Spinning

Imperfection clings to a person, and if they wait till they are brushed off entirely, they would spin for ever on their axis, advancing nowhere.

- Thomas Carlyle -

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I had to travel for work today, a road trip to see a client a few hundred kilometres away from where I was based, and I enjoyed the drive. I have a company vehicle when I'm working in my home city and when I go around the country they fly me and have sparkling clean, fueled up, company vehicles waiting for me when I land. They pay for all of my travel and expenses of course and I get paid for my time as well; I am, after all working on these trips. It's pretty cool right?

It's not something that has landed in my lap with no effort...it has taken me many years to acquire the skills that secured me this role and I have to perform at a high level or they'll hit a button somewhere and I'll be jettisoned from the organisation like a fighter pilot ejecting from his stricken fighter jet.

Fortunately I perform; again, years of tireless effort, study and experience helps me do that along with a gazillion other little things I do and doing the right thing for the organisation means more income for me through commissions, bonuses and other performance-related streams of income; it's in my best interest to work hard, be efficient and effective and to represent myself and the organisation well.

Sometimes the effort, workload, the travel, complexity of my role and various other things leaves my head spinning; I'd like to say I take it all in my stride and am unfazed, smooth as silk and never stressed, but that's just not true; we all feel stress, it's unavoidable.

There's pressure and stress to perform, meet revenue, budgetary and performance KPI's, to build better relationships, make less mistakes, cause less waste, do more in less time, have a higher conversion rate, be organised enough to work in the office, an airport, hotel room, client's boardrooms, cafes and other such places. There's the stress of being away from home and one's partner (or children if one has them), stress from workplace politics, of fallen sales, inter-department failures, clients that won't respond, market forces, management, legislation requirements and many others...and that's before we factor in the life stresses we all feel...Enough to leave one's head spinning I think, and I also think a person needs to find methods to control that stress or it may lead one down a slippery slope that doesn't end anywhere good.

We all manage things differently and the stress one can accept and deal with may break another person. What's common to us all though is the fact that stress needs to be dealt with. I think a certain amount (and the right kind) of pressure can be motivating but unmanaged stress is different, it tends to cause a disconnect in the brain and it can do a lot of harm should one let it.

I'm lucky that I deal with stress reasonably well and have the ability to mask from others (mostly) the stresses I feel. It makes me seem more dependable which is good for my internal customers (people in my workplace) and the external...and that's good for my productivity and income. It's something I actively do though, It's not organic.

It doesn't come easy, I've spent a lot of time finding out how to manage stress and devising specific methods to do so. It's not always a complicated thing either, a simple walk up the road for ten minutes can work wonders when one's head is spinning - I get back and it's all good, I'm back to it. I also find several hours driving in the car, like I did today, is another way. Sure, I make and take calls and have to pull over at times to send emails or take notes but mostly I have on a podcast or some music and it helps the the spinning in my head slow down do that I'm a little more productive. Having said that though, I believe some more strategized methods are required as well and that's where you come in.

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What I want to ask you is how you manage stress when it arises specifically in your job function.

How do you manage stress in your work day to ensure you're productive, efficient and effective? What do you do when your workday runs off the rails and leaves your head spinning and how do you bring yourself back and recover some control and balance so you can continue your business, whatever that may be? Feel free to respond in the comments below if you would like to.