When people say to me that they are stressed out at work or overloaded, the first thing I ask is how do they know whether they have had a good day.
This usually stumps people. One even said, "I'm still alive!"
But one of the most effective ways to get your stress under control in the office is to define clearly and simply at the start of the day or the night before what your success that day will be.
What will you be pleased about doing at the end of the day?You can think of this negatively such as getting something out of the way. Or you can think of it positively such as completing something you wanted to get finished.
Either way, at the end of the day you can look back and feel pleased about your day. You set your success criteria. Then you did it! Success!
I suggest writing it down rather than just having it in your head. That way you can check back easily and also keep you on track throughout the day when you are getting side tracked by annoying interruptions. It is your daily success reminder!
You can also use the same technique for days off. Success today is watching some old movies and not getting out of my pajamas until 6pm! It doesn't matter. Whatever you decide success is, that is what success is!
Obviously at work you are not as free to set your success criteria but the freer you are to set your own success criteria, the happier you will be.
So what will success be for you today?