Graph Paper

The you work faster and harder you work the more you get done, right? Most of us American workers believe this is in response to the pressure at work and at home we figure out how to squeeze more tasks in less time. We are used to stress and thrive. In fact, our stress badge of honor, and the more of them, we feel, the more we feel that we have ability. But do we really know whether stress helps us to maximize our productivity?

The answer can be found in the Yerkes-Dodson law - the relationship between stress and productivity, named after the physiologist, researched the matter. Imagine a piece of graph paper with an upside down U. Label the vertical axis productivity, and the horizontal axis stress. As stress increases productivity - to a point. At the top of the curve especially productivity slides downhill, suggesting that the high stress is not too high productivity.

Most professionals I work with want to be productive routinemaig describe themselves as "high stress" People are used to the Plowing through enormous workload and to-do lists. However, they are starting to roast internally and are top to the bottom of the Yerkes-Dodson curve in the direction of lower productivity and burn-out. I help them learn how to relax so that they return to the top of the curve, where productivity is highest.

We all have different ideas of what feels relaxing. It is important to tune in, what rings true for you and give yourself time and space to do so. Here are a few ideas to help spark your imagination. Which of these appeal to you?

o Spend time outside.

O Play with children.

O Pick up a hobby you used to love doing.

O Resume a physical activity you really enjoy.

o meditate or empty your mind of ten minutes per day.

o create art.

o See friends.

o Set aside a weekend day in the week to rest and relax.

o drop any drain.

o Take a nap.

o Cultivate the habit because they present rather than anticipating the "next thing."

When you have decided which one or two things that you are prepared to do to begin to relax more, plan how you will. Adding relaxation to your life may seem like a company is stressful, but if you try it for a few weeks, you have the feeling, even created direction keep your relaxing activity. Will you make it the first thing you do every day? Block off time in your calendar? Find a friend to pair with you stick with him? Whatever your strategy, make it a plan that reflects you are and how you develop rituals.

If you think you can relax more, once the project at work is over in your charter or go home or the children grow Recognize this response as a sign that you need to relax is just beginning now. If you until your elbows, choose an activity not a lot of time, such as routes, frequent deep breathing or five minutes per day daydreaming.

Before you start to relax more you write, where you are right now with productivity . What you are not always done is that you bother? How would you describe your energy level on a scale from one to ten? What kind of stress symptoms - such as mood swings, concentration problems, irritability, or the inability to stop working, eating or shopping - did you say? After your routines for two weeks to allow time for relaxation, return to what you wrote about productivity. What has changed? How are your energy and stress? What's happening to your productivity?

Challenge you relax each and every week. If you are a hard-driving personality, which is driven to create time and opportunity for relaxation. Remember, if your stress level starts at your productivity downhill, then choose an activity that you relax and do it. Knowing how to relax just can your new insignia of the honor.

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Heather Mundell is president of Dream Big Coaching Services, a national life and career coaching business that helps professional women find happiness and fulfillment in their careers. To learn more, visit the website at http://www.dreambigcoaching.com and read life @ work, the blog about finding career happiness at http://dbcs.typepad.com

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