Stressful Situation at Work
When we encounter a stressful situation, we may want to find ways or strategies to handle the situation that fit us best. Following are the three strategies to deal with stress at work:
#1 Practice STOP Skill
Whenever we encounter a distressing situation at work or any stressful situation, one of the skills that may help to prevent us from acting or behaving impulsively is STOP Skill.
Stop - don't do or say anything at the peak of emotion of a stressful situation.
Take a step back - even when the time and space is limited, take a step back. Walk out, breathe.
Observe the situation - what exactly is the problem? What is happening? What brings you on edge about the situation? What are feelings the situation created? What thought pops up before that? What alternative solutions may be available? What alternative thoughts would be helpful? and so on...
Proceed mindfully - as you have observed the situation, your thoughts, and your feelings regarding the situation, proceed mindfully in terms of speaking and behaving.
#2 Set Priority Scale
First we define what is important and what is urgent.
Important: We define a task as important usually when it leads to our personal and/or professional goal/s.
Urgent: We define a task as urgent when there are consequences if it is not done and an urgent task is time bound.
Next we do the listing and grouping.
- List all the things that you have to do, need to do, want to do regardless it is important, urgent or just for fun.
- Group all the tasks you have listed and put into boxes below.
Urgent and important
Do these tasks first. They require your immediate attention.
Examples of urgent and important tasks can include:
- An urgent call from family
- Any measure taken to uphold or reinforce safety or company policy
Not urgent but important
Not urgent but important tasks help you achieve your goal — and don’t have a pressing deadline.
Schedule these tasks to do later.
Productive and successful people spend most of their time here — this quadrant yields the most satisfaction. It is called the Quadrant of Quality.
Most people, however, don’t spend enough time here, because they don’t know what’s important to them or because they’re fixated on the most pressing tasks at hand.
Examples of not urgent but important tasks may include:
- Study related to a particular project venture
- Capability improvement or improving limits
- Building relationships
- Implementing strategy
- Researching, planning and testing
Urgent but not important
Urgent but Not Important tasks are best described as busy work. These tasks are often based on expectations set by others and do not move you closer to your long-term goals.
Delegate these tasks to others, whenever possible.
Most people spend the majority of their time in this quadrant. They believe they’re working on urgent tasks that are important to them when in reality, completing these tasks does nothing to inch them closer to their long-term goals.
Examples:
- Unnecessary interruptions from coworkers
- Responding to certain texts, emails, or social media messages
- Some meetings
Not urgent and not important
These tasks aren’t pressing, nor do they help you reach your long-term goals. They’re simply distractions from what matters most.
Delete these tasks from your schedule.
Examples:
- Mindlessly refreshing social media and scrolling
- Excessive shopping or online browsing
Now you have your priority scale to increase productivity.
#3 Defy Disorganization
Disorganization is one of the common stressors at work or life in general. It is a lack of planning and control. Here's some strategies you may want to try:
Everything has a home. Whether it is digital or physical, give it a home and always put them back in their home.
Schedule and list. Having a schedule helps organize the day and use a list to detail it. It feels good to see boxes checked at the end of the day.
What other tips can you add to be a more organized person?
Stressful Situation at Work Growth Path here