Basics of Time and Stress Management
Written by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Copyright 1997-2008.
Adapted from the Field Guide to Leadership and Supervision.
The role of leader can be very stressful! Management studies have suggested that these roles include a very wide mix of activities, most of which cannot always be controlled or even predicted.
New managers and supervisors - especially supervisors - are almost overwhelmed with the demands of the job. They were probably promoted to be in charge of people, mostly because of their success in a previous role that was focused on developing a particular product or service. Suddenly, they're faced with being in charge of people, which is much less predictable and has much less control than the supervisor had before. Consequently, the ability to manage time and stress is absolutely critical to the success of the roles of manager and leader.
The two topics of time management and stress management are often addressed together because they are so closely interrelated.
Myths About Stress and Time Management
| Myth #1: All stress is bad. | No, there's good and bad stress. Good stress is excitement, thrills, etc. The goal is to recognize personal signs of bad stress and deal with them. |
| Myth #2: Planning my time just takes more time. | Actually, research shows the opposite. |
| Myth #3: I get more done in more time when I wisely use caffeine, sugar, alcohol or nicotine. | Wrong! Research shows that the body always has to "come down" and when it does, you can't always be very effective then after the boost. |
| Myth #4: A time management problem means that there's not enough time to get done what needs to get done. | No, a time management problem is not using your time to your fullest advantage, to get done what you want done. |
| Myth #5: The busier I am, the better I'm using my time. | Look out! You may only be doing what's urgent, and not what's important. |
| Myth #6: I feel very harried, busy, so I must have a time management problem. | Not necessarily. You should verify that you have a time management problem. This requires knowing what you really want to get done and if it is getting done or not. |
| Myth #7: I feel OK, so I must not be stressed. | In reality, many adults don't even know when they're really stressed out until their bodies tell them so. They miss the early warning signs from their body, for example, headaches, still backs, twitches, etc. |
Major Causes of Workplace Stress
1. Not knowing what you want or if you're getting it - poor planning.
2. The feeling that there's too much to do. One can have this feeling even if there's hardly anything to do at all.
3. Not enjoying your job. This can be caused by lots of things, for example, not knowing what you want, not eating well, etc. However, most people always blame their jobs.
4. Conflicting demands on the job.
5. Insufficient resources to do the job.
6. Not feeling appreciated.
Biggest Time Wasters
1. Interruptions. There will always be interruptions. It's how they're handled that wastes time.
2. Hopelessness. People "give in", "numb out" and "march through the day".
3. Poor delegation (委托) skills. This involves not sharing work with others.
Common Symptoms of Poor Stress and Time Management
1. Irritability (易怒). Fellow workers notice this first.
2. Fatigue. How many adults even notice this?
3. Difficulty concentrating. You often don't need to just to get through the day!
4. Forgetfulness. You can't remember what you did all day, what you ate yesterday.
5. Loss of sleep. This affects everything else!
6. Physical disorders, for example, headaches, rashes (皮疹), tics (痉挛), cramps (抽筋, 腹部绞痛), etc.
7. At worst, withdrawal and depression.
Wise Principles of Good Stress and Time Management
1. Learn your signs for being overstressed or having a time management problem. Ask your friends about you. Perhaps they can tell you what they see from you when you're overstressed.
2. Most people feel that they are stressed and/or have a time management problem. Verify that you really have a problem. What do you see, hear or feel that leads you to conclude that you have a time or stress problem?
3. Don't have the illusion (幻想) that doing more will make you happier. Is it quantity of time that you want, or quality?
4. Stress and time management problems have many causes and usually require more than one technique to fix. You don't need a lot of techniques, usually more than one, but not a lot.
5. One of the major benefits of doing time planning is feeling that you're in control.
6. Focus on results, not on busyness.
7. It's the trying that counts - at least as much as doing the perfect technique.
Simple Techniques to Manage Stress
There are lots of things people can do to cut down on stress. Most people probably even know what they could do. It's not the lack of knowing what to do in order to cut down stress; it is doing what you know you have to do. The following techniques are geared to help you do what you know you have to do.
1. Talk to someone. You don't have to fix the problem, just report it.
2. Notice if any of the muscles in your body are tense. Just noticing that will often relax the muscle.
3. Ask your boss if you're doing OK. This simple question can make a lot of difference and verify wrong impressions.
4. Delegate.
5. If you take on a technique to manage stress, tell someone else. They can help you be accountable to them and yourself.
6. Cut down on caffeine and sweets. Take a walk instead. Tell someone that you're going to do that.
7. Use basic techniques of planning, problem solving and decision making.
8. Monitor (监控) the number of hours that you work in a week. Tell your boss, family and/or friends how many hours that you are working.
9. Write weekly status reports. Include what you've accomplished last week and plan to do next week. Include any current issues or recommendations that you must report to your boss. Give the written status report to your boss on a weekly basis.
10. "Wash the dishes". Do something you can feel good about.
Simple Techniques to Manage Time
There never seems to be enough time in the roles of management and supervision. Therefore, the goal of time management should not be to find more time. The goal is set a reasonable amount of time to spend on these roles and then use that time wisely.
1. Start with the simple techniques of stress management above.
2. Managing time takes practice. Practice asking yourself this question throughout the day: "Is this what I want or need to be doing right now?" If yes, then keep doing it.
3. Find some way to realistically and practically analyze your time. Logging your time for a week in 15-minute intervals is not that hard and does not take up that much time. Do it for a week and review your results.
4. Do a "to do" list for your day. Do it at the end of the previous day. Mark items as "A" and "B" in priority. Set aside two hours right away each day to do the important "A" items and then do the "B" items in the afternoon. Let your answering machine take your calls during your "A" time.
5. At the end of your day, spend five minutes cleaning up your space. Use this time, too, to organize your space, including your desktop. That'll give you a clean start for the next day.
6. Learn the difference between "Where can I help?" and "Where am I really needed?" Experienced leaders learn that the last question is much more important than the former.
7. Learn the difference between "Do I need to do this now?" and "Do I need to do this at all?" Experienced leaders learn how to quickly answer this question when faced with a new task.
8. Delegate (委托他人). Delegation shows up as a frequent suggestion in this guide because it is one of the most important skills for a leader to have. Effective delegation will free up a great deal of time for you.
9. If you are CEO in a corporation, then ask your Board for help. They are responsible to supervise you, as a CEO. Although the Board should not be micro-managing you, that is, involved in the day-to-day activities of the corporation, they still might have some ideas to help you with your time management. Remember, too, that good time management comes from good planning, and the Board is responsible to oversee development of major plans. Thus, the Board may be able to help you by doing a better themselves in their responsibilities as planners for the organization.
10. Use a "Do Not Disturb" sign! During the early part of the day, when you're attending to your important items (your "A" list), hang this sign on the doorknob (门把手) outside your door.
11. Sort your mail into categories including "read now", "handle now" and "read later". You'll quickly get a knack for sorting through your mail. You'll also notice that much of what you think you need to read later wasn't really all that important anyway.
12. Read your mail at the same time each day.
That way, you'll likely get to your mail on a regular basis and won't become distracted into any certain piece of mail that ends up taking too much of your time.
13. Have a place for everything and put everything in its place.
That way, you'll know where to find it when you need it. Another important outcome is that your people will see that you are somewhat organized, rather than out of control.
14. Best suggestion for saving time - schedule 10 minutes to do nothing.
That time can be used to just sit and clear your mind. You'll end up thinking more clearly, resulting in more time in your day. The best outcome of this practice is that it reminds you that you're not a slave to a clock - and that if you take 10 minutes out of your day, you and your organization won't fall apart.
15. Learn good meeting management skills.
Meetings can become a terrible waste of time. Learn good meeting management skills.
Role of "Gumption (进取心, 气概)"
Everything good usually starts with gumption. It's picking yourself up, deciding that you could be happier, that you want to be happier - and then doing one small thing to get you started and keep you going. Boredom and blaming are the opposite of gumption. Stress and time management start with gumption. It's the trying that counts. Poor time and stress management often comes from doing the same thing harder, rather than smarter.