Is your daily routine a dizzying array of activities and responsibilities?
Are you having difficulty tracking your commitments and managing your schedule?
Are you making excuses for failing to keep a commitment?
Are you worried about the consequences of not completing tasks?
One of the most serious causes of work stress and unhappiness is failing to keep commitments. It helps to have a schedule. However, if you already have an overwhelming workload, there is only so much energy you can muster, and there are only so many hours in the day. Taking on additional obligations only adds more stress in your life. Sure, it might be easy to make excuses or try to explain away why you did not fulfill an obligation, but neither reaction brings you much satisfaction.
For our mental health. we all need purpose, growth and sense of control. Those three things help us make important life decisions, and feel less overwhelmed, stuck, or worse yet lost or unhappy. Your sense of control includes when you say yes or no.
The key to not being overwhelmed is to be more selective when making additional commitments when you do not have the time or energy to do the work or attend an activity. Decide if it is important and be intentional about selecting your obligations.
The tough part is to stay organized enough to judge quickly what you can actually commit to finish. Once you make a commitment, do what you promised. That way you do not have to feel negligent or culpable; you do not have to make excuses; you do not have to feel dissatisfied or that you let someone down.
Even when events that are not under your control go awry, you can be intentional about how you will react to the event and use it as an opportunity to make changes. It is how we all learn and grow.
In the workplace where people work so closely together and every aspect of a project depends on another team member doing a job, it is easy to make excuses or try to explain away why we did not fulfill an obligation.
Give careful thought to what you volunteer for at work and in your personal life. If that obligation will further overwhelm you, maybe you can pass on the opportunity and suggest that they might ask you in the future, when your schedule is less hectic.
When you find yourself continually failing to keep a commitment you have to figure out what need improving.
Evaluate all your commitments – relationships, work, family, health and community. List your commitments. Then examine each obligation separately. Your goal is to consciously determine which ones you really care about so you can be more engaged in what is important to you.
If you are distracted from meeting your obligations, make sure you surround yourself with people who are actively engaged in what’s important to them. It is easier to be committed toward something when your coworkers, friends or life partner are also working toward something they care about at the same time as you. It’s great to discuss these kinds of achievements.
Flexible thinking allows
you to think about something in more than one way. It plays a key role in reducing anxiety, as well as not being overwhelmed or stifled by unpredictable circumstances in
your life or workplace.
Inspiration can strike when you least expect it, but that is an inefficient way to develop an idea or approach decision-making and problem solving. Instead, try one of these 7 quick and easy individual brainstorming techniques.
True professionals do not do things just for the sake of appearances. Your commitment and what you do back stage and unwitnessed is garners the respect of others, gives you satisfaction in life, and contributes meaningful value to a project or organization.
Do you know why you procrastinate. It may not be that you are simply overworked and under pressure. Identify a cause and fend it off with an easy-to-implement strategiy that can be implemented easily and set the tone for an non-procrastination-type day.
With the right sensory technique you will feel a sense of assuredness and always have a rescue tool to relieve stress on the spot. What is your sensory resuce toolbox?
As a professional, you want to get the job done – and done well. You also want to keep advancing and identify opportunities. This easy pen and pencil tool can help you with a plan.
