How To Deal With Stress On The Job?

aWorkaHolic

The stress of the job is getting to much. The mental strain is affecting me physically. I just can't seem to get a good deep breath of fresh air at work or even at home.

Some say to take a vacation or take on another hobby. Some say that whats not accomplished today can be done another day so why stress?

I have allot of hobbies with little time to do anything. I don't even remember the last time I ever took a vacation.

I am the COO of my division with corporate seemingly micro managing me. I have no one remotely close to taking over my duties to even take time off.

How do you guys handle stress? How do you guys get out of the depressive road I seem to be on? What have I misplaced to keep moving forward? I ask all of you because I am pretty sure the majority here has been down this road. I just need new ideas to get focused again. Thanks in advance.

KentWhitten

oh, boy. I'm in your arena. I used to be able to burn it off when I framed, but I too have been having a hard time "letting it go"

Just try to let it brush off you. Don't take things so seriously. If they want to micro manage you, let them. When they want to take over your job, then let them.

You can't control what anyone else is going to do or say. You can only control what you know and do.

daily exercise will help you through all of this. A guy who worked with me awhile ago exercises at lunch time. I myself need to take his advice and do that.

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If you correct your mind, the rest of your life will fall into place ~Lao Tzu

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vwovw

i just pretend its not happening

Brian

I've been there and done that, and it isn't fun.

Then I read E-Myth and it changed my life.

It took some time, but I eventually realized that I was trying to do too much. I wanted everything perfect, and since few things are ever perfect, I always had something to do.

I developed systems, and then other people could do many of the tasks I had been doing. I no longer had to check everything and be on top of everything. I had developed procedures that others could follow.

In a very simplified form:
1. Identify the results you want
2. Identify what actions will lead to those results
3. Write it down
4. Assign someone else to be responsible
5. Train it
6. Monitor the results and re-train as necessary

It is very easy to fall into the mindset of "if I want it done right, I have to do it myself." That is a self-fulfilling prophecy, and the road to extreme frustration.

Brian Phillips

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KillerToiletSpider

A trip to the local gun range is a great way for me to unwind, now that I found one that will let me fire my Desert Eagle.

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A flush is better than a full house.

dirt diggler

working in a corporate setting ... sounds like they're just trying to milk you for all you're worth. You've reached "your limit" - but they don't feel you have reached "theirs"

that's the game there. They look at numbers - purely. That's how decisions are made. You have people you've never laid eyes on deciding how productive you should be.


I am not criticizing that - im very much a huge fan and supporter of capitalism. My attitude would be - if you can't hack it, we'll find someone who can.


so - as far as how to deal with the stress .... well, start your own business ... you'll look back on that "stress" and laugh

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Thanks in advance!!!

woodmagman

Don’t kid yourself…..when you die from a heart attack, you will be replaced in a heart beat. If you are not profiting from the stress, what the heck is the point.
Your name suggests you know your own shortcoming; you likely are the only one that can answer your own question.
My answer is like always, if someone is causing me stress I return the favour……if someone is making my life a joy they are rewarded….

vwovw

i work out. swim, bike and trying to run. thinking about doing a Olympic triathlon. My wife did five this year. Play with my vw's when i have time. but health first mental and physical.

woodmagman

You believe that your stress is work related when you seem to be looking to other non work related solutions. I would find the cause of the stress and remove it. What you do in your free time has nothing to do with the solution.

Higgs

hey man,
understand where your comming from. the biggest thing is exercising, eating right, and getting a good sleep schedule going. exercise releases an endorphin into your brain that counter acts the stress. eating right will give you more energy and cause less strain on your heart and the rest of your body. in addition staying hydrated is helpfull to. it keeps you more focused and you wake up more refreshed. Finally delegation is an amazing thing.
all in all just a few things i learned from the military

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Higgins
"The more we sweat in peace, the less we bleed in war."
-- Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (1900-1990)

aWorkaHolic

Care to elaborate some more? This sound very interesting. I've done the firing of guys on the hood of my truck, Docking pay for crap ass work etc....

aWorkaHolic

That's just it. When stress of my personal life interacts with stress of the job.....it's hard to focus on a solution.

aWorkaHolic

I have to thank you all for re-enforcing how to combat my problem. You guys are top notch. I'm glad I found this board and camaraderie.

Like women say, Only women understand another woman's problem.

Here, Us Tradesmen only understand what all of us go through in this profession.

woodmagman

I will second that....we are in the trade and should be swinging at nails not unforseen problems...stay healthy and booze only makes it go away for a short period of time as does denial....

Putty Truck

1) Change your name from aWorkingChump to aWorkingSlacker (give YOU a BREAK)

2) Ride motorcycles. I have a small cruiser that is a no-brainer in operating and maintenance and zero status. I can get on it by myself and go for hours and a day. This time of year I wear snowboarding clothes and a full helmet with a ski mask.

Michaeljp86

I found out I was stressed by my blood pressure. I was able to calm my self down and it helped out alot. When I feel stress I just take a second to relax and I can feel it and then I just go about my business and if I fell it come back and just take a second and let all my nerves unwind. Another thing is to just not worry about it when something goes wrong.

My dad is the type when something goes wrong to flip out and loose control. My mom also get excited quick so I got the best of both of them so I get stress fairly easy. Just sortof teaching myself to calm down really helped. I also have a beer belly which I hear is from stress. I dont drink much beer so it must be a stress belly.

curapa

I try to avoid traditional vacations, they make me more stressed out. To many headaches, kids arguing about where they want to go, my old lady spending my money on useless souvineers, several days in a row of non-stop walking sight seeing and tourist traps. NO THANKYOU.

I find it best to schedule a few days off here and there between jobs. I dont
tell my old lady so she doesnt plan things for me to do. I sleep in, meet up with some friends for lunch, have some beer and dont think about anything to do with work.

woodmagman

This guy is wise beyond his years....a planned unplanned holiday contractor style...

The plumber

Great answers. I am digging the taking a few days off without the ol' lady knowing.

I'm not sure of your age, but mixed martial arts training is a great stress reliever. You get in great shape and you get to beat on people daily. It really helped me out until I went pro, then it was like another job. I retired from fighting last year and now I feel the stress again, but can't seem to make the time to go kick someone in the head.

mbenike

The two best things to relieve stress for me and apparently others... exercise and a good nights rest. I try to exercise over my lunch break at least 3 times a week and also once during the weekend. If you think you don't have time, I think you should try to look at it a different way. It really only takes one hour total to leave your work, change, workout (vigorously) for 25 minutes, rinse, change, and go back to work if you hurry. I come in early and leave late because it is easier to take 2 hours some days. Like a previous post said, exercise releases endorphines and takes your mind off the daily grind. My workout isn't too draining either. I often feel more energetic in the afternoon. Largely because of the workout, but also because it forces me not to eat unhealthy food from a restaurant. I usually eat a fruit and a slimfast on the way back to the office.

Even more important to me is getting enough rest. I feel exceptionally better the day after good sleep. That's all I can say about sleep.

Hope this helps. I've heard of some people taking time out of their day to do relaxation techniques like yoga or reading. But that seams like it would be hard to envision anyone in this forum doing. Maybe I'm wrong though.