

AMiable Solution #163: The Stress Less Strategy, Part 1

It’s happening already.  Holiday commercials.  Holiday countdowns.  Holiday displays in stores.

Although the end of the year does bring enjoyment for most people, it also causes stress, both at work and at home.   Pressure to get things done.  Pressure to make things perfect.

The holidays don’t have to cast a shadow of despair or distraction on our days.  We can help our co-workers, our market, and ourselves remain productive at work and peaceful at heart with just a few little stress-relieving ideas.

Start by sharing your lesser-known expertise.  Sure, your customers know you for your charitable work, your prompt and excellent service, or your can’t-live-without-them products.  But you can offer them other helpful tools, as well. 

Think about the things your company or organization does well on a daily basis and share your tips or insight.  For example, does your company run a cafeteria for your employees?  Holiday celebrations mean party planning at work and bigger-than-usual meal planning at home.  Help take some of the stress out of this holiday activity for your clients and customers by tucking food prep tips and large-gathering recipes in your monthly newsletter or on your website. 

Is your organization or business good at running well on a tight budget?  Offer tips to your clients and customers, as businesses and as regular consumers, on how to maintain control of spending through the holidays or how to spend wisely.

Sharing practical advice for the business and personal aspects of your market’s life won’t necessarily send your returns through the roof, but reaching out to others and helping them get through the next two months might just make life a little more pleasant and manageable for everyone.