Time bomb
In October, Robert Hruzek asks, what have we learned from stress? Usually, Robert’s group project theme leaves me scratching my head for hours trying to come up with a meaningful response. This month, however, there’s no problem.

What I learned from stress is that for me, stress equals time. I don’t like tight deadlines, cramming for a test, rushing to the airport to catch a flight, or running late for an appointment. For some people, public speaking or being trapped in an elevator causes enormous stress. For me, it’s showing up fifteen minutes late for a sales call.

Having dealt with this punctuality foible pretty much all my life, I’ve learned to cope pretty well. For the most part, my coping mechanisms have made me a better business person, but perhaps not so easy to live with.

Time management is key. I try very hard to give myself plenty of time to complete projects, which is pretty tricky for copywriting work, because you can’t time creativity. I admire people who can pump out first rate material under the gun. But I’d rather work into the wee hours and complete a project way ahead of time than have things come down to the wire.

I’ll arrange to arrive at the airport two hours or more ahead of departure time. I’m seldom more relaxed than being at the airport, checked through security, comfortably ahead of my flight. If the flight is delayed, I’m still happy. This causes trouble at times, because my wife is just the opposite – killing time, especially for no good reason, really stresses her out. Lately we’ve gotten better at splitting the difference on travel timing, but if you know how to resolve this kind of conflict, hey, please let me know!

Another thing I’ve learned from time stress is how to make use of extra time. When I’m at the airport with an hour or two to spare, I like to work on future blog topics, for instance, or new ideas for my business. It’s possible to turn waiting into very productive time, but it takes discipline. I keep a list of projects to work on and ideas to develop with me at all times, so I can spend my extra time thinking, instead of thinking about what to think about – you know what I mean?

Finally, I’ve learned that my time stress is irrational. The world won’t end if I’m late for a meeting or miss a flight. Reminding myself of that in the heat of battle may reduce the stress, but I’m not sure. It does make me wonder – generally speaking, is stress an irrational reaction? Can we think our way rid of it?