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Imagine working only four hours
a day, nine months a year and earning all the money you need
to do exactly what you want with all your free time. Does
that sound like your life?
That's the life a futurist of the early 20th century
predicted the average worker would be living by the 21st
century.
Despite the introduction of many labor-saving devices,
Harvard University Economist Juliet Schor found by the 1990s
people were working the equivalent of one month a year more
than they did at the end of World War II.
It seems that whenever
a significant new "labor saving" product or service is
developed we use it so much our workload actually increases.
After all, wasn't our work supposed to be made easier by
voice mail, faxes, cell phones and e-mail?
Instead, many of us find we are constantly on-call,
frequently interrupted and overwhelmed with communications
that people expect to receive immediate responses to. That's
on top of the already heavy workload existing in most
organizations. For some workers, the best way to deal with
the overload is to take an extended stress leave.
If switching from double lattes to decaf isn't enough to
reduce your stress at work, here are seven ways you can get
your workload under control:
1. Work on things that are important.
This may sound
obvious, but many of us are tempted to work on easy tasks
first so we can have a sense of
accomplishment. Time
spent on those "easy" tasks can quickly add up, creating
even more stress when there
does not appear to be
enough time left for the important work.
2. Keep an
"activity log."
This will help you figure out what your time is being spent
on. Every time you start and end a new activity,
including taking
a break, make note of the time. Most workers who charge by
the hour have learned to do this
automatically. If
you are not used to tracking your time it may be a bit of an
adjustment, but within a few days
you should be
able to notice any time-wasters you might not have been
aware of.
3. Set daily
goals.
When scheduling your time, assume that something unexpected
will come up and build in a cushion of time to
deal with it. To
minimize the stress of meeting self-imposed deadlines, avoid
making promises about when tasks
will be completed. If
you must commit to a date, be conservative. If you
consistently underpromise and
overdeliver you could
earn a great reputation while reducing your stress.
4. Be gentle with yourself.
Aim to meet or even exceed expectations, but don't try to
achieve perfection. Wherever possible, delegate
routine tasks, even if
you think you can do them better than someone else.
5. Avoid interruptions.
Unless you
are expected to be on call, select a time of day when you
will return phone calls and e-mails. During
other times, let
your voice mail take messages for you. You can also create
an auto reply for your e-mail to let
people know their
message has been received. If your e-mail says you will
respond within 24 hours if a reply is
required, it may
deter someone from repeatedly trying to contact you in the
meantime.
6. Don't let other people's problems become yours.
As Richard
Carlson, author of Don't Sweat the Small Stuff at Work, says
"If someone throws you the ball you
don't have to
catch it." When someone comes to you with a problem that
isn't yours, try limiting your contribution
to advice instead
of taking on the task yourself.
7. When you are feeling overwhelmed, say so.
Companies
want to keep good employees, so most bosses will want to
know when you are having difficulty.
However, instead
of saying "I can't do it," offer some possible solutions.
For example, if you won't be able to get
a major report
completed by a particular deadline, you might tell the boss
you can either: (1) complete a
condensed version
by the deadline, (2) complete the entire report by a later
date, or (3) meet the deadline if you
get some help
from co-workers or temporary staff.
These
techniques probably won't help you enjoy the life of leisure
envisioned by those early futurists. But they can make your
work more manageable, and might even reduce your stress
enough to let you go back to drinking double lattes.
Edited by:
Mona Gawiche
Source:
Tag and Catherine Goulet
Co-CEOs of FabJob.com
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