The snow is finally gone and jobsites are getting busier and busier as construction season starts all over again. Its been a long winter and now the rush and everything is now behind schedule.
Here comes the stress and deadline pressure. How to cope?
Here are a few excerpts for Eileen Chadnick’s blog. You can view the full article at tgimworklife.wordpress.com.
Six strategies to tame your brain
Pause
When in the midst of a stressful moment, take a moment to simply pause. While it may feel counter-intuitive when rushed with time-sensitive workloads, a short pause provides a time buffer that can weaken the impulse and mitigate falling into the stress response. More importantly, this intentional break can give you that small but critical opening for more productive thinking and putting things in better perspective.
Notice and Name it.
Simply observe and then name your emotional reaction. For instance, you might say to yourself, “I’m feeling very stressed” or “I’m frazzled”. It’s important to notice then label the experience without feeding into the emotion.
Organize
Our left hemisphere brains love it when we make plans and get organized. Organizing is a powerful antidote to overwhelm and can provide a calming effect when we feel chaos and fear. Write out a to-do list; revisit your priorities; create an action plan; clean up the clutter on your desk or in a file.
Focus
Our brains crave focus. But all too often we work against this by trying to multi-task. Our brains, in fact, are not built for multi-tasking attention. Instead, the brain simply toggles from one thinking task to another. This constant switching is a major energy drain and a first class ticket to frazzle. Chunk down your priorities and focus on one task at a time.
Visualize
While our left hemisphere of our brain craves order, the right hemisphere can help us access calm with strategies like visualizing, looking at the big picture. Try to visualize success in handling a challenge you are facing; create an image in your mind.
Connect
Interacting with people you like can boost levels of the Oxytocin hormone which can have a calming effect when stressed. Avoid the urge to hide or go it alone. Instead seek out others whom you trust and can count on for support.
Tim Lawlor can be reached by phone at (613) 224-3460 ext 111 or by email at tlawlor@cnrgp.com. You can also read Ottawa Construction News online at www.ottawaconstructionnews.com.
