My apologies to Juan Valdez for this piece of advice, but coffee has no redeeming value whatsoever in moments of stress. You don't need the caffeine and you don't need the sugar. Coffee and stress are a combination for test-cramming undergrads and newspaper editors. Let them be the ones to shake themselves apart at the seams; you've got a team depending on you and looking to you for leadership. Get your electrolytes rebalanced. You're already a few steps out of sync if you've been drinking coffee or soft drinks during your workday, so step back toward centre by drinking some water. If you don't think this works, there's a simple way to test it: Try it anyway, stress or no stress, during the afternoon hours, when we all tend to get a little draggy. In fact, put it to the supreme test: Take some bottled water to your next interminably dull meeting. You'll be less miserable by the time it's over than you would otherwise have been. Listen to the music
Listening to music seems like a cliche, but it's still a good suggestion. Our lives are so filled with music that we take it for granted. We have music on all the time -- in our cars, our homes, our offices, our elevators. And we don't really listen to it. But the physical act of concentrating on music, with the intensity we muster for reading or listening to something important being said to us, consumes as much or more of our intellectual energy as those other activities. The point is, you can give your mind some meaningful and constructive diversion, and your body some much-needed relaxation, by actively listening to something that will both soothe and challenge you. What music qualifies here? Well, if the Rolling Stones does it for you, that's great. Or Celine Dion or Charlie Parker or Willie Nelson. Choose your poison. But why not try something that will really fully occupy your attention? The idea is not to sing along, or to dance your troubles away (although this may work for you, and if so, go for it!); the idea is to pull your brain and body into a time-out space for a brief period. When bad news hits, I close the office door for 15 minutes and put on some truly great music. During a recent high-stress crisis, the piece that saw me through was the second movement of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5. I also reap great stress-reduction rewards from the soundtrack from 2001: A Space Odyssey and Close to the Edge by Yes. Why? Because these pieces are different, very emotionally stirring, and require active participation. I can't listen to this music and stay focused on my troubles. By the time I'm done, my blood pressure is down, I'm calmer, I have enjoyed myself, and my brain's been goosed a bit, even inspired. Find something that works for you, and keep a copy on hand. When it's really bad, try all three I often do all three of these things whenever project issues go sour. In my day-to-day work, my group must respond very quickly and we have little room for screw-ups. And I must work very closely with those who report to me. If I'm losing it, they'll all be right there to see me losing it, and I don't want that. It's worth a few minutes for me to get the stress out of my system before I hand down bad news or start coping. Give these suggestions a try, or come up with something that will be effective in your situation. But don't let the sudden jolt of a crisis knock you off track. Fight back, and present your team (and your superiors) with your best response.
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