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Even in times of crisis, we have enough freedom to ease the pressure we all feel, avoid exhaustion, and give meaning back to the effort we put into our work. Each of us can learn some useful skills.
No matter how your career develops, one thing remains the same: we experience a lot of stress due to the constant lack of time. New markets, new clients, new projects, meetings and discussions with colleagues, professional communities that you need to join … And a flood of emails, not to mention documents that also need to be given time …
Of course, you can learn how to organize your day better (say, not keep your email window open, but set aside a certain period of time for letters) and fight the tendency to be distracted (not start something so that you immediately leave it for another). But it is also important to be able to see what exactly suits us at work, and what needs to be changed. We tend to forget that our perception of the working day depends on how comfortable we feel at work. Our experts, existential psychotherapist Svetlana Krivtsova and narrative psychologist Olesya Simonova, talk about how to manage your working time with benefit and pleasure.
Pass the tests
- Is it time to change jobs?
Learn to say “no”
In many companies, it is implicitly assumed that a motivated, committed employee is the one who always says yes. Even if, as a result, his work becomes more difficult, and its volume will increase. Have you ever thought about the consequences of such a “conciliatory” position? If you tend to say yes, then most likely, at one fine moment, your hidden anger will boomerang on the one you wanted to please. Remember: Saying “no” does not mean rejecting the person. On the contrary, by openly acknowledging the feelings that make you hesitate (“I’m embarrassed to refuse you”), you make the communication trusting. And as a result, you and your colleague have a chance to become allies.
When explaining your position, do not go to extremes: do not make excuses, because this will only emphasize your guilt. Try to state your thoughts consistently and structured, this will help the interlocutor to grasp the essence of your position. To begin, recall the facts: “You are asking me to take this case.” Then state the consequences that this assignment will have for you: “This is contrary to my plans” or “This will prevent me from completing the report on time.” Finally, speaking in the first person, emphasize the feelings that this situation evokes in you: “I feel like my work is not appreciated” instead of “You are devaluing my efforts.” Keep the conversation clear and sincere, without blaming the interlocutor – these three conditions will help to achieve an adequate and respectful answer.
Read more:
- Dream job: myth or reality?
Know your limits
Those who “burn” at work have a common weakness: they are dedicated and value their reputation. Therefore, they waste themselves without looking back. Time management for them is a real problem, which they only start to deal with when it’s too late. After all, stress in their understanding is an indicator of effectiveness. But a long stay in this state leads to collapse.
Pay attention to the signals of your body: do you feel that your strength is running out? Are you familiar with intrusive thoughts like “I can’t quit, I have to hold on” that cause feelings of shame? Most likely, this experience is so unbearable for you that you do not dare to talk to anyone about your poor health. To reduce stress, you need to make room for maneuver. Stay away from destructive thoughts. Learn to ask for help, especially if you are used to relying only on yourself. It is impossible to always be efficient and meet ever-increasing demands. It’s important not to overdo it. And remember that our well-being is an integral part of high results.
Read more:
- How happy are you at work?
Look for things that energize you
Those of us who do more responsible work (compared to others) experience greater joy and satisfaction from their work. When we like work, when we understand the necessity of what we are doing, we feel the balance of life, we feel that the time has not been spent in vain. Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi defined the concept of “optimal experience,” which he called “flow.”*. Flow is a subjective state of “feeling good” that occurs when we are deeply immersed in an interesting activity. In this state, we work to the maximum of our capabilities. But there is a flow only when the task is feasible, but not too simple. When the bar is set too low (with low ability), we experience apathy. When it is too high (at low or medium abilities), we feel anxiety. And boredom appears in a situation where we can do much more than is required of us. Therefore, it is so important to be attentive to our sensations and feelings, to redistribute time in such a way as to spend it on what we consider useful, and thus remain in harmony with ourselves. The biggest myth of the “time management” system remains the notion that we can do anything.
Read more:
- Thierry Jansen: “We have a lot of resources to deal with stress!”
Say goodbye to procrastination
The art of putting off until tomorrow what can be done today implicitly undermines self-esteem. And it leads to the choice of behavioral strategies, which often end in failure. If you find it difficult to start complex or voluminous work, then you are likely to switch to something that can be done quickly and easily. And replacing a difficult task with a more comfortable one, you will instantly feel satisfaction. Negative consequences come later: a pile of unfinished business, panic … To avoid this, you need to learn how to maintain a delicate balance between efforts on yourself and pleasure from the work done.
Don’t focus too much on imaginary but unattainable levels of quality. After all, when we care about the details at the expense of the main thing, we only protect our fragile self-esteem. Instead of “I have to do it,” say something like “I’m interested in doing it.” Reframe the task, this will allow you to understand what “undermines” your motivation, awakens fears (to be not up to par, fail – or maybe you are afraid of success) and prevent you from starting to work.
This is the best solution that you should try to implement.
1 M. Csikszentmihalyi “Flow. Psychology of optimal experience” (Alpina non-fiction, 2015).