The average property
manager has 50-100 open tasks, issues, conversations on any one given week.
They are interrupted approximately 7 times an hour and distracted for up to 2.1
hours per day. Over 40% of property managers say that they are affected by
stress in the workplace. Many say they feel overwhelmed and in a constant state
of “busy”.
How can you maintain focus
throughout the day? Is it possible to do everything that needs to be done and
still have energy left after work? How do you keep cool under so many
demands?
Today I am going to tackle
some different strategies to take your work stress down a notch before it takes
over your life.
1.
Accept that ‘busy’ is part
of life
In our office, we have had
to remove the word “busy” from our vocabulary. We all get so unnecessarily
stressed with the perception that we are all so busy, when actually this word
is actually just normal every day life! There may never be a day when
everything is done, especially in property management, so acceptance that life
is busy is important. So next time someone asks you how you are doing, instead
of busy you can say “I’m very productive thanks!”
2.
Eliminate Interruptions
We are all bombarded during the day, emails, phone calls,
drop ins, texts, internal conversations, as well as sudden urgent issues –
making us more distracted than ever. If you can do something to remove the
disruption, i.e. turning off email notifications, flicking the mobile to
airplane mode, locking yourself in the boardroom for an hour, having a do not
disturb sign, turning vibrate off your phone – then take action and do so to
get some control back of your time.
3.
Take A Deep Breath
If you’re feeling overwhelmed or are coming out of an
intense conversation and need to clear your head, a few minutes of deep
breathing will restore mental balance. Simply inhale for five seconds, hold and
exhale in equal counts through the nose. It can be like getting the calm and
benefits of yoga class in three minutes or less at your desk – getting our zen
back before leaping into the next issue.
4.
Act Rather Than React
We experience stress when
we feel that situations are out of our control. It activates our stress
hormones and can wear down confidence, concentration and wellbeing. Identify
what you can control and what you cannot. You are in control of your actions
and responses but not someone else’s. Concentrate on what you can do and how
you can act – and let go of the rest.
5.
Schedule Your Day For
Energy And Focus
We seem to have a culture where working harder and longer is
perceived to make you more important which results in us pushing and pushing to
get more done and working longer hours. The longer hours we work the
productivity actually goes down and you’ll have little energy when you do get
home. (Part Time workers statistically are more productive than full time
workers as they have tighter deadlines). Schedule breaks throughout the day to
walk, stretch and breath. Make a commitment to leave on time so you have a
deadline and aren’t stretching the day out to longer than it needs to be,
perhaps even schedule specified “me
time” into your calendar even if you don’t have any personal commitments.
6.
Reprioritise.
With competing deadlines and fast-changing priorities, it’s
critical to define what’s truly important and why. That requires clarity, take
a moment to re-write and prioritise your to-do list by focusing on those items
that are most urgent and important. When you feel to busy to do this, that’s
exactly when you need to do it even more so.
7.
Ask
for help
To often we look at asking for
help as a sign of weakness, but we may find that those around us, our
colleagues or management would be happy to help with a stressful situation. Don’t
be afraid to ask for help resolving an issue, or with your stress.
8.
Eat Right and Drink Water
Eating badly can add stress
to your system. And when you’re not sleeping well you’re not recovering.
Ensuring that you fuel your body with wholesome and nutritious foods and
removing processed foods (such as junk food, takeaway and sugary snacks), and
hydrating with 2 litres of water during the day will support stress reduction
and give you the energy to get through the day.
9.
Be active
If you experience stress, physical activity can get you in the right
state of mind to be able to identify the causes of your stress and
find a solution. Exercise won’t make your stress disappear, but it will reduce
some of the emotional intensity that you’re feeling, clearing your thoughts and
enabling you to deal with your problems more calmly.
10.
Take control
There’s a solution to any problem. “If you remain passive,
thinking, ‘I can’t do anything about my problem’, your stress will get worse.
If you let that problem sit under the rug it will only get worse and more
stressful. If you’ve been putting it off, tackle it first thing in the morning
– and it will be the worst thing you do all day! The act of taking control is
in itself empowering, which will get you motivated to solve more issues. Plus its never as bad as we think it is.
11.
Connect with people
A problem shared is a problem halved. A good support network
of colleagues, friends and family can ease your work troubles and help you
see things in a different way. Sometimes just the act of talking it through
with someone will help a stressful situation and they may be able to help find
useful solutions for your problems.
12.
Stop
the email ping pong.
The sheer number of emails sent and received everyday ads to
our stress levels. Whilst email is great and convenient for many things,
resolving tricky situations or disagreements it is not good for at all. We’ve
all heard it before but pick up the phone, you’ll resolve issues faster if you
pick up the phone and simply confirm the outcome in writing. If you can feel an
email is irate, you should use this as an indication to pick up the phone.
Hermione Gardiner
Real+
