Be Organised

Knowing how to reduce anxiety, enables us to respond appropriately to external and internal stress factors which increases our resilience. When we resist change, we are constantly pushing against things that are usually inevitable, this we increase anxiety.

When we embrace change, we go with the flow, making it easier on the mind, body and spirit to adapt and adjust to change.

Building Resilience is one of the four cornerstones of Embracing Change.

Be Organised

Imagine walking into your office in the morning and on your desk are piles of documents, lists and notes. When you switch on your computer, you are hit with 50 emails before you have even started your day. Your telephone shows 8 messages and your cell phone is ringing. For many managers and executives this may sound very familiar.

When you start your day disorganised, it probably makes you feel like you are carrying a sack of potatoes that only gets heavier as the day goes on.  During the day you probably add a few more potatoes to the sack, leaving you drained and tired by the time you finish work.

When you are organised however, it is more than likely that you will arrive at work raring to go and also leave work full of energy to do all the stuff you love when you get home... I can already hear the “Yeah right! easier said than done!” Well guess what? It’s not as hard as you might think when you break it down into baby steps and here's secret - the reason why they don't usually work, is because people don't actually do them.

The brain responds by keeping you in a permanent state of anxiety, triggered by the constant flow of adrenalin as you worry about the things that need doing that haven't been done yet. Over time, this constant state of alert leaves us drained and fatigued. During periods of change and transformation, the list of additional new things that need to be done increases the state of anxiety, thus reducing resilience and impacting our immune systems. Hence, more and more burn out is being recorded with increased absence from school and work. For more information read Burn Out and The Brain - Published by Alexandra Michel for the association for Psychological Science.

Make Time to Create Time

The one thing that you think you lack is the one that you can actually take control of. Paradoxically, by taking 15 minutes twice a day to manage your time you think you don't have, you give yourself time to create time. 

Part of being organised is also factoring in the things that you don’t normally think of scheduling like: 

The time spent reading and responding to emails and notifications at set times during the day;

• Time spent making and responding to phone calls
• Travel time spent between meetings or courses

Where do you account for the unscheduled time spent in order to to balance your day?

Do you cash it in for less sleep; or maybe is it less time with your family; could it be that gym session that you missed or downtime with a friend?

Spend 15 minutes in the morning before you get out of bed and 15 minutes at at night, to organise your day in a manner that allows for to properly create time for most activities. You will be surprised that when you schedule time for lunch, you actually have time for lunch. 

When you are organised you have more mental, emotional and physical energy available, which make you more resilient to any unexpected changes that may occur.

Decluttering

Human Beings are amazing creatures since the more we have, the more we want, and the more we have, the more burdened and sluggish we become, to the point where we get stuck, bogged down and unable to move.  The psychological impact of this, is that we may find ourselves procrastinating, lethargic and even physically immobilised.

Do you find that when you hoard things on your desk or in your drawers that you end up duplicating the documents because you cannot find the thing you are looking for? “Decluttering” your workspace has the same effect as spring cleaning in your home or clearing the winter leaves.

I find the 4D’s method contained within the Working Smart package by “Priority Management” really effective;

• Do it now! Don’t procrastinate! We tend to always leave the little tasks until they become a big problem
• Delegate – remember, you don’t always have to do the work yourself and when you delegate, you are empowering someone to achieve their own goal 
• Distribute – forward information as required and move it to the appropriate folders and files
• Delete – don’t be a hoarder. Are you really going to need it later? Delete anything that you no longer need

 

The To do list

It’s great to see those completion ticks at the end of the day.

Remember to update your “To do” list and priorities before you leave work at the end of the day and first thing in the morning.

Checking your list 3 times a day is enough to keep you on track with your daily objectives, so you leave your stress at work and you are fully available for friends and family at home