Overcome Hurry Sickness
How to Overcome Hurry Sickness:
Although it can be difficult to find a way out of the chaos of hurry sickness, it is possible. Make it your goal to work smarter – not harder – by finding strategies that will create lasting change.
Let’s look at three sets of strategies that you can combine to overcome hurry sickness. Some are just common sense, but they’re easy to overlook when you’re living in a state of constant rush.
1. Action-Oriented Strategies:
These approaches are useful when you are free to take action to change the situation.
Question why you’re being asked to do something. If someone told you to jump, what would you say? “How high?” or “Why?” Your hurry sickness might be due to saying yes to people’s requests too often, and taking on too much.
It’s important to question the rationale behind the demands made of you, so you can politely say no to tasks that fall outside your job description, which other people are better qualified to do, or which you don’t have time for. You’ll then have space to do a better job on the things that really matter.
Improve your time management. There are only ever 24 hours in a day. Good time management allows you to put them to the smartest possible use by getting more done in less time.
Switch your focus from hurriedness to effectiveness, and give dedicated, uninterrupted time to the tasks that matter. You can then target your attention where it’s most needed.
2. Acceptance-Oriented Strategies
These approaches apply when you have no power to change the situation.
Slow down. Working flat out and struggling to relax isn’t good for you or your work. We all need time to stop and think, to regain our perspective, and take stock of our tasks.
Accepting only light projects for a while can also help you to “depressurize” and to take things more easily. When the time comes to increase your workload again, you’ll be in a better position to deal with it effectively and calmly.
Seek support from your manager, colleagues and family. Working with a strong support base and finding allies within it is a great way to share concerns and responsibilities, and to stop “busyness” becoming “hurriedness.”
3. Emotionally Oriented Strategies
This category of approaches is useful when the stress you’re experiencing comes more from the way that you perceive a situation than the situation itself.
Set realistic expectations, and try using affirmations, cognitive restructuring, and success programming to boost your positivity.
Tip:
Hurry sickness is a mixture of anxiety and continual feelings of urgency. Its symptoms include high stress levels, declining quality of work, tiredness, and eventually serious health problems.
To avoid hurry sickness:
Be assertive when deciding which tasks to take on.
Avoid multitasking.
Prioritize your workload.
Work on your time management.
Slow down or even stop for a while.
Build a network of support for yourself.
Keep a positive outlook.
