The Ultimate Stress Blog | Stress Advice and More

By Jane Schulte, Author of Work Smart, Not Hard!

Due to many companies downsizing, today’s workplace presents unique stressors and struggles because the employees who are left are often pulling double duty. While those employees who remain are relieved to have a job, the new work environment creates the feeling of being overwhelmed which can often lead to job burnout.

What can we do? Here are a few Work Smart tips that can make a huge difference:

• Keep your email inbox empty! When you read an email, make a decision. Delete, forward (delegate) or create a task to handle it at a later date. When you leave it in your inbox and read it several times, you are turning one task into several tasks. You can also create a rule to have certain emails automatically go to a folder and skip your inbox. That way, you can read all emails in certain categories when you have time rather than having them crowd your inbox.

• Follow-up! Nothing upsets a client or customer more than a ball being dropped. Drop your email into a task or into your calendar to see a client or customer question or issue through to its conclusion if you are not able to handle it immediately or if you delegate it.

• Use a PEND System! Set up 1-31 folders which represent days of the month to keep loose papers, files and other tangible items off of your desk. You can also set up an electronic PEND (e-PEND) in Outlook ™ to move emails and other electronic data. Clutter causes stress. Give everything a home – set up a PEND System and the only thing you’ll have to remember is to check it daily!

• Organize Email! Set up a temporary electronic file folder by client or project name. After being read, all email can be dropped into its appropriate folder. This allows your inbox to remain clear while enabling you to refer back to emails of like kind at any time.

• Set up your day! Don’t let your day plan you – plan it! Spend 15 minutes every morning organizing your tasks into stacks. Work on the priority items first. Have only the item you are working on in front of you. Remove all other items from your sight. PEND non-urgent items that you are unable to handle that day due to other commitments. Can something be delegated? Is it really urgent? If someone asks for a meeting for that day, if you are already feeling stressed and it is not time-sensitive, schedule it for another day when your appointments are light. Then spend 15 minutes at the end of the day re-organizing and prioritizing your work load and space.

It is human nature to pack as much into a day as we possibly can. That is our definition of success. But by spreading out non-urgent work, appointments, internal meetings and projects and effectively managing email, you can have successful and happy days. It’s up to you – Work Smart!