You have one of the most stressful jobs as a manager. You're juggling managing your employees, their schedules, your tasks, reporting to executives, and everything else that comes up on the fly. Step back from it all for a few seconds and take a look at 5 often overlooked pieces of advice for managers to make their own lives easier:
1. Organize
By far, one of the most efficient forms of reducing stress and increasing available time is staying organized. Showing up to work every day with a cluttered desk, disorganized computer and/or lack of priority in tasks won’t work in the long run. To fight the cluttered desk, you can always stick to the proverbial “proper filing” or you can go electronic. Scanning papers and filing them in the computer will always create a bit more space on the desk. With this, as with any other method, the computer needs to be organized. It is important that you know exactly where every important document, presentation or email is located so you can access them quickly.
Finally you need to be attentive to the priority level of your list of tasks. This is a problem that a lot of mangers struggle with and often leads to late evenings in the office, trying to catch up. One of the best ways of attacking this issue is to list on a dry-erase board, all of the tasks you have with their due dates and estimated time to spend on each task. Then create a second list in order from top-to-bottom of all the tasks in order of priority in your computer.
2. Watch your Clock
This is the art known as time management. After getting yourself physically organized and creating a priority list of all of your tasks, this is slightly easier. Obviously as a manager, there are schedule issues that will come up unexpectedly every day, but staying true to a schedule can still be accomplished. Make sure you set appointments with yourself to catch up on daily tasks, even if it means pretending to be in a scheduled meeting with someone else. This will ensure the timely completion of your tasks, while also encouraging employees to show some problem-solving of their own. Of course, there will be emergencies that require your attention, but setting these times aside can be vital to your success.
Make sure you’re staying close to the priority list, but also don’t be afraid to complete a lesser priority that will take less time if your availability is limited to less time than a higher priority. In other words, stay efficient when you’re trying to fill those openings with tasks.
3. Communicate
One of the more overlooked parts of being a manager is the amount of communication it takes to be successful. Communication from managers is three-pronged. It is essential to keep employees, other managers and executives in the loop on the majority of your activities as a manager. It is equally important to make sure you’re aware of the group of people you’re talking to. When speaking to employees there are obviously some pieces of information that should not be discussed, such as compensation, while managers and executives expect a different level of communication. Keeping an overall mindset of "team" often makes communicating to different levels easier.
4. Appreciate
Most employees love being praised and rewarded for jobs well-done. Of course, this idea isn’t suggesting that you give an award for entering a password correctly, but simply saying “good job” after the completion of a project is helpful. Generally, employees that are praised will strive for more praise, resulting in better performances. Of course this is a theory, and you’ll see the occasional employee who is motivated by challenges. Really, it depends on the personality of each employee, and if all these stress-reducing steps are followed, it becomes easier to figure each one out.
5. Reward Yourself
Avoid burnout! Take a break from your work every now and again throughout each day. Even if you have that executive-type micromanager, set aside a few minutes every hour or two for yourself and enjoy a simple 5 minute break. Use this time to take a walk away from your desk, work station, etc. and refresh your mind. Staring at one task for 8 hours every day will burn out even the most hardened professional in any field.
By keeping your mind fresh, you will feel more focused, happier and energetic. This can help motivate your employees, cast a good light on yourself in front of executives and even make you seem friendly across every level of employee. This strategy can even lead to better overall physical health thanks to reduced stress, less unhealthy energy boosters and more exercise.
Do you have other ideas to help managers destress? Share them below!