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    Edward T. Creagan, M.D.

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  • April 1, 2009

    Feeling overwhelmed? Take a stress break

    By Edward T. Creagan, M.D.

5 comments posted

A comment from a colleague at a social gathering has stayed with me over the past several weeks. This colleague is an international expert in the internet and has come on board to launch some major technology programs with high risk in the setting of high reward. This individual is the quarterback of an all-star technology, media and communications program.

He shared with me that his new responsibilities are very much "like drinking out of a fire hose." On a daily basis, he juggles 200 e-mails, countless interruptions and endless meetings, and is expected to make profound decisions without the luxury of profound deliberation.

I asked him how he keeps his sanity in face of these challenges. His survival tactics are relatively simple yet ones that many of us often ignore:

  1. Practice mindfulness/total engagement. Turn off the pager and the phone and turn your back on e-mail to focus on the task at hand. Dedicate x amount of time on x project until it is either completed or well on its way.
  2. Make a list of priorities. This might be digital with a personal digital assistant or just with pen and paper. But without a list, it is very easy to become distracted by innumerable demands.
  3. Acknowledge that there is a limit on your time and energy. As we have repeated here on multiple occasions, this means restful sleep, nurturing one's spiritual and psychological dimension, and at some point turning off the lights and heading home.

I am reminded that many of the world's great spiritual thinkers took time from their ministry to go to the wild place, the deserted place, the mountains or just the garden for time of introspection, prayer and rejuvenation.

So, where do we find our garden or quiet place when we are bombarded by demands, expectations and deadlines?

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April 1, 2009

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