Workplace stress is a reality. It may stem from a multiplicity of issues such as:
• Trying to control matters that are outside our sphere of control
• Holding onto grudges
• Consistently viewing the negatives in situations
• Regularly being late
• Setting unrealistic goals
• Over-scheduling
• A belief that we have no time for ourselves
• Unwillingness to delegate
The challenge with stress is that it actually impacts our ability to perform efficiently and effectively and thus we fall short of the productivity target that we were after in the first instance. Who would believe that we actually had it in our power to relieve ourselves of some of these stresses? As leaders, we need to be conscious that if we do not take Time Out to reflect, recharge and rejuvenate ourselves, we will take ourselves and our employees into the realm of “diminishing returns” – more stress.
So for a moment, forget the sense of power and importance associated with being “busy”.
Drop everything. Enter into one minute of silence during which you become fully conscious of your breathing. Just follow the breath in and out. At the end of the minute, how do you feel? It is an easy way of releasing stress during the course of the workday and reenergising ourselves.
Be sure to schedule this minute (or several of them) in your daily planner. Time Out ……. the intentional cessation of an incomplete task.
Judy Joseph Mc Sween
Principal/CEO Meredith Mc Sween International Inc Co Ltd
are you ready for a time out? 