I'm stressed.
Lots of work
No time
Many different things
Stupid people

Give me ideas, please

:(

And I'll be spending 3 whole days in Belgium next week... ok because it's for another project that I'm a bit behind, so I'll catch up, but the other things remain undone....



Post Edited (07-11-03 09:14)

if it's hot where you are, a long relaxing dip in a quiet, uncrowded swimming pool always does wonders!

barring that, what always works for me, especially when it's hot is I take a cool/tepid shower (our bathtub is too short for me to stretch out in so I don't bother), dry off really well, put baby powder all over myself and light some candles and stretch out on the bed with a fan going. Put on some soothing music and just zone out for a while. And I visualize being in a hammock somewhere in the tropics. With the gentle breeze of the fan and the relaxing music (sometimes I use a relaxation tape that has the sound of water lapping the beach) The smell of the baby powder relaxes me and makes everything seem fresh and unfrenzied.

Half an hour of that and I'm ready to take on the world. And best of all, it's mostly portable!

*sigh*

sounds nice but there's no time.... or rather, that is done at home where (at least apparently) I always feel calmer.

I think I was trying to find some magic stuff to be done during the work hours...

Goon show tapes on a walkman - I've not been caught yet.

Alternatively, is there any chance of working from home? This cuts out the stupid people and irrelivant interruptions. Also cuts out commuting time loss. If you only take two or three jobs home, you don't get distracted by other work.

Can you "delegate" work to someone else on the promise of helping them out in the future?

If you work at a computer, can you change your screensaver to a more soothing one? I had a picture of my cat, fast asleep. I couldn't look at it without relaxing and smiling.



Post Edited (07-11-03 09:44)

Sometimes just writting yourself a timetable helps. You can see what you have to do and it stops that swirl of stuff in the brain. If you are up against deadlines it might make it clearer whether you can make them if you work flat out or if they just aren't feasible at all. and if time scale is impossible then you just have to say Sorry this can't be done lets re arrange. Try not to stress, and plan a treat for yourself when its all over.

David and I keep a "hoot file" in the office. Every time we find something particularly funny, we get a copy and put it in the folder, and then it can be used as a quick unwinder during especially stressful moments.

We also bring Wilfred or Dido up there from time to time. There's something very relaxing about a cross-eyed penguin who looks up at you with an expression of goofy adoration, or a mild-mannered dodo who seems to exude gentle encouragement!



..........................................................................................

That which does not kill us makes us stranger.
(Llewelyn the dragon, Ozy and Millie)

Sarah

Make sure you take your breaks. I also work with many stupid people and have way too much to do and have to fight the temptation to work thru my breaks. Something else I do if the breakroom is really crazy is just leave the building all together. I'll sit out in my car and eat lunch, read a book, listen to my walkman. It really helps because you can't hear the phone, nobody stops to chat, and you can't see your desk :)

Have a bath - a long hot bubbly one. Disconnect the phone (or put it on silent ring) and just sit in the hot water and relax.

Or - go shopping for shoes!

Beating stress at work..... Leave the building for 10mins. and take a walk if possible. Fresh air always does the trick for me.

I've just spent a week climbing the walls after heavy programming. Holiday!

The 'real' Dr Jim Slip has just left the 'real' V-S labs and no longer has to work with lesser beings. He's set up in the shoebox he calls a flat and is working from home. He now looks happier than I have seen him in years. Will it last?

Probably, as long as he remembers to get out & see his friends and doesn't turn into a hermit. Lucky him.

ScarletBea if you can get out of the building even for 15 mins, try and find somewhere green and just think about countryside - it calms me down and relaxes me. (Trouble is it makes me homesick for Scotland too!)

AlisonS

splat21 - with you being from Scotland does your nickname have anything to do with you holding the record for the greatest number of midges squished in one go? having been camping last weekend, not in Scotland, I'm still itching! lovely thought for you there, no feminine mystique here I'm afraid.

That and falling on my face with my foot in my mouth a lot... yep midges are hell. Public Enemy No. 1. Trick is to go inside when the gloaming starts and not come out again till it's dark. And avoid water. Streams I mean! Then again you could find a pub and do both.



_ _ _ _ _

If the English language made any sense, a catastrophe would be an apostrophe with fur.

My tip - don't leave catching up with the fforum for one evening. It takes a long time. (Ack, still five threads to go)



--------------

There's a hole in my creativity bucket and it's all leaked out.

Anti-Stress Device Number One: Chocolate!

(How come no-one else came up with that?)

*slaps hand to forehead* Gosh, what am I thinking of? I'm usually the first to suggest that one!



..........................................................................................

That which does not kill us makes us stranger.
(Llewelyn the dragon, Ozy and Millie)

Sarah