Keep your Cool When the Heat is On!
While we think of stress in negative terms, not all stress is bad for us. A research by former UC Berkeley post-doctoral fellow Elizabeth Kirby has shown that short-term periods of acute stress are actually good for us. In the study, Kirby found that short-term episodes of stress in rats caused their brains to develop new nerve cells which improved their mental performance. She concludes that short periods of stress keep our brains more alert and helps us adapt to new situations.
On the other hand, chronic stress has been shown to be bad for us. Research has shown that long-term ongoing stress suppresses the production of new neurons in the hippocampus, or memory area of the brain, thereby decreasing our memory. It has also been shown to have damaging effects on our entire bodies resulting in increased risk for chronic obesity, heart disease, and depression.
How to stay calm under pressure?
There may be times throughout our career where we have a heavy workload to manage. Rather than spending our precious time stressing about deadlines, there are strategies that can help us stay focused and productive. Follow these steps to stay calm under pressure:
1. Healthy Habits
Are you thinking about being more active? Have you been trying to cut back on less healthy foods? Are you starting to eat better and move more but having a hard time sticking with these changes?
Living a healthy lifestyle can help us calm our stress levels and stay focused throughout the workday. By showing up to work well-rested, one may gather additional energy to take on more challenging tasks. Likewise, eating healthy meals in small portions throughout the day gives our body the stamina it needs to get our demanding assignments done. Exercise can also help us beat feelings of stress since it helps our body release endorphins that promote positive feelings.
2. Prioritise
One of the oldest workplace struggles is knowing how to prioritize our work. With more tasks to do, non-stop emails, and higher expectations, deciding what deserves our attention can quickly become overwhelming. However, mastering prioritisation can change our lives. Knowing one’s priorities reduces stress, helps focus, improves productivity and time management, and even helps with work-life balance as we create better boundaries for our workday.
Once we know how to prioritize our tasks and our time, we realize that much of the work that felt urgent doesn’t really need our attention. At least not right away. But while the elements of prioritising our work are simple (i.e. Know what tasks need to be done and rank them by importance), it’s far from a simple exercise. When priorities are piling up, we need a clear system in place to take us from over whelmed to under control.
3. Live in the Moment
We must have heard it before — probably many times — that it’s important to live in the present moment. Some of these (possibly overused) sayings boil down to the same basic message: “It’s vital to live in the present moment”. In our current twenty-first century lives, it’s not easy. There’s always something coming up that we need to prepare for or anticipate, and our lives are so well-documented that it’s never been easier to get lost in the past.
Going back and forth between tasks can take up more time and limit our focus. Rather than trying to multitask, direct attention to one task or project at a time. Resist the urge to worry about the next thing on the to-do list and focus on what are we doing in the present moment. Get reminded that before we’re able to go on to our next task, we must finish the one we are currently doing.
4. End Objective have to be Clear
It is always important to remind ourselves of these questions and seek internal responses:
- What is my objective in life?
- What is the objective behind the goals I am pursuing?
- What is the objective behind the tasks I do everyday?
When we forecast of having a busier work week, we can stay calm by thinking about the potential rewards of all our hard work. Whether it’s being able to enjoy a relaxing weekend or increasing our chances of accomplishing another great project, thinking about our end objectives can help us develop a better attitude about what we need to do.
5. See the Glass Half Full
According to a study featured in the The Review of General Psychology and the New York Times, negative thinking is likely a huge factor in why humans survived as a species, since our ancestors who were more attuned to the dangers and bad things around them were the ones more likely to survive and pass on their genes. Basically, we may very well be programmed to have trouble seeing the positives in life and looking on the brighter side.
When we’re under pressure, focusing on the positives can help us feel better about meeting our obligations, e.g., if we feel stressed about leading a presentation, let’s reframe our mindset to see this as a chance to develop our public speaking skills and get noticed by the senior management. By thinking of challenges as opportunities to grow, one can convince him/herself that these are positive situations for our careers. Over time, we can learn to have a more positive mindset naturally.
Conclusion
To summarise, self-regulation opens the way to collaboration and change. Understanding our biological reactions in high-stress situations gives us a path to follow; it is then our choice if we walk this path or fight it. And the choice we make is often the difference between our success and failure.
While most of us may enjoy our jobs, there may also be times when our work may get intense. Whether we need to work with a challenging internal or external client or complete a long list of pending tasks, the above strategies help us stay relaxed despite odd circumstances. By having calming ways, one can stay focused and productive on even the most unpredictable workdays.
About the Author
Muhammad Sajwani is the Founder and Managing Director of Evolve HR which aims at transforming, enriching and evolving Human Capital of Pakistan, Evolve HR thrives in challenging assumptions that hinder organisational aspirations, by creating innovative solutions that yield maximum impact, scalability & benefit to a wider base of stakeholders. As a Business Coach and Organisational Consultant, Sajwani knows how to combine business insights with people insights to transform organisations and put them on the path to growth.
