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    GTD Cafe: 6 Ways to Rebound from a Tough Week

    May 7th, 2008 by thedailysaint

    Posted in GTD, Productivity |

    Today’s post is from Mike St. Pierre of The Daily Saint

    In an average month, how often do you have a tough week? Stress management is often cited as a weakness for folks who are super busy. A good definition of stress is,

    “the psychological and physical state that results when perceived demands exceed an individual’s ability to cope with them”

    The degree to which you are able to negotiate your sources of stress often determines your sense of a “good week”. When things spin out of control, we stress more and things get worse.

    Last week was rough for me. As I now look back on things, the following elements were present:

    • Diet: I either skipped meals or ate too much junk.
    • Sleep: Getting to bed after 11pm and then up at 5am didn’t help.
    • Fitness: One bike ride wasn’t enough to keep my body nimble and alert.
    • Time management: My calendar was an acquaintance rather than a companion.
    • Family: As a result of each item mentioned above, I was not fully present for the needs of my wife and kids. Sure, I was there but not fully present- there’s a big difference between the two.
    • Projects list: What’s a projects list?

    When you have a tough week, it’s good to look back and analyze the tip of the ice berg as I have done. Unfortunately, like all large blocks of ice, there is much more beneath the surface. How to rebound from all of this? Read on.

    1. Take care of your body. Pay attention to getting enough sleep, taking your vitamins, and eating well. Each of these is a “counter measure” to the stress that swirls around you. It’s a jungle out there so be prepared for what comes your way. Every meal counts.
    2. Stay in your routine. Too often, people under stress give up on their habits and rituals and this is a big mistake. Get up at the same time every day during the week. Perfect your pre-sleeping rituals. Determine to be a person of excellent habits.
    3. Be attentive to your spirit every day. Taking time for prayer and meditation is known to be good for you on so many levels. Whether it’s a journal entry, a quiet walk in the park or the reading of sacred texts, spiritual attentiveness pays off in big ways.
    4. Don’t give up by Wednesday. I find that if I can tough it out through Wednesday, my week is salvaged. This is a pivotal day so hang in there on hump day. (read this post on the importance of building on Tuesday’s success)
    5. Remember the famous quote from Jim Eliot. Missionary Jim Eliot had this to say, “Wherever you are, be all there.” If you are at work, dig in and bust your butt. If at home with your family, leave work behind and play with your kids and tell your spouse that she’s wonderful. Be fully present to the gifts around you.
    6. Give yourself something happy to anticipate. We know that it’s good to look forward to something, whether a birthday or a favorite T.V. show. Build into your week little things to which you can look forward. A great cup of coffee, a trip to your favorite park, a special meal with a friend.

    If we’ve learned nothing else from GTD it’s that little things make a big difference. In all of this, it’s worth noting that another 7 days will arrive on your doorstep next week. If you’re not dealing well with stress, another opportunity will present itself. Don’t be too hard on yourself and anticipate that you won’t be perfect. The key is to keep moving forward.

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    5 Responses

    1. Rolf F. Katzenberger Says:

      One more suggestion: stop at a success. How often do we continue working until a clock on the wall tells us it’s “time” to go?

      I’ve replaced that by having the clock tell me when it’s time to watch for a (small) success. Usually, I start “waiting” like this a little time before I’d like to call it a day. As soon as a success comes my way, I simply pack my things and leave.

      I’m almost always satisfied in the evening.

    2. Land Projects UK Says:

      Stress is really not good, this can kill you slowly. We should know how to manage stress and as much possible we should avoid it. Thanks for sharing this great topic. :)

    3. Bryan Kress Says:

      It was a pleasure meeting you this weekend. I am excited to take all that I learned and put it into play in the upcoming month. I hope you had a safe trip home and I can’t wait to meet you again.

    4. Dan (Gtdagenda.com) Says:

      Hi,
      Great article.

      One thing I would mention is to make your list of work items the night before, and then in the morning start doing the harder things on the list. Let the easier ones for later.

      Also, the list shouldn’t be too big, if there are important things you don’t complete that day you will go to bed with a sort off “pressure” which is not so good for your sleep.

    5. Trisha Says:

      I know I’m stressed when I start playing Brick Breaker on my crackberry when work is sitting right in front of me on the computer.

      For a while I was doing pretty good - I actually hadn’t done that for 2 to 3 weeks - but the last few days were totally different.

      I’ve been through it enough that I know my cues and how to pull myself out, but it still ends up being a demonstration of Parkinson’s Law - albeit, getting better.

      The only stress source I haven’t been able to overcome - which causes this mess - is urgency. These past few days I had 4 great big things on my list that absolutely had to be done by Sunday, and 2 great big things on my list that absolutely should be done by next Sunday.

      Here it is Saturday, and those 4 big things I needed done by Sunday were completed around 6am this morning. Here’s the catch - I didn’t realize it wasn’t Sunday until a few hours ago.

      The good news is, this is the first time it’s happened since going solo. The bad news is, I’m pretty sure it will happen again, and more frequently from now on, unless I find some way to prevent it.

      Believe me, I’m working on that as we speak…

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