Beyond Folders : health, productivity

Disorganized? Stressed Out? You Could be Hurting Your Health

Community Manager — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 12:50:00 GMT

Google the phrase "disorganization and stress" and 384,000 results pop up. In .25 seconds flat. Whoa. But Googling isn't the only way of knowing disorganization is linked to stress, just feel your own blood pressure rise as you search messy desk piles for a crucial missing document. Stressed out? Heck yeah!

Being disorganized means more than just being messy, forgetful or chronically late; being disorganized creates stress which can have an adverse affect on your health.

Stress Mess

According to WebMD, people experiencing symptoms of stress may:

Feel cranky and unable to deal with even small problems.
Feel frustrated, lose your temper more often, and yell at others for no reason.
Feel jumpy or tired all the time.
Find it hard to focus on tasks.
Worry too much about small things.
Feel that you are missing out on things because you can't act quickly.
Imagine that bad things are happening or about to happen.

Combating stress is vital for maintaining good health. Heart disease, cancers, high blood pressure and mental illnesses are all linked to stress to some degree.

Ready to combat stress and improve your health? Tackle that to-do list and organize those files. Just as an apple a day keeps the doctor away, so too does being organized. Give it a whirl.

You may wish to review some of our past posts for help getting started:

And finally, we are big believers that organizing can be fun. We like the blog The Happiness Project for tips and techniques for combating disorganization, managing your time effectively and best of all, for its guidance on how to get happy. Start small, read The Happiness Project: Six Tips for Forcing Yourself to Tackle a Dreaded Task. You'll be happy you did!

How do you combat stress? Share your thoughts here and on the Beyond Folders Community's Facebook and Twitter pages.

by Carly Fadako

LEAN on Me: Using the 5 Whys to Eliminate Stress from Your Day-to-Day

Community Manager — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 12:45:00 GMT

Eliminate the unnecessary. This could be a bumper sticker for the "stress less" ethos we advocate in the Beyond Folders Blog. From purging unused paperwork, computer files or jettisoning low-priority, time wasting tasks, the Beyond Folders bloggers advocate organizing your work and home life to achieve balance, efficiency and maximum productivity.

Regular readers of the Beyond Folders blog know that I am an enthusiastic advocate of the 5 Whys, a problem solving method used by proponents of LEAN manufacturing, a business practice focused on reducing waste and improving quality. The 5 Whys is a question-and-answer process that reveals the root cause of a problem and in turn, a solution. Try applying the 5 Whys to what is causing you stress. As you work through the 5 Whys, does an opportunity to ameliorate the situation present itself?

I would also direct readers to an eye-opening article by Peter Bregman for the Harvard Business Review. A Practical Plan for When You Feel Overwhelmed brings a certain rigor to the task of eliminating stress. The article suggests incremental, measurable ways to tackle tasks that appear insurmountable. Bregman demonstrates that all assignments, all situations, can be tamed a task at a time.

Finally, you may have heard the buzz about Google's new Priority Inbox; it's worth a look to see if it can help tame e-mail overload. Check out Google Priority Inbox Soothes Email-Overload Stress.

Do you have a method for handling stress? Share your thoughts here and on the Beyond Folders Community's Facebook and Twitter pages.

by Bradley Eggers

Stress Less: Keeping Work Worries in Check

Community Manager — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:04:00 GMT

Deadlines, shrinking budgets, economic uncertainty: work provides plenty of sources of stress. How to keep stress at bay, or at least keep it from ballooning into full-fledged burnout?

To begin, do a stress check. Are you experiencing any of the physical or mental affects of stress?

Attention. How is your focus? Energy levels? Are they off?
Mood. Are you less optimistic than usual? Have your thoughts become negative? Are you easily frustrated?
Stamina. Do you feel like you're running out of steam?
Body. Are you experiencing back pain, dizziness, a racing pulse, heart burn or headaches? These are all common indicators of stress.

If you've answered yes to any of the above questions, you're experiencing some level of stress. So how to keep it in check?

Combating Stress at Work

To begin, recognize that stress isn't always negative. Sometimes the adrenaline rush that comes on before a big meeting or presentation can sharpen the senses and provide for optimum performance. But chronic stress can have a deleterious impact on health and is linked with negative workplaces outcomes such as absenteeism and loss of productivity.

Therefore, stress needs to be managed. For tips on reducing job stress by prioritizing and organizing read Stress at Work: How to Reduce and Manage Workplace and Job Stress.

Highlights include:

Practice realistic time management: Don't over commit; understand how long it takes to get tasks done.
Practice task management: Prioritize, break projects into small, manageable tasks and delegate.
Organize: Clutter creates stress. Organize for optimum mental performance.
Use your Emotional Intelligence: Master your emotions. Be self-aware and work on techniques to quickly calm yourself and remain a rational thinker when under duress.

More useful ideas can be found in the following articles:

Combating Stress with Lifestyle Choices

Keep in mind that tackling stress at work isn't enough. While the upcoming quarterly earnings report may be the source of anxiety, lifestyle changes at home can help keep things in perspective.

Get enough sleep. Dozing on the commute or in front of the TV isn't enough. Deep, regenerative sleep is needed regularly.
Exercise. No time for a regular regimen? Walk around the block during lunch or midday to recharge.
Eat a balanced diet. You are what you eat. Enough said.
Think positively. Sounds clichéd but positive thinking can translate into positive outcomes. Negative thinking can take a toll on the body.

Also consider techniques such as meditation, yoga, aromatherapy or the ten-minute day dreaming break. For more ideas for stress-busters check out the following resources:

How do you combat stress? Does your workplace use any innovative stress-busting techniques? Share your thoughts here and on the Beyond Folders Community's Facebook and Twitter pages.

by Candie Harris