It seems that life is a wave. Imagine a pebble dropping into a pool. That wave goes up and down and up and down until it reaches the end of the water. It seems that life is that way. A pebble was dropped and we ebb and floe until we reach the end.
But it’s not just life in general. All the little happenings that go on seem to also go in waves. And one of those is the seasons in the year. Yes, we have the four seasons, but we also have business seasons. Some are good. Some are stressful. Sometimes one season is both good and stressful.
Take the holiday shopping season, for example. For many retail companies it’s the most fruitful time of the year. But for that same reason it’s often the most stressful.
How can one cope with this stress so it doesn’t affect performance negatively?
Here are a few thoughts…
1. Trust The Preparation
Much of what will happen during peak times in a business has already been set in motion. It’s like a runner preparing for years to run long distance in the olympics. They don’t just show up, start running and figure it out on the fly. They don’t react to it. They plan. They practice. They train. Then when the time comes they kind of let it go and see what happens.
That’s all you can do.
I heard an actor say the same thing about a role. They rehearse, often for weeks or months. Then when the moment comes to film or go on stage they let it go and trust their preparation. It’s the only way to embrace all that work. Otherwise why do it in the first place?
2. Remove Excess Tasks
Stress often arises from doing too much. We only have so much that we can do at any time. It’s easy, during our time in this life, to add things. We live in a world of abundance. And we often want it all. And we sure to try.
But when things really get stressful it’s a time to reset. To eliminate things. To focus only on the top priorities.
Do that for yourself and your coworkers. Create priority lists and focus on the top things only. Let the rest wait. Focus on the true urgent items until the season passes.
3. Schedule Downtime
Waiting for downtime to come to you isn’t going to work. You have to schedule it. The first way to do it is straightforward. You open your calendar, look for the open spots and mark them as “busy”. Then when the time comes you take it easy. Read a book. Take a walk. Work on a hobby. Whatever.
Do the same for your coworkers. Make sure they have downtime so they can recharge their batteries. Too much work isn’t good for anybody. You want them at their best. It’s why the modern day workweek evolved. It’s why Sunday was supposed to be a day or rest.
A second way to accomplish this is to regularly schedule “emergency time”. You know that things will come up. You likely don’t know what exactly will happen that will require your time, but you know that something will. So plan for it. Schedule two hours or more of emergency time each week for work.
At worst, something happens and you at least have some time built in for it. At best, you have some extra free time to use as downtime.
Final Thoughts
Stress will come and go in just about any business. We often look forward to certain times of the year. The revenue is exciting. The thrill of the sale is exciting. But it also often comes with stress. More scrutiny. More things to do. High tensions and hair triggers. Hopefully these couple little items can help you get through the next coming wave in your business.