Three weeks ago I was moaning about all the changes going on around me and my apparent inability to manage them all. Well, yesterday I was at a reception when someone came up to me and asked me how I relaxed? "What do you mean?", I asked. "Well" he said, "with all your activities, projects and all the other stuff I read about you, I wondered how you ever relaxed?" My answer was kind of scary – “I am not sure” I said. “Perhaps by listening to music?” he asked. “Or possibly by riding your motorcycle?” he continued.
Anyway the really interesting part of the conversation came next, when he said, “Harley I use the 80% rule. I only ever work at a maximum of 80% of my personal capacity, this always leaves me with 20% left over.” It was a reception, after all and I like to always remain polite but in an earlier conversation I had learnt that he worked for the Belgian railways, the NMBS.
Railway workers, the whole world over, have never given me the impression of ever having to work that hard, but I might be wrong? I know they certainly did when they were being built, but how are they managed today? I know the quality of service of the Beligan railways never ceases to impress me, they are mostly on time and the carriages are generally very clean and comfortable (compared with the UK) but....
But then I got to thinking… How does he know what his limit is? An Army Sergeant Major will push his recruits to their limits, he knows how much to expect from his soldiers. If one collapses, another will take their place. But how does someone who works for the NMBS know what 80% represents, have they ever been pushed to their limit and beyond? Then I got to thinking; What are my limits?
One of my colleagues said last week that his wife complains that he is always trying to get two days work into one day, from where I am standing, compared to many of his colleagues, I think that most days he manages it.
So if you ever come across the 80% personal effort rule – bin it! Go for 100% every time. This is not just for work, it even applies to leisure and pleasure. And when you finally decide to have some time off for complete relaxation, apply the 100% rule too. Do nothing, absolutely nothing! Feeding yourself (spoon to mouth, glass to lips) dressing, washing, that’s it in my book – nothing more. Perhaps take the effort to select an artist on your MP3 player, but even that I find an exhausting exercise, having to decide Bach or Brahms, Sinatra or Santana.
PS (there is nothing more irritating than people asking for 200%, that really get’s my goat)!
Showing posts with label Coping with stress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Coping with stress. Show all posts
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Coping with Stress – Don’t do as I do, do as I say
There must be thousands of self help books on how best to handle stress, and, in a way, the mere process of reading them is probably therapeutic in itself. But although I, as a manager, am reasonably good at identifying stress in others and to helping them keep a balance, I find it so much harder for myself.
Luckily, for my clients, the times I become stressed are mostly in my private life or when trying to balance work and leisure. An example: I find it so hard to accept that a builder can simply get away with following their own planning and begin working somewhere else, before their work for me is completed, simply disregarding any agreement or promise that may have been made.
During contracts, even running the most intensive and complex projects, I can always find ways of keeping my personal stress levels under control. My first student job (working in a very busy restaurant) taught me that when everything is beginning to pile up and there is no end insight to the chaos, to simply focus on the thought that a calm period is just around the corner. It is there but not yet in view.
Someone once told me that when you are in the middle of a crisis, you should imagine the situation like the passing by of an island on a boat. Soon you will be watching it gradually disappear into the horizon behind you. It is hanging on to the notion that it will pass that often gives us the strength to carry on and to calm our minds sufficiently so that we can think more clearly.
As I say in my book: 'Making a Difference':
‘Observe someone in a stressful situation, such as a live interview or a television
quiz show where everyone can see them make a fool of themselves. If we assume that to qualify they had to pass a series of preliminary selection rounds, why is it that for many contestants, their otherwise quick and sharp brains become so slow and muddled? When posed the question why was Schubert’s 8th Symphony called ‘The Unfinished’? It seems that such a simple question, asked under stressful conditions, can raise all manner of ridiculous answers from otherwise intelligent, well-educated people.
However for some of us, no sooner have we gone through one crisis point we are immediately faced by another and then another. Or even multiple crisis points, all converging at the same time. This is often because we become so accustomed to taking on challenges and solving problems, that we forget that we need to take on less and learn to say ‘no’, once in a while!
You maybe wondering why I raise this subject this week? Well perhaps its because I have the builders in at home, and my peaceful zen inspired living room is looking like a Chinese laundry, there are people drilling holes in the ceiling and dragging water pipes through the bedroom, scope creep has entered the project like never experienced in my professional life, and it’s hot and the ready mix concrete is going hard, while there is still a debate going on as to where the foundations should be!
I think how can this happen to me, after all, I am a professional project manager? But there is nothing you can learn that truly adequately prepares you for handling builders, domestic suppliers and family members that come up with new and ever more challenging projects in ever reducing timelines!
End note:
The good news is, writing this blog has helped a bit, the blood pressure levels are finally receding! Have a good week and don’t let yourself get wound up unnecessarily, especially over things that you simply have no control over (like builders, family demands and the weather) ;-)
Luckily, for my clients, the times I become stressed are mostly in my private life or when trying to balance work and leisure. An example: I find it so hard to accept that a builder can simply get away with following their own planning and begin working somewhere else, before their work for me is completed, simply disregarding any agreement or promise that may have been made.
During contracts, even running the most intensive and complex projects, I can always find ways of keeping my personal stress levels under control. My first student job (working in a very busy restaurant) taught me that when everything is beginning to pile up and there is no end insight to the chaos, to simply focus on the thought that a calm period is just around the corner. It is there but not yet in view.
Someone once told me that when you are in the middle of a crisis, you should imagine the situation like the passing by of an island on a boat. Soon you will be watching it gradually disappear into the horizon behind you. It is hanging on to the notion that it will pass that often gives us the strength to carry on and to calm our minds sufficiently so that we can think more clearly.
As I say in my book: 'Making a Difference':
‘Observe someone in a stressful situation, such as a live interview or a television
quiz show where everyone can see them make a fool of themselves. If we assume that to qualify they had to pass a series of preliminary selection rounds, why is it that for many contestants, their otherwise quick and sharp brains become so slow and muddled? When posed the question why was Schubert’s 8th Symphony called ‘The Unfinished’? It seems that such a simple question, asked under stressful conditions, can raise all manner of ridiculous answers from otherwise intelligent, well-educated people.
However for some of us, no sooner have we gone through one crisis point we are immediately faced by another and then another. Or even multiple crisis points, all converging at the same time. This is often because we become so accustomed to taking on challenges and solving problems, that we forget that we need to take on less and learn to say ‘no’, once in a while!
You maybe wondering why I raise this subject this week? Well perhaps its because I have the builders in at home, and my peaceful zen inspired living room is looking like a Chinese laundry, there are people drilling holes in the ceiling and dragging water pipes through the bedroom, scope creep has entered the project like never experienced in my professional life, and it’s hot and the ready mix concrete is going hard, while there is still a debate going on as to where the foundations should be!
I think how can this happen to me, after all, I am a professional project manager? But there is nothing you can learn that truly adequately prepares you for handling builders, domestic suppliers and family members that come up with new and ever more challenging projects in ever reducing timelines!
End note:
The good news is, writing this blog has helped a bit, the blood pressure levels are finally receding! Have a good week and don’t let yourself get wound up unnecessarily, especially over things that you simply have no control over (like builders, family demands and the weather) ;-)
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