The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Managing time makes you less stressed

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 07, 2006

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Managing time makes you less stressed

Special Correpondent

With better time management techniques, a number of unwanted factors can be eliminated

Bangalore: Stress management and time management complement each other say management consultants and behavioural therapists. The better you can manage your time, at work or at home, the less stressed you get.

Stressful conditions

"Being in control of your life means less stress... you can also deal better with potentially stressful conditions when you are not hard-pressed for time," says psychotherapist Sunanda Murthy.

An example can be found in most workplaces. An employee allows too many tasks to pile up, due to procrastination or just being overworked.

Missing of deadlines

The result is deadlines and projects are missed or narrowly reached with tension.

The adrenal and pituitary glands may work over time; you may go through periods of palpitations of the heart and hypertension. Those with diabetes may find their blood glucose level dropping dangerously low.

Techniques

With better time management techniques, a number of unwanted factors such as piled up paperwork and unnecessary phone calls can be eliminated. Also, by prioritising your tasks and perhaps tackling the most difficult or time-consuming tasks first and the easier ones later.

Accomplishment

"There is a sense of accomplishment when you have finished the more difficult chores and from then on it can be smooth sailing till you complete other items on the "`must do' list for the day," says Dr. Murthy. Knowing that you will not be interrupted while hard at work helps and you can seek the help of your office reception to hold calls or screen them for priority.

Colleagues can be politely told you are not free for that friendly discussion about cricket scores.

Cluttered desk

Most overworked people may have a cluttered desk. Papers or floppies are misplaced and time is wasted tracing them.

The best way to reduce clutter is by disposing of unwanted or dealt-with papers an hour before leaving work. Put it off too late and you may be just too tired.

Next morning, fresh clutter joins what is leftover and you end with more piles of paper than you want to deal with. And it all adds to the stress.

Energy level

"Many executives, even mid-level ones without too heavy responsibilities, have found it helps to reach work perhaps 30 minutes earlier and work a bit more while energy levels are still high. No difficult task should be kept for later afternoons when one is more fatigued," suggests Dr. Murthy.

Most people also feel more creative in the forenoon, if they are in a kind of work that requires creativity and thinking out-of-the-box situations.

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