It’s Kerrie Mullins-Gunst and I hope you are having a good week. But if things are a bit more stressful for you than usual, this one is for you.
Let’s face it: we all have days where the circumstances just try your patience. With deadlines to meet and more and more interruptions and demands placed upon you, everything can just grow out of all proportion.
Stressful situations increase your body’s cortisol levels and cause a dip in your feel-good hormones. And since most leaders are conditioned not to express anger in a direct manner, your body deals with the hormonal changes in what seems like a more subtle manner, and that’s by getting in a bad mood.
All the stress you are facing is making you cranky – and sometimes you don’t even realise it. In the interest of not totally losing your cool and doing something you regret, you need to come up with ways to deal with this really common issue that leaders face.
Here are some helpful strategies to help you avoid getting cranky when you are stressful.
First, it helps to schedule tasks that are making you anxious. If you have to complete a report before you can leave your work today, you need to know when you can fit this and everything else that is essential in. Plan your day and do this critical report early on. If you leave things for later, you’ll spend more time worrying about it and end up snapping at people.
Don’t forget to take the occasional short break as well. Have a quick cup of coffee with colleagues rather than going solo. A caffeine fix with a group can lower your stress. If you do this alone, you may tend to sulk over the sorry situation and become even more cranky.
Also, learn when to say no. If that report really is critical, today might not be the right day to do much socialising or even to attend all the discretionary meetings someone has put into your schedule.
After work, do short, high-intensity exercise or workouts. These have a greater effect on stress than slower-paced exercise. So instead of an hour of yoga, hit the treadmill and run until you’re sweating it out. Or, if you’re feeling too beat to work out, skip the treadmill and relax in the sauna. Pampering yourself, even if it’s just for a few minutes, has a calming effect on your nerves. Have a massage when you can and just let your mind drift as you feel the knots in your muscles loosen.
If you find yourself ready to snap at anyone, try to talk slower as well. When you’re tense, you speak more rapidly, which changes your body’s chemistry and makes you far more likely to say things you will regret later. Talking at a calmer pace will chill you out, and you’ll also be more likely to get what you want.
Finally, if the stress gets too great it may be time to skip all the promises you’ve made to yourself, at least for now.
While giving yourself a set of goals is usually a positive thing, when you are feeling stressed they can also make you feel inadequate and pressured rather than hopeful and happy. Instead, make some great plans and then deal with your goals when you’re in a happier mood. Sometimes, it’s good to relax rather than worry.
If you want more support managing stress check out http://kmginfo.com/go/managing-stress
If your stress is caused by setbacks that you just need to cope with have a look at http://kmginfo.com/go/setbacks
If you just want life to be happier have a look at http://kmginfo.com/go/happy
