The most important rule for combating stress at work: not everything has to be completed 100 percent and immediately implemented perfectly. Furthermore, sometimes you have to say no. Good time management helps fight stress at work. ‘Paret’s principle’.
It’s a good way to set priorities , in which tasks are assigned according to the so-called rule 80/20. This is recommended by the Hamburg Professional Association for Administrative Affairs (VBG).
According to this theory, 80 percent of all uncompleted tasks can be completed in 20 percent of working time. According to the data, 80 percent of all meeting results are achieved at 20 percent of the time of the meeting. For the remaining 20 percent of the tasks – namely, the important ones – employees must reserve 80 percent of their time.
Can’t do everything perfectly
In order to distinguish important from unimportant tasks, professionals must ask themselves: what tasks are so important that they can devote 80 percent of their time to them? Everything else then goes into a group of tasks that require little time. The second step is to ask what tasks deserve perfectionism and which ones don’t.
According to ‘Pareto theory‘, developed by a researcher of the same name, completing the task at 80 percent is fast – 20 percent of the total time is enough for this. However, the last step, up to 100 percent of completion, takes 80 percent of the time. It does not take long for software, for example, to brings to the basic state – the final fine adjustment takes the most time.
Say sometimes no
In order to save time, employees should therefore ask themselves: What tasks are sufficient to complete 80 percent of the initial task? The result will not be perfect, but it is not always or immediately necessary. According to theory, it is even uneconomical to always try to complete tasks 100 percent, because such an approach seems inappropriate from this perspective.
However, employees must be careful: there are certainly tasks that must be completed 100 percent immediately. Here it is important to distinguish what is important from what is not important.
VBG also advises to say no sometimes. Many people are constantly taking too much work, VBG experts say. Good time management involves rejecting colleagues who are trying to impose a task on which there is no more room in your schedule.
Although employees cannot refuse every additional task when they are busy at work, some tasks after a more detailed examination turn out to be less urgent – and at least then they do not have to immediately intervene. Other tasks can be delegated if they have nothing to do with their own area of responsibility.
Internet checks
In order to avoid insulting colleagues, VBG (German Employees Union) recommends giving in to the topic: the person in question should explain why there is no time to take on the task. It is also useful to offer alternatives – this could be a later date when the task can be solved. Or the employee could refer the employee to a colleague who could be a better contact person at that point.
The new online check of the Employer Liability Insurance Association (VBG) offers additional help in dealing with stress at work. Participants can evaluate their stress management skills in ten minutes. Employees on the portal can also find relaxation exercises and advice on organizing work. VBG is the legal provider of accident insurance with more than 30 million insured members.
Cover photo: Photo by Austin Distel he unsplash
