Decrease work stress and anxiety?

[c7spheres]

....... there is always a better opportunity, with regards to both pay and working environment.

That's because you're in Sweden. jk. I find there's seldom a better opportunity when you really need it. It's how everyone takes advantage of eachother and call it ethical. Out here in American't that is. (No hate intended)

@vejichan I am going to tell you the secret, because I have this figured out. Don't repeat it because it is going to be the crux of my next best-seller.

I was drunk as shit at this girl's house I was dating and I walked into the kitchen and on the fridge there was a magnet that said "Happiness is having something to look forward to". I stared at that shit for like an hour.

I realized there were short term "looking forward to" and long term "looking forward to" items that I could categorize in my life. I found that by taking my day and breaking it into short term "looking forward to" goals it made my day better. I would take my week or month and distribute my "looking forward to" goals as well.

For instance, I like to eat, exercise, read, and drink Monsters. When I wake up, I look forward to coffee. Then I look forward to breakfast. Then I look forward to my mid-morning snack. Then I look forward to lunch. Then I look forward to my mid-afternoon Monster/pre-workout/whatever. Then I look forward to my post-workout shake. Then I look forward to dinner. Then I look forward to my pre-bed casein & peanut butter protein shake. Then I look forward to reading and going to bed.

For long term "looking forward to" items I have found that it's best to space them out and not crowd them. For example, try not to pile a bunch of stuff together (concerts, dinners, donating blood, overseas travel, Mars expeditions, heat death of the Universe, etc.) on the same day or week. I look forward to taking my kids to Tae Kwon Do on Monday nights. Then I look forward to football practice Tuesday nights. Then I look forward to family night Wednesday nights. Then I look forward to football practice again on Thursday nights. Then I look forward to Tae Kwon Do/dinner with friends Friday nights. Then I look forward to games on Saturdays. Then I look forward to tennis Sunday mornings.

That is basically chapter 2 and 3 of my upcoming best-seller. Chapter 4 deals with paying for all of this stuff and it heavily involves crypto. Chapter 5 discusses why crypto is such a bad idea.

Short term: read and reply to veji threads

Ultra ultra long term: read veji replies

So guitar is just a 'day job' for you then? jk. sorry. I had to. You didn't include guitar. I bet you must look forward to guitar too though. That's why I didn't pursue cover band stuff. That'd make me not look forward to playing gutiar if I always had to learn dozens of songs I don't care for. I never want to look or think of my guitar and not want to or get illlike with a normal job.

 

[Aewrik]

That's because you're in Sweden. jk. I find there's seldom a better opportunity when you really need it. It's how everyone takes advantage of eachother and call it ethical. Out here in American't that is. (No hate intended)

Tell me about it! Still, after trying IT for ten years I went back to uni to change my degree. That IS a perk of living in Sweden, being able to completely change tracks without crippling yourself economically.

I can't imagine it's a good time for everyone that have been laid off in IT this year... my claim only works if the market isn't oversaturated, or at least requires a lot more of you to get a good position (and will be exhausting with all the recruitment companies going nuts).

 

[Drew]

I'm sorry, but I don't see the argument you're trying to make in relation to my post.

Broadly my post was agreeing with you, which might explain a little bit of your confusion. I think maybe I'm tempering it with a little bit of pragmatism - no job is perfect, something will always frustrate you even at good jobs - but that, yes, you should always be looking for a better compromise, internally or externally.

 

[DoctorStoner]

 

[Demiurge]

^ That's really the only choice at a point.

At work, we've had the usual staff reductions with increased workloads to a ridiculous degree. I used to be all about being caught up and burning the midnight oil when necessary to that end because the stress of things left undone was immense. Now that any semblance of catching up is impossible, I had to adjust my fuck-giving accordingly. The center of my day is spent in misery while my psyche slowly erodes, but the stabbing pangs of anxiety are long gone.

 

[MFB]

How to decrease work stress and anxiety? Just don't be stressed and anxious!

 

[cindarkness]

Think good thoughts


Just keep buying more guitars and you won't have any money to stress about

 

[jaxadam]

So guitar is just a 'day job' for you then? jk. sorry. I had to. You didn't include guitar. I bet you must look forward to guitar too though. That's why I didn't pursue cover band stuff. That'd make me not look forward to playing gutiar if I always had to learn dozens of songs I don't care for. I never want to look or think of my guitar and not want to or get illlike with a normal job.

I've always said never make a career out of a hobby. But I've also heard that you have to do what you have to do in order to do what you want to do.

So I say make what you want to do what you have to do!

 

[bostjan]

But I've also heard that you have to do what you have to do in order to do what you want to do.

So I say make what you want to do what you have to do!

But I don't want to have to want to do what I have to do!

 

[jaxadam]

But I don't want to have to want to do what I have to do!

 

[RevDrucifer]

Jesus, well you haven't been fired for four years of their shit, so that's impressive in itself depending on how long some of the others lasted; out of curiosity, have they ever gone without someone in your position, and did things go better/worse? Seems like it'd be pretty easy to gauge how many of them are necessary if they can just call out like this, while you're allowed to delay items as needed because of it. Or vice versa and push back because things go badly without your role so that in theory would normally be a good boot to the throat, but I guess not in this case if the owner loves them that much.

But I digress...

I dunno how things worked before I came along; I was here for about 4 months as their co-worker when they fired my first boss here and they had me occupy the position before a new chief came in. That guy was fucking horrible (legit racist) and I replaced him 9 months later. I don’t know much of the history before me, but there’s always been someone to occupy the spot between firings/quittings.

This is actually a scary period because if I get too much shit done while they’re gone, the CFO can get the idea “We don’t need that many guys on staff” when it’s just a slow couple of weeks. To run this place properly I need at least 3 guys and a guy doing just AC. Projects are always different and sometimes 1-2 guys are working on one project for a straight week or two, so I need someone floating doing work orders. Then some weeks it’s slow and I just have them scouring the property for things to do.

There’s a major disconnect between the people in the office and the people who do the physical work on the property and it’s been tough getting them to realize they’ve basically been bullshitted for 20 years. The previous chiefs took the “If I don’t tell them there’s issues, they’ll think I’m doing a great job” so by the time I took over, I inherited a fucking mess and got to be the guy to tell the owner “None of your AC’s have been maintained as long as they’ve been installed. They’re ALL going to die in the next several years.” but it’s not just AC’s, it’s every aspect of the property after having band aids placed on every issue instead of actually fixing them.

 

[Freakerlo]

I dunno how things worked before I came along; I was here for about 4 months as their co-worker when they fired my first boss here and they had me occupy the position before a new chief came in. That guy was fucking horrible (legit racist) and I replaced him 9 months later. I don’t know much of the history before me, but there’s always been someone to occupy the spot between firings/quittings.

This is actually a scary period because if I get too much shit done while they’re gone, the CFO can get the idea “We don’t need that many guys on staff” when it’s just a slow couple of weeks. To run this place properly I need at least 3 guys and a guy doing just AC. Projects are always different and sometimes 1-2 guys are working on one project for a straight week or two, so I need someone floating doing work orders. Then some weeks it’s slow and I just have them scouring the property for things to do.

There’s a major disconnect between the people in the office and the people who do the physical work on the property and it’s been tough getting them to realize they’ve basically been bullshitted for 20 years. The previous chiefs took the “If I don’t tell them there’s issues, they’ll think I’m doing a great job” so by the time I took over, I inherited a fucking mess and got to be the guy to tell the owner “None of your AC’s have been maintained as long as they’ve been installed. They’re ALL going to die in the next several years.” but it’s not just AC’s, it’s every aspect of the property after having band aids placed on every issue instead of actually fixing them.

One way to potentially decrease work stress and anxiety is to continue addressing these issues head-on and working towards a more efficient and transparent system.

 

[MetalDestroyer]

Imagine your first post being a Vejichan thread necro in the off-topic section

 

[RevDrucifer]

I’ve popped up in some necro bumps before, but this was actually pretty cool because it’s a great reminder of where things were last year and the 180 that’s occurred since. I didn’t read all what I wrote back then but I know the general headspace I was in at that time.

I love my job these days and have for a while now. A couple staff changes made a world of difference but I also had to really shift my perspective on things because my mindset was just junk when I was posting in this thread.

I had to find some kind of passion in the job, because the actual job itself is basically “How much crazy shit can you handle while doing a LOT of boring things, consistently?” Well, I love getting shit done and I love making people happy. So I just manipulate the shit out of that. The better I get things done, the happier people are, mainly me.

The tasks I used to find daunting, the ones where that voice in my head would tell me I was going to fuck it up so I’d procrastinate and dwell on them, those are the ones I love the most these days because much to that voice’s dismay, I haven’t fucked anything up the entire time I’ve been doing this, I just wasn’t recognizing it.

 

[Carrion Rocket]

 

[Hollowway]

@vejichan I am going to tell you the secret, because I have this figured out. Don't repeat it because it is going to be the crux of my next best-seller.

I was drunk as shit at this girl's house I was dating and I walked into the kitchen and on the fridge there was a magnet that said "Happiness is having something to look forward to". I stared at that shit for like an hour.

I realized there were short term "looking forward to" and long term "looking forward to" items that I could categorize in my life. I found that by taking my day and breaking it into short term "looking forward to" goals it made my day better. I would take my week or month and distribute my "looking forward to" goals as well.

For instance, I like to eat, exercise, read, and drink Monsters. When I wake up, I look forward to coffee. Then I look forward to breakfast. Then I look forward to my mid-morning snack. Then I look forward to lunch. Then I look forward to my mid-afternoon Monster/pre-workout/whatever. Then I look forward to my post-workout shake. Then I look forward to dinner. Then I look forward to my pre-bed casein & peanut butter protein shake. Then I look forward to reading and going to bed.

For long term "looking forward to" items I have found that it's best to space them out and not crowd them. For example, try not to pile a bunch of stuff together (concerts, dinners, donating blood, overseas travel, Mars expeditions, heat death of the Universe, etc.) on the same day or week. I look forward to taking my kids to Tae Kwon Do on Monday nights. Then I look forward to football practice Tuesday nights. Then I look forward to family night Wednesday nights. Then I look forward to football practice again on Thursday nights. Then I look forward to Tae Kwon Do/dinner with friends Friday nights. Then I look forward to games on Saturdays. Then I look forward to tennis Sunday mornings.

That is basically chapter 2 and 3 of my upcoming best-seller. Chapter 4 deals with paying for all of this stuff and it heavily involves crypto. Chapter 5 discusses why crypto is such a bad idea.

I actually really, really like this idea. I'm going to start doing it! I think it's going to help. Because, honestly, there are little things I TOTALLY dig, so it makes perfect sense. Drinking coffee, getting off work, etc. are all small, consistent things I can look forward to.

I'll also tell OP that hanging out with friends/family is HUGE. It's been proven time and time again that loneliness is one of the worst things for mental and emotional health. It is damn tough to make enough time to just chill with people, though.

 

[crushingpetal]

For instance, I like to eat, exercise, read, and drink Monsters.

I like this sentence. It should be the opening sentence of the book.

 

[AwakenTheSkies]

I was drunk as shit at this girl's house I was dating and I walked into the kitchen and on the fridge there was a magnet that said "Happiness is having something to look forward to". I stared at that shit for like an hour.

A true poet.

 

[MFB]

Man, I was really on fire in this thread, go me

 

[jaxadam]

I like this sentence. It should be the opening sentence of the book.

You should pick up my upcoming bestseller: I Hope They Serve Monster in Hell