“No stress” in management — reality or myth?
In my previous article I briefly touched on the topic of some tips on how to limit stress in projects for the team, such as coaching of management, limitations and rules of communication to exclude technical specialists from emotional talks, financing of the project.
In continuation of this, in this article I want to brainstorm together with readers on how stressful work in IT is. And specially how stressfull it could be for managers and how we can cope with it.
So the simple answers — yes it is stressful. Especially as by the nature of management role, managers tend to get assigned in the cases where things just don’t happen by themselves. No matter what kind of management you’re in — you are added to the project to help, control, and ensure everything goes smoothly. Which is itself somewhat emotional as we’re all humans. For some of us with particular life experiences and personalities it could be a great job, but for those who aren’t comfortable with leading projects, probably development / designing or other popular IT roles would be a better fit.
It seems like stress follows us everywhere and all the time. After years of work in management you also probably notice that the most stressful days are Mondays, where it’s hard to focus on work after the weekend. And then Friday is also hard both due to that you’re tired after the week of work, but also because of everything that’s piled during the week-needs to get done! How can you get out of that crazy cycle? I believe it’s important how you actually spend your weekends and vacations. The trick there is try not to work on weekends and to plan vacations. You might not notice it right away but after years of not having proper rest you will find yourself completely burnt out. And at that moment vacation or a break won’t help unfortunately. So let’s try to keep that in mind when you feel guilty about taking proper long vacation or staying offline. For example, here in Flatstack we always find substitute managers who can lead projects when we are away.
The other perspective on how to evaluate stress — is to compare the IT industry to other industries. You’ll be amazed that actually working in IT is not as stressful! The reason why I am saying this is because our work consists of working on computers in a nice environment without actual heavy duty. Our parents could never imagine their work day on the computer at home or at the cafe with a cup of coffee. It is just a daydream turned into reality for the older generations.
Sometimes you feel like your project is really stressfull. It could be true but usually it just takes time and experience in different projects to set up the right workflow. With more experience you will create team environment and effective communication with client that reduces stress for everyone. Which we really try to make happen in #Flatstack with our core value #win-win-win where the comfort zone ideally should be for the team, for client, and for you as well.
Here are also my top activities that I am happy to share with colleagues that help to cope with stress:
1) Stretching, yoga — helpful for stress relief and also helps stay fit. Meditation if you feel ready for enlightenment:) Not yet? Then breathing exercises also work great!
2) Music — very much a factor for the mood as well, e.g. if you are
listening to something depressive no matter what your job is, you’re still depressed!
3) Take the stairs, go for walks — less elevators and driving — this is my way of moving, while it’s not rocket science, it’s also something that helps with stress as well! When you are moving actively you metabolize your stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol in the most physiological and healthy way.
4) Checkup your health regularly. Knowledge of your basic health indicators will take you to the next level of self care as you‘d be able to make up for nutrient deficiencies which for sure affect your mood, reactions and balance.
Manager’s life can be tough and full of routine but it’s aslo very rewarding because we bring to life big projects, meet great people and work in the most progressive area possible. Although we have to keep in mind that Work&Life balance is something we can’t ignore. I hope you will use a tip or two from this article to make your life better!
Feel free to comment with your tips, let’s exchange what’s your way!
Keep calm and avoid the stress!
