Reducing stress
Rush shipments, machines that gone down just when you need them, finding that you made a mistake and there’s little time to correct it; with the kinds of pressures that go on in the manufacturing world it’s easy to lose it when they pile up. “Mama said there’d be days like [that].” She just forgot to mention how many of them there would be.
Of course one learns to deal with unexpected events and we know what to do when they happen again. Nevertheless, there will always be really, really-really and really-really-really stressful days. Fortunately I found a way to change problems into situations; Situations that can be handled calmly. It’s a way of thinking and making changes that I have passed on to the personnel in the plants that I have managed.
Let’s start with what I call the “stress level chart.”
A hundred (100) points represents the most stress that one can handle. Each trying situation is worth “points”. You know that were at the 99 level when you can’t find your pen and that drives your stress over a 100 and go absolutely nuts…Got it?
Now it doesn’t have to be something as minor as not finding your pen to take you over the edge. The everyday stresses at home, on the way to work, and at work can keep driving you to the 99 then the 100 level.
Unless you’re a Tibetan monk you will always have a certain amount of built up stress. So what’s a level that will allow you to handle just about anything that comes your way? Intuitively a level point of fifty should give you plenty of ability to handle things.
How do you get there? Well, first it’s important to accept that there will be situations that are out of your control. When they do occur if the outcome was a good one, meaning that you handled it well, remember what you did and the next time it will be a breeze (i.e., zero points).
Then there are ways to reduce the level of built up stress. Let’s start with the easy ones. (Think of the figure above as a tank l that can be drained from the bottom. Each point of stress that you eliminate at the bottom lowers the level at the top.)
You pour cereal into a bowl, stagger to the refrigerator to discover that there’s no milk (5 points). You walk into your closet and can’t decide what to wear. You don’t see anything that you think that you look good in (another five points). The battery cable in your car is bad and you’re not sure that the car is going to start this morning. By now you’re already up to fifteen and you haven’t left the house yet.
So how do you avoid those fifteen points at the start of the day? Put one of the kids in charge of making sure that there is enough milk in the refrigerator for breakfast for everyone. Give away all those frumpy things in your closet, someone can certainly use them. Shop carefully and buy some new togs that you like. The only stress that you’ll experience is deciding what to put on; you’d look so great in everything (That’s a good type of, sort’a like good cholesterol).
Think about how things flare up in a family of four, now imagine that you’re the head of an operation with hundreds of employees, got the picture? Knowing that the staff can handle what comes their way will do wonders for your chart. Being able to control the stress will make you happier, healthier, and more effective on the job.
— Mike Grunsten
grunstenslaw.com