by Dr. Adam Fraser

No matter whom you talk to, it appears that everyone is feeling the fallout of a turbo charged society. The world is getting faster and faster and does not seem to be slowing down. To find evidence of this all you have to do is look at how we greet each other. The most common question we get asked today is “How you doing, keeping busy?” Unfortunately the answer is always yes! It is reported that the average working mother has just 21 minutes to herself a day and the average employee spends 3 times longer on email than they do with friends and family. They have even brought out a new book called “The 1 Minute Bed Time Story”, where they have taken the classic bed time stories and condenced them to a 60 second sound bite.

The result of this fast paced society is that stress levels have risen 45% in the past 30 years. We are now starting to see a condition called presenteeism, which is defined as employees being at work but losing productivity due to illness or disengagement. Presenteeism reduces an individuals productivity by >30% and costs organisations between 3 & 10 times the cost of absenteeism. In addition chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease is exploding and for the first time in history it is predicted that the next generation will die earlier than their parents.

What is interesting is that it is not just the traditionally stressful jobs that are feeling the pain. All industries are cutting resources yet expecting bigger outcomes. This notion that everyone occupation carries with it a tremendous amount of stress was driven home to me recently. A special forces soldier that I have been working with called me in a frantic state asking for some advice on how to cope with a stressful situation. I was expecting to discuss strategies on how to deal with the loss of a fellow soldier or how to wind down after a particularly challenging assignment. I was surprised to find out that he had retired from the army 1 month earlier. What was the stressful situation? His wife had gone back to work and he was now looking after their three children. He said to me “This is the hardest thing I have ever done, I’m not coping, it never ends there is always something to do. I joined mothers group and that only made things worse, they gave me a hard time and my self esteem is at an all time low”. He actually went on to say “I am thinking about going back to Baghdad for some time out”. Whether you are a CEO, soldier or stay at home parent the pressure is mounting.

So what is the solution? Here are two concepts that will help you keep it together in a world that is spinning so fast.

1. Don’t wait for you holiday to relax. One of the most common mistakes people make is that they wait for a big break or holiday to deal with their stress. Many of us are in the mind set were we work like dogs, wear ourselves out, store all our stress up and then desperately hang on until a holiday rolls around. This is not conducive to engagement, performance or quality of life. Alternatively adopt the mind set of one where you are constantly looking for opportunities to rest and switch off during the day. It does not take a long time to shift your physiology from stressed to calm and relaxed. Having multiple pit stops during the day not only reduce your stress levels but also improves your performance.

Figure 1. Represents the pressure performance curve which illustrates the relationship between pressure and performance

Figure 1 illustrates the relationship between pressure and performance. When we start the day the pressure we put on ourselves leads to an increase in performance until we reach an optimal performance state. We can hold this state for a period of time however if we continue to have pressure applied on us our performance starts to decline. This decline manifests itself in a desire to find a distraction, reading the same document over and over again or simply watching the screen saver bounce around.

A smarter way to work is when we feel this reduction in performance we need to disengage, relax, rejuvenate, then re-engage and attack our work in +ive stress. Following this pattern allows us to ride the +ive part of this curve rather than slogging through the day in the –ive section of the curve.

The best activities to help you ease off are: deep relaxation where you just focus on your breathing, getting up and going for a walk, talking to a colleague about something not related to work. This break will reset your brain chemistry, rejuvenate your physiology and help you attack the next bout of work with far more effectiveness. At any point in your day when the pressure is taken off, use that opportunity for a quick stress reduction break.

I have used this technique with individuals who were under huge amounts of pressure or situations where they could not take large amounts of time out. I found it particularly useful when working with soldiers, employees at busy times of the year and even Guy Sebastian following his win in Australian Idol when faced with a schedule that was so full it was cruel.

One of the most important attributes that set high performers apart from poor performers is the ability to ease off and rest.

2. Be Present:

The concept of being present looks at being completely immersed in the present moment and dealing with what is in front of you, rather than projecting into the future and concerning yourself with future tasks. Some of the most successful performers I have worked with have an amazing ability to focus on what they have to do in the now and not get distracted by what they need to do down the track. In a personal communication with a sports psychologist who had tested Tiger Woods, he said “Tiger is the best golfer in the world because when he plays golf he is disconnected from the outcome”. In other words when Tiger plays golf he is just focused on the mechanics of golf, he doesn’t think about winning or losing. This type of mindset greatly increases your effectiveness and reduces your chance of making a mistake as you are completely immersed in the task at hand.

How the concept of being present relates to stress is that stress exists in the future. Most stress relates to worry about future events.  When you live in the present moment you greatly reduce your chance of getting stressed. This concept can be used in the office, so often during the day we are performing a task but thinking about all the other things we need later in the day. This lack of focus reduces the speed at which we can complete tasks, increases the chance of making mistakes and creates worry and stress.

By regularly easing off and relaxing during the day and staying in the present moment can substantially reduce your level of stress that you go home with. What is the result? A greater chance of happiness and achieving the elusive work life balance.

Dr Adam Fraser appears on ABC radio 702 and is a regular presenter on TV, most recently appearing on Channel 7’s Sunrise. In addition, Adam’s exercise training business “the energy factory” has trained celebrity clients such as “Guy Sebastian” and “Tammin Sursok”.