Smart Ways to Stamp Out Stress

Easy ways to ease the pressure and put the joy back into your job.

Your shoulders are up by your ears and your head hurts. You're so knotted up inside, you can hardly think straight, and if one more person tells you you're lucky to have a job, you'll explode. Diagnosis: stress.

This is the number one problem for 60 per cent of working women, and in this age of cutbacks and short-term contracts, lay-offs and long hours, the working world is like an assault course. But that doesn't mean you can't rise above the tension. Here's how to win at work with­out losing your job - or your mind.

1. You're overwhelmed

Your 'To Do' list is six pages long and just looking at it makes you hyperventilate. Solution: Make a master plan. First, edit your list by putting similar tasks such as all your phone calls in one group, suggests Susan Shenkel, an American psychologist and author of Giving Away Success (Random House). The result? You're looking at ten manageable sections instead of a multi-task pile-up. Next, prioritise. Ask yourself, "What is the most important thing to do right now?" and do it. Don't work on anything else until you finish. You'll be amazed by the relief a bit of follow-through brings.

2. You've got task terror

You've been putting off that report and anx­iety's accelerating with every passing day. Solution: Take tiny steps. You're so obsessed with the big assignment, you've forgotten each project consists of smaller, sections. Break it down, create an outline, write the intro. Stop saying you'll have it finished by lunchtime. Instead, set a deadline and see what you can manage in that time.

3. You're a mess

If you are stressed, your desk will be the immediate blast area. It's a chicken and egg thing - your space is chaos because you're stressed. You're stressed because your space is chaos. Mess adds to stress. Solution: Get sorted: clean your desk every night. This might sound unrealistic, but get into the habit, and the stress saving s guaranteed. Force yourself to deal with every single piece of paper. There is a place for everything - your filing cabinet, the rubbish bin or someone's else's desk.

4. Your boss is impossible

She or he is always looking over your shoulder, and it's making you miserable. Solution: If you feel you are being singled out, ask yourself if the criticisms are justi­fied and consider how some adjustments might serve you professionally.

"So much conflict at work is brought about by breakdown in communication," says Sue Davis at Threshold, an initiative for women and mental health. "So commu­nicate. Choose your time carefully, then discuss the dynamics between you. Your boss is a human being too and by calling a ceasefire, some tension should diffuse."

5. You're falling apart

The pressure at your office is so intense, you never get a chance to leave your desk, let alone eat lunch. So it's no wonder you're feeling frazzled and underpar. Solution: Make room for a life. If you know you can't grab lunch, pack a nutri­tious snack at home. See the danger signals in advance, and you'll avoid burn­out, says Susan Lark, author of Anxiety and Stress - A Self-Help Programme. "If work is high-pressured, then make provision," she says. "Get your full quota of sleep. Cut back on coffee and sugar which can make you jittery."