“My Two Cents” by Cindy Pickens – Cynergy Balance in Life (BIL) Series

“tis the Season - for a Balance in Life”

Business is more stressful today than it was five years ago. That’s what 71% of owner-managers told consulting firm Grant Thornton in a 2004 survey of businesses with $1 million to $10 million in sales. And while that result is probably not a surprise, it’s about to get worse, at least for a few months. The holiday season is approaching, and with it, an annual increase in stress as we try to balance our already hectic career responsibilities with additional financial and personal demands.

A reasonable amount of stress can actually have a positive effect if handled correctly. The excitement and fast pace of a project motivate us. The hustle to meet a critical deadline energizes us. Stress can increase creativity and productivity.

However, when deadlines become a way of life, they start damaging our ability to think and perform effectively. Consider these statistics:

• Stress costs U.S. industry $300 billion annually
• Only 32% of lost workdays are due to illness. More than half – one million U.S. workers every workday – are due to stress.
• Stress causes 60-80% of industrial accidents.
• Nearly half of all Americans suffer from symptoms of burnout.

Add the extra demands of the holiday season and it is little wonder that many of us feel “mega-stressed out”.

One way to take the stress out of the holidays is to plan for them as you would for any critical high-visibility project. Strive for “optimal performance”, achieving your personal best while balancing personal harmony and productivity. Under pressure, optimal performers consolidate their physical, emotional and intellectual abilities to effectively balance personal and professional challenges and demands.

(Avoid the trap of striving for “peak performance” as the road to excellence. A peak is not somewhere you stay for long – once you arrive, the only way to go is down.)

Take charge of your life and move toward optimal performance by following these basic principles for handling personal and business stress during the holiday season:

• Make a list of all the things you need to do to prepare for the holiday.
• Use your calendar or planner just as you would to track a project.
• Re-examine all your tasks, omit any that you dread and replace them with something more suited to your tastes.
• Break your tasks into reasonable segments. You don’t need to do everything in one day if you plan well.
• Simplify your life and maximize your time by purchasing gifts closer to work or home, or shop on the internet
• Learn to say “no” to invitations. Too much entertainment can actually become boring, take time from more enjoyable activities, or simply cut into much-needed “downtime”. If a party invitation seems like a burden, just say “no”!
• The holidays are a time of sharing, so don’t hesitate to share your holiday responsibilities with others – in other words, delegate!
• Remember to enjoy your family and friends.
• Finally, every day, plan to do something just for you.

Take the time to understand the potential pitfalls of the holiday experience, plan for them, and you can develop an effective strategy to cope with and even enjoy this wonderful time of the year.

Working Smart + Living Your Values = Balance in Life

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Take Care…
CP