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October 27, 2024 6 mins

How to keep job stress in check

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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is for when you are feeling stressed or annoyed
about work you have to do, remind yourself that you

(00:24):
chose this connect with what drew you to the work
in the first place, to provide renewed motivation or at
least tolerance for the task at hand. So I love
writing books, and in particular I love figuring out new
truths about how people spend their time and how we

(00:44):
can spend our time to make life more meaningful and enjoyable.
When I opened the giant box that came in the
mail a few weeks ago to see the first hardcover
copies of my latest book, Tranquility by Tuesday, I was
just flooded with realization that, Wow, this is what I
wanted to be when I was growing up. But it

(01:07):
turns out that books don't sell themselves. So I have
spent a reasonable amount of time over the past few
months figuring out how I can share the book with
as large an audience as possible. That means managing the
logistics of various video conference platforms for interviews keeping track
of marketing email schedules, and generally getting tired of hearing

(01:30):
myself talk. So I keep reminding myself, I chose this.
I get to write books for a living. My whole life.
I've wanted to be a writer, and here I am.
People sometimes even pay me to speak about the topics
in my book. I am very grateful for that. It
doesn't make getting stuck in O'Hare on the way home

(01:52):
from a speech any more enjoyable, but it does keep
it in perspective. I am guessing if you are human,
there are parts of your job that you don't like,
or parts that stress you out. Maybe you are a
chef at an amazing bakery, which is your dream job,
and this requires you to be at work before dawn

(02:15):
every day that you are working. This is not your
favorite hour of the day. Or maybe you are a
physician who loves taking care of patience, but you find
the unpredictability of weekends when you are on call incredibly stressful.
Or maybe you are a parent who is thrilled to
be able to care for your kids full time, but

(02:37):
would it please be possible for your two year old
not to scream in the car every afternoon when you
have to wake him up from nap to go get
your six year old at school. Even in a job
you love, it is likely that there are parts of
your job that you don't love. These parts are stressful, tedious, inconvenient.

(03:02):
When you are feeling annoyed by these parts of your job,
it can be helpful to repeat these words, you chose this,
I chose this. People get sick on weekends just like
they get sick during the week People want their pastries
at seven am, not seven pm, and so early hours

(03:23):
are just the nature of the baking life. Toddlers are toddlers,
and if you are a toddler's full time caregiver, you
get the tantrums along with the snuggles. So best to
just keep your eye on those snuggles. When you reconnect
to what you love about your work, it is easier

(03:44):
to get through the parts of your job that you
don't love. Remember what drew you to the work in
the first place. Consider what you are learning from this
work and acknowledge the impact you are having. Reflect on
the future opportunities that today's work is opening up for you.
Remind yourself of what appealed to you in the first place,

(04:05):
so you can find motivation to bring the work to completion.
Of course, if you realize that your reasons for choosing
your work are outweighed by its downsides, maybe it's time
to consider looking for a new job or changing the
situation in some other way. There's really no shame in
this at all, but the main idea is to remember

(04:27):
that you have choices. If you live somewhere that you
are free to listen to this podcast, then most likely
you have a lot of control over your life. The
universe didn't assign you this work. You chose it, so
stay connected to your motivations for choosing it, or realize

(04:50):
that you can choose something different. I realize I wouldn't
want to do anything more than writing, and so it's
all good one way or another. In the meantime, this
is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the
most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear

(05:17):
from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,
and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's b E the
number four then Breakfast Pod. You can also shoot me
an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com

(05:37):
that before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters,
thanks so much, should I look forward to staying in touch.
Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts
from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

(05:58):
you listen to your favorite shows. Gangga MHM,

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Laura Vanderkam

Laura Vanderkam

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