Getting overwhelmed is remarkably easy. As you gain skills and respect in your industry, the amount of tasks people want you to take on can grow exponentially. Sometimes, even the act of prioritizing can cause stress — you know you can get everything done, but you would waste less time if you could just figure out how to accomplish tasks in the perfect order.
So how do you cope with the stress while maintaining, or even improving, your productivity? Members of Forbes Coaches Council have this to say:
1. Calm The Mind At The Beginning Of The Day
Being more present and mindful is a key way to lower stress and increase productivity. Taking a few minutes at the beginning of the day to do a deep breathing exercise, take a walk, listen to music, or meditate is a great way to destress. By focusing on calming the mind, we can actually train it to become more present when doing tasks, and therefore increase efficiency and productivity in our work. - Monica Thakrar, MTI
2. Use The Pomodoro Technique
The Pomodoro is a productivity technique where you batch your work in 25-minute intervals with a five-minute break in between. During the batch time, you remain focused on one thing and ignore all distractions. If it's not possible to work in 25-minute batches throughout the day, aim for three to five batch intervals, and get three important things done for the day! - Gia Ganesh, Gia Ganesh Coaching
3. Write Down Your Goals Every Day
Know your "why." Write down your goals every night before going to sleep and review them (read them out loud) every morning. We are all capable of being more productive and less stressed, however, we fail often when we lack a vision and aren't focused on why we are doing what we're doing. You don't need any special skills or tricks. Just constantly remind yourself why you exist. Dream big. - Nader Mowlaee, The Straight Line Systems
4. Check Your Email Less Often
A huge time-sucker, and often a cause of stress and distraction, is email. According to Radicati Group, the estimated amount of emails sent and received per day, around the world, will be 246 billion by 2019. To increase productivity, set aside times throughout the work day for email. Address the urgent, flag others for follow-up and return to email only at designated times to reduce interruption. - Adrienne Tom, Career Impressions
5. Schedule Tasks, Not Just Appointments
Make a list of what you need to get done, and next to each task, write how much time it will take to do it. Then, schedule each task on your calendar at the date and time you are going to do it. If it doesn't fit, then it wasn't realistic. Focus on one task at a time (don't try to multitask) because focus eliminates the overwhelm. Make a plan and work on the plan. - Kimberly Giles, Claritypoint Coaching Academy
6. Set A 'Top Five' List For Daily Goals
All of my coaching clients use a to-do sheet for their top five tasks, which sets them up for feeling successful daily. When you complete the top five, your day is productive. I want my clients to stop trying to attack a 100-item-long to-do list all at once. No one can do that. Silence your inner critic and let your inner champion thrive by completing exactly what must be done today. Try it and see! - Kiran Gaind, The Connected Family
7. Focus On The Most Important
Accept that not everything will get done. What needs to be done is what matters most. Focus on the 20% that delivers 80% of results. And make sure that the results are not just great in the short term, but also in sustaining growth for the longer term. That is art, true productivity and leadership. - Magdalena Bak-Maier, Make Time Count
8. Evaluate What Is Realistic To Agree To
Getting stressed out can often have to do with taking on too much work. An example: wanting to say "yes" to the person making the request, but ending up saying "yes" to the task or request. Learn to differentiate the difference. Separate the person making the request from the request itself. Then evaluate what is realistic to agree to, based on your current workload. Be honest with yourself. - Alexandra Ross, Alexandra Ross LLC
9. Stay In Your Professional Lane
The Kolbe assessment tool will help you understand if you are a "Quick Start," "Follow Through," "Fact Finder" or "Implementer." Use most of your time in your professional lane, where you are most productive. When you are stressed, it is because you are swerving outside your lane. You can only operate there for short bursts. Do the other aspects of work for only 15 minutes, or delegate the work to others. - Debora McLaughlin, The Renegade Leader Coaching & Consulting Group
10. Minimize Multi-Tasking
Multi-tasking is the human brain equivalent to having multiple apps open on our phone — it drains our batteries. We are learning that humans don't multitask, they switch-task in rapid succession. While most of us can't stop multitasking completely, it is important to notice when we are doing it and manage it as effectively as possible. - Maureen Metcalf, Metcalf & Associates, Inc
11. Create A 'Not-To-Do' List
It's important to know what to focus on, but even more important to know what to neglect. This requires forethought and courage. Regularly sitting down and deciding what not to do can help you concentrate on the critical and assume full responsibility for your decisions and actions. I recommend keeping two lists — a "to-do" list and a "not-to-do" list. - Edyta Pacuk, MarchFifteen Consulting Inc.
12. Do One More Thing
Challenge yourself to do one more thing before the end of the day. This one thing can be something as small as tidying up your desk before going home. This will build a mindset that, when you're stressed out at work, doing one more small thing can make a difference in your perspective and workload. - LaKisha Greenwade, Lucki Fit LLC
13. 'Every Now And Then, Go Away'
Cultivating and nurturing perspective is key to reducing stress at work. Hundreds of years ago, Leonardo da Vinci, one of the most productive persons in history, offered some sage advice to cultivate perspective: “Every now and then, go away.” Yes, it’s as obvious and simple as that. Every now and then … just go away. - Gaurav Bhalla, Knowledge Kinetics
14. Make It A Game By Using Post-It Notes
Take a pad of Post-It notes and write out your to-dos, one per page. Stick them all up on one side of the wall, and as you complete each task, move it over to the other side of the wall. Give yourself a mini-reward every time you move over 10 notes (latte anyone?) This allows you to visibly see your progress, which is especially important when you don't feel like you are getting anything done! - Tina Forsyth, Tina Forsyth
15. Aim For Continuous Improvement
If you want to be more productive and less stressed at work, operate under the practice of continuous improvement. Look for opportunities to improve and automate processes and delegate. And consider what's actually creating stress. How can you do less of these activities or enhance the process to alleviate the stress? - Lizabeth Czepiel, Lizabeth Czepiel, LLC
