People are always rushed and seemed not to have enough time during the day to perform all their tasks. This causes enormous stress in their lives. They resemble a F1 Formula car red lining and getting ready to blow its engine. We see evidence of this with road rage and people being testy in general. I will provide some guidelines on how people can relax more and enjoy life.

Relaxation is not a Guilty Pleasure

People should try to find some personal time during the week. They should participate in activities that they enjoy and brings a smile. It could be anything like going to see a movie, taking a walk or playing with their children. Whatever it is, you must take some time to do it. Schedule it in your calendar if you have to.

Another benefit by doing something that relaxes you is that you will be more productive. I do not know how many times that I was agonizing over a problem for a couple of hours and could not find a solution. I would leave and spend some time alone to refresh myself. Upon my return, I am usually able to find a solution quickly. Your mind has to recuperate or else you will not be able to function properly.

Exercise is the Food for the Soul

Exercising is another great way to combat stress. Everybody has heard that a person should perform 3 to 4 times a week 30 minutes of exercise. By doing this, you are able to cope with the unwanted distractions better and can recuperate faster after a hectic day. Also, a secondary effect is that you will probably lose weight and feel better.

Mistakes will happen

It amazes me how people always dwell on mistakes and spend a lot of time and energy on them. I know that mistakes will happen and plan for them. People should take responsibility for their mistakes, fix them and learn from them. My theory is that if a person is making mistakes, it means that they are working and taking risk. You just have to supervise that you are not always making the same mistakes. If you are making the same mistakes, you are not learning and being unproductive.

When dealing with a customer, I have always found that most people are reasonable. Following my script of taking responsibility and fixing the issue, people will understand the situation and be impressed with your attitude. There will be less conflict in your interaction with customers.

Time and Scope Factor

Another way that I look at mistakes is I figure out how long people will remember the mistake or how many people does the mistake affect? If people will forget the mistake quickly or it only affects one or two people and they do not dwell on it, I will not spend an enormous amount of time on the issue. For example, the Enron scandal created a large scope of damage with people losing their pension and employment. A person should definitely be concerned with this situation and find a solution so that it does occur again. Compare to somebody cutting you off on the freeway, this is not a big thing and should not send you it a fit of rage.

Get out there and enjoy yourself with your family and friends because time goes by very fast. I still not have heard a person state that they should have spent more time at the office on their death bed; so remember to relax as it is not the end of the world.

Copyright 2006 Greg Doucet. All rights reserved.