Reduce stress: Get out of the emergency zone

Does your business seem to run from one emergency to another? Here’s how to reduce stress, get out of the emergency zone and get your business running smoothly.

Have a read of the following symptoms and see if any sound familiar:

• Frequently needed information never seems to be there when you need it. You can never find anything that someone sent you previously.
• There’s never enough time to organise or plan anything properly. You are always doing only what is absolutely necessary.
• You seem to be constantly reinventing the wheel, even if it is something you do regularly.
• You are always rushing to meet closely bunched deadlines.
• Your tools are often frustrating: your computer is sluggish, files get lost, your Internet is slow, or your phone reception is bad.
• You seem to make frequent frantic phone calls to suppliers and associates for help.

Although it is possible to get used to dealing with endless emergencies, working under constant stress is neither good nor enjoyable. Perpetual emergencies waste valuable time and talent, resources that could be better spent learning, innovating, or just loving your business.

The constant panic also drives away clients and even good suppliers .I know people who won't take on chaotic clients, because they know they will not be able to make any real improvements beyond fighting fires.

How many businesses fail because they could not reduce stress by getting off the perpetual emergencies merry-go-round?

What are the causes of perpetual emergencies? And how can you do better?

Procrastination: You hate doing the accounts, so you avoid it until you start getting nasty letters from the tax office. I set aside time by booking meetings with myself in my calendar.

If you hate managing your compliance paperwork, outsource it. Outsourcing does not mean zero effort on your part: The act of hiring a bookkeeper is not enough. You still need to put effort into a clear briefing, and commit to working with whatever system they devise.

The curse of the noisiest problem: It still amazes me that there are so many people out there who don't use simple to-do lists. Without such a list, nothing can be prioritised. The noisiest problem – which may well be a non-problem – then gets the most attention.

Write and follow standard processes: Much of what every business does is repetitive. Like a recipe, recording repetitive processes in a simple step-by-step way can save you a lot of grief. You would include both the method (what you need to do and in what order), and the ingredients (what information you need and where it is stored). Following a recipe makes life easier.

Be proactive, look ahead: Many businesses are reactive – everything can be ignored until it is broken and on fire. Many risks can be reasonably foreseen and mitigated with some simple planning. A little time to think and some self-awareness go a long way.

File with folders: You may well dislike it, but there is no escaping filing. You need a paper and computer-based system that work together and work for you. If you need help setting up a filing system, consult an office administration expert.

Get good tools (and maintain them): Don’t skimp on the tools you rely on. Getting a super cheap “too good to be true” Internet plan will usually end up costing you more. I use separate providers for my phone and Internet accounts, so I don’t lose all my communication channels if there is a billing error with one supplier.

Plan your capacity: A “say yes now then work out how to do it later” approach can play havoc with capacity planning. You should know how much work you've got on, and what is due when, before saying yes to new projects. You can deliberately set aside some spare hours every week as a safety buffer for projects to overflow into.

It is impossible to avoid emergencies completely. Change is constant after all. Many of the steps I have outlined above will help you create “purposeful work” – work that is calm, structured, meaningful, and with clear outcomes.

Until then, when you next face an emergency, stop for a moment to take a deep breath. Is it actually an emergency? Take a moment to write down what exactly constitute an emergency for you.

Do you have any tips to reduce stress and prevent turning a drama into a crisis?

• 03 Jul 09
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Work life balance (16) | Health & wellbeing (22) | Stress management (13) | Work and family (15)

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6 comments | Add your own 

• Thanks Zern for your insightful input. I especially agree with your point on writing and following standard processes. Documenting the processes will make it more efficient for the people doing the job. Moreover, it will make it easier to improve on the system continually without losing sight of the objectives. David from Brisbane

• This is a great topic. I picked up a tip from one of Brad Sugar's books, which was basically, "never do the same thing twice". By this he meant that if you do it right the first time, and save it as a template somewhere then you save time, and add to your business operations manual as you go. Works particularly well for emails. For example, I have a set of email templates for handling regular situations or common questions. Tristan from Sydney

• Tristan has just reminded me of two often-underused timesavers in Word: (1) Setting up and using styles to quickly apply consistent formatting to headings, body copy etc, and (2) Setting up macros to do repetitive tasks like inserting special formatting or multi-stepped search-and-replaces quickly. If you write a lot for a living, you need to learn the tools to help you be more efficient. Zern Liew from Singapore | Read my articles

• Find a good wife. Rod from Sydney

• The biggest issue we find with clients is lack of systems in place for anything to do with the business. A system should be present for everything in relation to the business. With good systems in place, stress levels will reduce and your business will run a lot smoother. A system should always be a living document too. Changes should be made from time to time but only for the better...
  An excellent topic that all business owners should read up on! JPAP Bookkeeping from Adelaide

• Stress is gone when you are in mission:
  It’s an amazing process that I am privileged to be part of. I learn from my clients all the time. Here are eight life lessons that working with my clients has taught me.
  1. Define your own success.
  All too often, we define success by what others have, rather than what we really want. Whether you’re a student, housewife, engineer or CEO, know what it is that brings you joy, what makes life complete and what goals you really want to reach. If you’re not sure where you’re going, you’ll probably end up somewhere else.
  2. Keep going.
  Once you know what you want and want it badly enough, you can find a way to get it. Get the support you need and keep going. Thomas Edison, who failed more than 1000 times before inventing the light bulb, said it best: “Many of life’s failures are people who didn’t realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” life coaching certificate from az

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