The reason it is so important to combat the effects of stress is to avoid reaching the point where our fuel is exhausted and the fire inside us ceases to burn. It can happen; stress takes a remarkable toll on the body. For instance, it's estimated that 60 percent of all visits to physicians are for stress-related illnesses. We're all aware of the epidemic of illegal narcotics in our country, but the three most commonly used drugs are still tranquilizers, hypertension medications, and medicines for ulcers. Air traffic controllers, who are constantly under tension on the job, actually have a section on their attendance record that reads: "Day off - On pills."
The notion of discussing the stress you are under carries through to the job as well. Perhaps the deadline set by your boss is so impossible that the only result will be failure. Simply waiting for the day when the failure will become apparent - deadline day - only increases the tension placed upon you. People who are secure in their jobs and in themselves, are not afraid to tell a superior that the deadline for a given job can't be met, and will offer alternative suggestions. I'm not talking about finding excuses for not getting a job done. Employees who do that don't get away with it very often and find their career advancement stymied, as it should be.
Instead, I'm suggesting that if you have given a task your full attention, have considered all the possible means of accomplishing it, and, despite all the resources at your fingertips, are convinced that it can't be done in the time demanded, you should state your position and continue to seek alternative ways of accomplishing the mission.
The boss who only criticizes and never praises - might be the sort of person who will not tolerate that kind of realistic evaluation of a project. In that case, you have two choices: either to quit or to decide that you will do everything in your power to accommodate that boss. Either choice brings its own brand of stress. Either you're out of work, or you're facing a grueling schedule. What then?
You have smoothed things over at home by having worked out some way of still being part of the family. Maybe that involved setting up a schedule of time together instead of simply allowing weeks to slip by in the hope that things will ease up. It could be a matter of reserving one night a week for dinner together or taking a weekend out of the hectic work schedule to do something you have both wanted to do very much.
Now you turn to the job at hand - completing the project as close to deadline as possible.
Become super-organized. Disorganized people suffer the most stress because things seem overwhelming to them. Take time to clear your desk of everything except the important project. Some people find that by sitting at another desk, preferably in another office, they are subjected to far less distraction and are able to concentrate on the project. Use time when you are exhausted and unable to concentrate to get rid of more routine, mundane matters. Use your most alert and rested time to attack the big challenge.
Recognize that breaks in the day do not take away from your productivity. Instead, they contribute to it. Make it a rule during this intense period not to have a sandwich at your desk for lunch. Get out of the office and take a walk, change your surroundings, do anything to break the stressful monotony of the project. Even leaving your office and working in an empty conference room for an hour or two can do wonders for your spirits. It is when a project presses down on us like a heavy gray cloud that the pressure begins to build and the resultant stress grows to unhealthy levels.
Don't ignore the need for regular exercise. Doing something physical does wonders for the mind and raises the overall energy level. Even if it involves ten-minute breaks at your desk to do some isometric exercises, take the time. You will more than make it up in increased productivity.
Be aware that simply putting in time does not represent progress toward the completion of the project. Be honest enough with yourself to know that on a given night, taking home three or four hours of work is ultimately going to be counterproductive. You will lose that time with your family, and the effort you put into the work you hauled home will contribute little to the project's completion.
Deadlines can be particularly difficult for data processors to meet because management establishing the deadlines often has little knowledge of or interest in what goes into the creation of a system and the software to make it work. This can raise frustration levels in DPers to jarring proportions, and it takes constant effort not to let it influence your attitude toward those making what seem to be unreasonable demands or to allow it to interfere with your work on the project. Here again is a wonderful opportunity for an ongoing educational process to take place within a company, led by men and women in data processing who recognize the benefits to be derived from bringing the department more into the mainstream of company objectives and policies.
