October 11, 2008

Make your job work for you

Don’t let work rule your life.  Set aside time in your date book for social events one or two times a week and commit to them as you would to any other project.

Definitely do lunch

Deprive your body of food and it will break down on you under pressure. At least have some soup or grab a slice of pizza on the go. Also buy low fat snacks such as yoghurt that you can munch on to keep energy up throughout the day.

Take mini time outs

Tension can build up quickly so take two or three minutes every hour or two to relax. Get up, walk around, take deep breaths or chat with co-worker. People who take breaks are more productive at work and more satisfied with their jobs.

Get a chance of scenery

During lunch break, visit a park, walk around the block to recharge and take your mind off work.

Remind yourself who you are outside of your job

Hang family photos, postcards or seashells from your last trip to the beach by your desk. Work is only part of who you are, not all of who you are.

Learn to say No

Women often have trouble setting limits because they don’t like to disappoint people who count on them. Are you taking more than you can handle? Are your deadlines realistic? Trust your intuition. If you almost never make it to yoga class, maybe you don’t think you are worth the time. Try to put yourself first and don’t reply to emails at late hours. Make sure you get out the door for some time.

Ask for help

You may want to do everything yourself, but delegating will save you time in the end. The smartest way to oversee a project: outline responsibilities, set deadlines and schedule periodic updates.

Work smarter - not harder

If you regularly work longer hours than your co-workers, you may not be using your time wisely. Streamline tasks that stress you the most. Then, promise yourself that you’ll leave the office every day at a certain time or complete a project by a specific deadline and do the best you can with the time you have.

Make plans to leave work

Stop working 30 minutes before you really want to get out of office. Use that time to organize your desk, go over what you accomplished and create a to-do list for the next day.

Don’t strive for perfection

At a certain point, you have to let a project go, even if it’s not exactly what you wanted. The time and energy you’d have to invest to take it from 85% to absolutely perfect is not always worth it. Once you accept you can’t be the best every time, it takes a lot of pressure off.