Why do some office executives – especially overworked businessmen – grow prematurely old and die young? How can they avoid worry, stress, high blood pressure, and an eventual stroke or heart attack?
Why do some office executives – especially overworked businessmen – grow prematurely old and die young? How can they avoid worry, stress, high blood pressure, and an eventual stroke or heart attack?
Follow a healthy lifestyle. Prepare for the day by following the healthful regimen of a sensible lifestyle. Get a good night’s rest. Don’t borrow from your much-needed sleeping time by watching the late, late show till past midnight. Or worse yet, dissipate your precious strength in a drinking spree with the boys till the wee hours of the morning.
Instead, get a good morning warm-up by jogging or walking around the block. Have a quick shower to get your circulation going. Eat a hearty breakfast. Fill your mind with thoughts of peace by looking at the blooming flowers still wet with the evening dew, or by listening to the happy songs of the birds. Better yet, read a portion of the Word of God, sing a hymn, meditate, and pray for God’s guidance in your decision-making through the day.
Don’t procrastinate. Never allow your work to pile up. Loosen your necktie, roll up your sleeves, and tackle the jobs one by one as they come up. Resist the slightest temptation to procrastinate. Read the reports immediately. Call that long overdue committee meting right away. Send the circulars today. Answer the letters now. Delegate some of the minor details to your associates. It’s good for their training and development.
Clear your desk and mind. Clear your desk of all debris. Some desks fairly groan under the load of a mountain of junk – financial statements, receipts, vouchers, checks, budgets, feasibility studies, committee agendas and minutes, board actions, books, magazines, house organs, letters, newspaper clippings, job orders, directories, article manuscripts, pencils, pens, clips, paper weights, a lunch box, folders.
A cluttered desk tends to create a cluttered mind. By the same token, a cleared desk tends to produce clear thinking. Somehow you feel you’re on top of any problem if all you see in front of you is the one piece of paper you’re presently working on. The mere sight of a loaded table tires you immediately even if you haven’t done any work yet.
Take “mini vacations” through the day. Take a short nap during the noon break. You may not have been born south of the border, but a few minutes of siesta tend to give you another new day as it were. And you can also take a mini vacation every few hours’ interval by simply sitting on your swivel chair. Instead of the traditional coffee break, for a change, why not try reading a bit of inspirational poetry or a Bible verse? This is excellent tonic for your mental health.
More often than not, what tires you at the end of the day is not the volume of work you’ve done but the thought of being snowed under an avalanche of unfinished work. The way to handle this situation is for you to simply do what you can each day, and you drive home in the evening with a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction.
