Just Say NO!

As our workload increases at work, we know in the back of our minds that we should just say "no" but often we hear ourselves saying "no problem" instead. So how do you say no?

You could make an excuse, tell a little white lie, spend time explaining how busy we are, or avoiding the need to answer right away by asking if you can come back to them once you have had time to prioritise your workload. The problem with these strategies are that they are untruthful or delay the inevitable and only add to your bucket of stress.

Next time you are asked to take on an additional task that you know will place you under more pressure, try saying no immediately. If the requester pushes you further, then add that you won't be able to give the task your utmost priority and could make a mistake. Then, provide alternatives such as splitting the task between others, giving it to someone else as a development opportunity, or ask if it can be delayed until your existing workload is reduced.

Saying no to additional work can be uplifting if used correctly.

Why Don't I Just give Up?

When faced with a continuing difficult situation, or perhaps you have tried something time and time again and not succeeded, what is the point of going on?  Why don't we just give up and move on?  Wouldn't that be much easier?  Why should I put all this effort into something that may never work?

We would be in pretty bad shape if everyone had taken that view and just given up when things got hard.  There would be no progress in the world.  It is important to keep going despite setbacks and the inevitable self-doubt.  The situation may change at the very next attempt, the next phone call, with the next meeting, or perhaps the next interview.

Sir Winston Churchill said it best, "If you are going through hell, keep going".  Although the context in which this was said was quite different, the meaning is the same.  Keep going, do persevere, hang in there, you just never know what is around the corner.

Five Top Things To Support Wellbeing

The top five things to do are;

Sleep - We all need at least 6 hours of sleep per day. Sleep allows the brain to 'defrag' itself after the days events.

Exercise - Just a 30-minute walk per day is all that is needed to get that oxygenated blood flowing around your brain and to produce endorphines.

Socialisation - It is important to get out of the house and meet with others, talk about your problems, share a joke, and stimulate your brain. We tend to shut ourselves off when under stress.

Positive thoughts - Stop your brain from having negative thoughts by replacing them with positive ones. Thinking happy thoughts retrains the brain to reject unhappy ones. 

Look Forward - Always look for forward to something in the future that you are excited about. It may be getting to the gym at the end of the day, a great trip planned for the weekend, or an up-coming holiday.

Controling Conversations to Reduce Tension

One of the simplest ways of reducing tension in a difficult conversation is to control the tone with a couple of well-placed sentences which will appeal to the persons natural desire to be heard and understood. Saying to an angry person "I can hear this is important to you" or to a sad person "this must be difficult for you" will provide instant empathy and enable you to get to the point of the conversation much sooner. Adding in "please take your time" or "I'm listening" will counter-intuitively speed up the conversation as a rapport is built and the person becomes much calmer.

Sleep - Who Needs It?

We are told that sleep is important for us, but is it really that important?  The short answer is "yes".  Sleep allows our brain to rest and recover from the 70,000 thoughts that we have each day.  Without at least 6 hours of restful sleep we cannot function at our best. 

Getting to sleep can be difficult when we have had a busy day.  If you have been stretched during the day, try to get some exercise at least three hours before bedtime.  A 30-minute walk is enough.  This will push oxygenated blood through your body and will clear your brain.

There are many reasons why we can't sleep, the brain is too active, consumed too much food or alcohol, or perhaps worrying that we won't get enough sleep!  A good technique to get to sleep is to think about absolutely nothing, often easier said than done.  Another way is to think about a place that you love to visit, a beach, a favourite park, a country walk.  Keep focussing on that one place and when those pesky thoughts enter your head just let them go and return to your 'happy' place.  By distracting the brain in this way, it will relax and you will soon be asleep.