3 Simple Tips For A Less Stressful Work Week

The weekend is almost over and a new work week is about to start. Working days can get quite stressful, tense even. This is definitely especially true, in the crazy times we are living in right now. So I thought I would share 3 of my simple tips for a less stressful work week. So what are those 3 simple tips, you should ask?

• Plan
• Prioritize
• Be Flexible

Plan

Having a plan is always a good idea. Sitting down and making a plan can actually be very calming, when things around us are crazy. It’s time well invested. You do not want to do this on your weekend, though. Because to have a successful and not so stressful work week, you need to make time to rest a priority (prioritize) on your weekends.

Firstly, you are likely going to schedule (or be invited to) many meetings throughout the week already. Do not just simply accept invites. Look at your week and make sure, you have sufficient time for the topics important to you. And sufficient room for flexibility, too.

You prefer to start your Monday “slow” to ease into things? Plan for it and block-out time in your calendar for this. And prioritize yourself by being firm about this blocked out time. At least as much as possible. You need dedicated quiet time to answer important mail (rather emails these days), figure out what’s the best timing in your team / department and then block that time in your calendar.

Does your job require to work on strategies and developing plans? I highly recommend setting time aside in your calendar for this, too. Half an hour a day? An hour? Whatever works best for you. Because if you do not block the time, someone else likely does.

You prefer to take your breaks (lunch i.e.) at the same time each day? Or you have to, because you are the cook in the family and are preparing the meals? Do so! And do not forget to block it in your calendar or this spot might be gone, soon. And be open about it. Leaders should respect your plan as long as you show flexibility, when things can’t be moved.

If you want to also plan your meals for the week ahead and prepare some of them, that will give you extra peace of mind. Check-out my meal prepping the lazy way here, for more tips.

Secondly, you should also plan important tasks, goals, agenda’s for meetings and instructions or information you need to share with your team. I am a note book kind of person. I like to hand write my “to do lists” but of course you can do this using note functions of your work tools. So I prefer doing this on Friday afternoon when things usually are slower, meeting wise.

Lastly, also on Fridays, I am usually looking ahead to my Monday and make sure I have everything ready. Especially knowing my first meeting of the day, the people I am going to meet. And also my list of deliverables.

Prioritize

While we often times talk ourselves into believing, everything we have to do is equally important. It’s not. Unless we do have a Micro Manager as our boss, we will have to learn to prioritize. And trust me, you’d rather learn that, than being micro managed.

Everything can be a priority. Just not at the same time. Using the time every Friday afternoon, to go through the list of tasks and activities and prioritize them, is important. When you write your to do’s, note down when you want to work on them and by when you want or need to have them completed. There is different approaches to prioritization. You need to find your own, but some ideas:

• As a leader, make sure sufficient time for your team is allocated and they are a high priority on your list. Try to not move 1:1 meetings unless you really have to (not just because another meeting comes in)
• You have tasks others depend on, make sure you clearly align timelines and deadlines with these groups. And then prioritize them accordingly.
• I personally try to work on tasks I do not like as much first, to clear my head and desk of them. Difficult topics / problems should definitely be top on your resolution list, as they tend to get bigger not better if left unattended for too long.
• You are a priority – make sure you do take your breaks, even if it is small ones and move your body, get some fresh air (unless you live in hot and steamy Florida, than you might want to skip the “fresh air) part.
• Make thinking things through and strategizing a priority, plan it in your calendar and take the time, to do it. It might not be an immediate deliverable. But it will help set you up for success moving forward.

Our personal lives are important. I do not think work-life-balance is a thing, as work is part of my life. However having to prioritize either, can become stressful and a challenge we do not need in our work week. Or weekend. Check out my thoughts on “work-life-balance” here for more thoughts on prioritization.

Be Flexible

Your best plan will only work well for a less stressful week, only when you stay flexible. Leave room in your plan to accommodate unforeseen issues, challenges, meetings, sickness etc. And yes I said it before – plan for it in your calendar.

Flexibility starts in your head. Make your plans already with the thought in mind, that they might have to change. What would be a plan B or plan C? Having prioritized your tasks and noted down these priorities will help keep you flexible. You can now focus on the highest priorities on your list, to accommodate whatever happens and still not have to miss any important deadlines.

In a previous blog post I talked about the power of routines. Some routines, such as meal prepping and preparing, can help you with your flexibility. If meals are already prepared and just need to be heated or are a fast fix, you can easily move meal time. Without having to sacrifice having a healthy and nurturing meal. Find out more about the power of routines here.

Ask for help. When things get too crazy and you need more flexibility in your plan, than you were able to plan for, asking for help is the solution.

And learn to delegate. Not all tasks on your task list have to necessarily be done by you. If you are a great leader, you have surrounded yourself with even greater people. Have them take over. But remember to return that favor. This is not a one way street.

Knowing who to turn to for support, when things get crazy and you need to be more flexible, should be part of your planning. So think about your tasks when you plan for them and spend a second or two thinking about who could do them, when things get worse.

These are the 3 simple tips for a less stressful work week, I wanted to share with you today. Before the next work week starts.

Now go out there and be great! Have a wonderful work week.

Nannette