My “Stress Management”

February 27th, 2007 | Personal

Basically, there are two things all managers, leaders, professionals, have in common: the 24-hour day and the annoying need to sleep. Without the sleeping, 24 hours might be enough. With it, there is no way to get everything done. Struck by this imagery, I tried to manage my time and cut my work load to less than 24 hours. The first step is to overcome five myths:

  • Results are proportional to efforts. (The fact is the two never go together.)
  • Quantity of work is more important than quality.
  • The present restructuring requires longer working hours temporarily.
  • I am not replaceable. No one else can do my job right.
  • The problem is urgent. (It is slightly different between urgent and important.)

Those are the myths. The second step is to master the cures:

  • Set an hour to leave the office and obey it blindly. ;)
  • Take half a day to rummage through that mountain of paper in the office and put it in three piles:
    • Priority items that require attention and represent matters.
    • Items that need personal attention but not right away.
    • Items that “a good idea to look at.” This make me limit the number of newspapers, magazines, and internal communications that I read regularly.
  • In dealing with priority items that require attention and represent matters, always start with the most difficult or the most time-consuming.
  • Buy another wastepaper basket. Just remember the question asked by the legendary Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., “What is the worst that can happen if I throw this out?“
  • Ask yourself Sloan’s question about every lunch and meeting invitation. Don’t be timid. And practice these RSVPs:
    • “Thanks, but I just can’t fit in it.”
    • “I can’t go, but I think X can.” (someone else should)
    • “I’m sorry I can’t make it, but do let me know what happened.”
  • Give yourself time to think. Spend half a day every week away from office. The farther away from office the better. A fresh environment can do wonders for productivity.
  • About the telephone, don’t return calls. Or rather, return calls only to people you want to talk to. The others will call back. I know, this is rude, but almost foolproof.
  • Close your open door. I know, you have an open-door policy, but don’t be so literal.

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  1. Management Articles » My “Stress Management”
    February 28th, 2007 at 2:33 pm

    2. Comments

  2. liana
    February 28th, 2007 at 11:01 am

    good idea to classify the task, tapi tetep aja mas, kalo aslinya gampang panik..tetep aja kepikiran.. bahkan ngerjain yg lebih time consuming malah bikin tgs yg lain terlantar. well, i’ve tried almost all of it before, tapi masih ngga bisa ngusir rasa panik, bahkan saya uda nyoba baca buku Dale Carnegie yang “Stop Worrying and Start Living” ato “Being Happy”nya Andrew Matthews, It works for a while but..at the end i find myself guilty to leave the task even just for an hour.. could u give me some tips for that? thanks anyway..

  3. Heart_Man
    March 1st, 2007 at 11:14 am

    For over 30 years I experienced several life threatening chronic illnesses. Through the Grace of God I was lead to several people and organizations that aided me in understanding, positively dealing with and transforming these illnesses. For the past few years I have devoted my life to sharing what I have learned with others. The two most impactful organizations I was lead to are The Institute of HeartMath – http://www.emotionalmastery.com and Landmark Education – http://www.landmarkeducation.com.

    The American Institute of Stress and The Centers for Disease Control have both reported that up to 90% of all illnesses are due to stress. I was lead to The Institute of HeartMath in 1997 and discovered that all of my illnesses were due to stress I had been experiencing in my life. Through learning and practicing HeartMath’s tools and technologies, I am able to prevent, manage and reverse the effects of stress, in-the-moment, achieve better health, more energy, improved mental and emotional clarity, and improved performance and relationships. HeartMath’s tools and technologies are scientifically substantiated; they literally saved my life.

    Landmark Education provided me with the knowledge and tools to identify and put in my past, barriers that were stopping me from living a powerful life and a life I love. Through this Education, I have reached an unshakeable Faith.

  4. cyn
    March 10th, 2007 at 1:34 am

    a practical and good advice… :-)
    also a brilliant reminder too… hehehehe

    “Results are proportional to efforts. (The fact is the two never go together.)”

    >> yay, realita kadang menyakitkan hehehehe

    slm kenal

  5. toomm
    March 15th, 2007 at 5:07 pm

    Very nice site. I have enjoyed reading it.

  6. putri kusnandar
    June 17th, 2007 at 1:21 pm

    whoa,,, itu ada yang nyebut2 buku Being Happy Andrew apalah gitu. jadi inget buku gue itu ilang. kado dari anak-anak (plus ada gebetan gue di situ… Budi si Ucup41. huaa,,,tp gw udah iklashin loe ko bud… wakakak!!!)

    if i may say, a little stress is good to give U an unexpected positive energy. but too much stress will kiLL U i guess???

    BEDA atau MATI —> kata temen Budi Suseno (Budi Suseno ini penulis 1st Step to be A Writer ) jadi, daripada sutris bikin gila, lebih baik gila jadi juara… hohoho… gue banjets

  7. Martin
    June 22nd, 2007 at 12:47 pm

    Martin dah baca artikel Nofie… Great!!! But need a very huge efforts to make it…
    Tapi sekarang ini Martin lagi benar-benar gelap… nee… boleh, dung… bagi saran..
    The things that makes me really deppressed recently, are:
    SATU:Emak terus-terusan nagih, “Kapan kawin?” Duh… orang calonnya aja ga ada… gimana dung… Nyari??? Udah… tapi malah ditinggal kawin kemarin tahun 2006… hics… Nyari lagi??? Gimana caranya n’ dimana nyarinya????
    DUA:Dah kerja selama ini (8 tahun!!!), tapi rasanya penghargaan dari perusahaan koq ga ada sama sekali. Dah gitu ada yang ngiri pula, padahal menurut Martin, ga ada yang pantas di-iri-in… Mau keluar… dah kadung cinta mati ama kerjaan yang satu ni… gimana dung…
    Mana susaaaah bener ngumpulin dhuwit, ‘n sekarang pendapatan berkurang lagi, truz masalah keuangan BoNyok di rumah juga ga ringan… puuuzhiiinxzssss… deh…
    TIGA:Tua-tua masih aja sekolah??? Itulah Martin. Sekarang lagi di semester 4 jurusan pendidikan bahasa Inggris, berteman dengan anak-anak kecil yang… “TAMPAN”… payah benar Martin ini… ya.. Dan yang bikin tambah pusing… biaya yang harus dikeluarkan buat sekolah ternyata menguras kantong… mana kantongnya dah bener-bener kempes… Aduh… duh-duh…
    Help me, Nofie…
    Help me, God…

Looking forward to hear your thoughts.