Beyond Folders : women's health, stress relief

Coping with Extreme Stress

Community Manager — Thu, 19 May 2011 13:36:00 GMT

Having a bad week? Or 52 of them?

If stress is your constant companion, it's time to take steps to combat its harmful effects on the body and brain.

We all know that stress causes a host of ills, ranging from high blood pressure, to depression, insomnia and heart attacks. And most of us are familiar with tools to mitigate stress such as exercise and meditation.

While virtually every human being encounters stress fairly regularly, some face enormous pressures day in and out. Think President Obama walking into the Oval Office every day or CEOs tasked with managing multibillion companies. In the face of extreme stress, why do certain people survive, even thrive, while others buckle?

We've assembled some resources chronicling how individuals facing tremendous pressure handle the burden. We find these accounts to be instructive and we hope you will too.

How Top CEOs Cope with Constant Stress: Author Justin Menkes examines business leaders who thrive under pressure and finds that they share common attributes including realistic optimism, or the ability to identify challenges but not be undone by them.

Stress Management for the CEO: This Forbes article looks at nine CEOS and how they combat stress, offering up tips for readers.

Finally, if you've made it through the above reading unconvinced that constant stress can truly be managed and must instead be endured, read the Fortune Magazine article The Last Taboo. It's Not Sex. And It's Not Drinking. It's Stress and It's Soaring. The article chronicles the tale of an executive who worked 120-hours a week, sleeping only 2 hours a night. It took paralysis and a hospitalization for her to finally slow down and combat the stress in her life. If she can do it, you can do it.

Do you combat extreme stress at work? What tools help you get through a grueling workweek? Share your thoughts here and on the Pendaflex Facebook page.

by Candie Harris

Relax! It’s Only Work

Community Manager — Wed, 18 May 2011 13:30:00 GMT

Spring has officially sprung. Have you stopped to smell the roses? All too often we run at a breakneck pace, not stopping to savor small moments or even catch our breath.

Regular readers of Pendaflex's blog know we are advocates of tools to enhance productivity and doing more with less. But sometimes the best way to be productive is to pass on cramming more work into fewer hours and stop, unplug and tune out for a time.

We've rounded-up a selection of past posts to help you relax and embrace spring's season of renewal. Read on to refresh your productivity.

Work worries keeping you up at night? Or interfering with concentration during the day? Check out our advice in Stress Less: Keeping Work Worries in Check for tips including time and task-management, to gain perspective on what seems like an overwhelming workload.

Saying yes when you should say no? Read From Superwoman to Balanced Woman for tips on putting the brakes on work-overload and putting work into perspective. Time to retire your cape, Superwoman.

Do you have more work than there are hours in the day? Find coping strategies in Too Many Irons in the Fire? Tips for Coping with Project Overload.

Keep stress at bay with Easy Desk Stretches. Gentle stretches throughout the day help prevent the all-too-common neck and back pains that plague desk workers.

Finally, consider checking the weather report and using one of your untapped vacation days to enjoy the beautiful spring weather. A healthy dose of Vitamin D, gleaned during a favorite outdoor activity will have you smiling in no time. Relax! It's only work.

How do you keep work overload in check? What tools help you relax during a grueling workweek? Share your thoughts and don't forget to Spring Free with us this season on our Facebook page!

Want to Feel Your Heart-Throb?

Community Manager — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 16:59:00 GMT

February brings more than cupids and Valentines; the month also ushers in heart-health awareness with the American Heart Month.

Do yourself a favor and spend as much time this month learning about a heart-healthy lifestyle as you do shopping for Valentine's treats for your loved ones. Taking care of your heart is the best gift you could give the people you love.

Did you know?

Heart disease is the number one killer in the U.S.
Women are particularly vulnerable because too many assume that heart attacks and disease are a male affliction.
One in three women will suffer a heart attack.
More than 42 million women are at risk of debilitating heart disease.

What Can You Do?

Reduce stress
Exercise
Eat a balanced, nutritious diet
Eliminate cigarettes and alcohol
Watch your cholesterol
Watch your weight

Heart-Healthy Resources

Go Red For Women, an education campaign sponsored by the American Heart Association. Provides heart-healthy information by age category, a heart healthy tool box and PSAs from a host of celebrities including beloved (and spirited!) octogenarian Betty White.

WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease. A clearinghouse of information on living with heart disease. Provides advice on recognizing symptoms of heart attacks, how to monitor cholesterol, advice on finding support groups and more.

How do you take care of your heart? What motivates you to stay heart-healthy? Share your thoughts here and at the Pendaflex Facebook page.

by Candie Harris

The Working Parents’ Toolkit

Community Manager — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 12:56:00 GMT

Working parents pull double-duty, managing both paying work and labors of love. Pulling it all off requires patience, planning and frankly, luck. If you've ever had a child fall sick on the day of a major presentation, you know what I'm talking about. In the ounce-of-preparation-is-worth-a-pound-of-cure mode we've assembled some useful resources for working parents. Think of it as your toolkit for sanity.

Finding Child Care for Sick Kids: A Working Mom's Guide to Sick Kids: Daycare for sick kids? Yup, it exists; here's how to sleuth it out before Johnny has a fever.

Stress Management Tools for Parents: Take a deep breath and read on for stress-busting tips, everything from parental date-night to effective time management tools that help keep stress at bay.

Working Parents: A clearinghouse of information from leading web resource BabyCenter providing tips for working parents on topics ranging from childcare to managing mom-guilt.

25 Parent Productivity Tools for Busy Moms, Dads and Kids: Great productivity resources ranging from pet care to allowance trackers. Offers a productivity overhaul for virtually every aspect of family life.

Mom Puts Family on Her Meal Plan: Healthy, home-cooked dinners every weeknight? You heard me right. This helpful article takes you through the planning process for dishing up dinner after work.

Do you have any great tools that help balance the demands of work and parenting? Share your thoughts here and on the Beyond Folders Community's Facebook and Twitter pages.

by Carly Fadako

Balancing Work and Life for Better Health

Community Manager — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 12:39:00 GMT

Modern life is a juggling act. Women in particular have many balls in the air: mother, wife, worker, caretaker, and my least favorite carpooler. When you consider that 70 percent of women with children under the age of eighteen are in the work force it's clear that the day-to-day routines of numerous women involve managing multiple demands.

While women often make the juggling act look effortless, being "on" in so many important roles can be exhausting at best and overwhelming at worst. When a woman's demands exceed her capacity for managing them, imbalance sets in, often with far more serious repercussions than a few dropped balls.

Negative consequences of too much stress, too little balance can include:

Strained personal relationships
Decline in physical health
Anger and hostility
Dissatisfaction
Anxiety
Depression
Alcoholism

In past posts such as Stress Less: Keeping Work Worries in Check we offer tips for coping with the demands of work ranging from better time-management practices to delegating. For out-of-the-box ideas on managing work stress spend time with Zen Habits useful tips in 11 Creative Ways to Avoid Becoming a Workaholic. Finally, the Business and Professional Women's Foundation is actively pursuing policy remedies to address the problem of work-life balance for working women. Visit their web site for initiatives and resources to help working women balance their many competing needs.

How do you balance work and family obligations? What would make balancing your competing obligations easier? Share your thoughts here and on the Beyond Folders Community's Facebook and Twitter pages.

by Candie Harris