Doctor Ed’s Five-finger Guide to a Stress-free Work Life
Fill your brain with more than five big things to do and it will implode. That's a verifiable fact! (Ask your Doctor).
I take on contracts which last up to 3 months at a time. As the contract is drawing to a close, I’m never quite sure where the next gig is going to come from. I find myself saying “yes” to whatever comes along in the last few weeks of contract. Each time I do this, it’s a disaster. I end up working day and night, sometimes up to 80 hours per week. I’ve got more cash than I know what to do with but it feels like blood money. I get stressed, anxious and extremely irritable with people who don’t understand me.
Here’s one way to deal with it: The next time a big job comes along, say “Yes” and if a small one comes along, try saying “No” if you can. Either way, count the number of jobs on on one hand and if you run out of fingers – it’s time to say “No”. I just hand-balled a whole swag of websites and marketing work to some associates of mine. They were perplexed (because they considered me competition) but I know that will lead to something good one day.
If my mind has up to five jobs to attend to, I’m a lot less stressed than when I have ten no matter what size the job. Today I can look at my fingers and say, I only have these three jobs to consider. It’s dealable-with. Behind those few jobs, there are fewer people to please. And for me, that’s a good thing. It means 8 hours beauty sleep every day for days on end. Ahhhh!
