Stress Relief in Five Little Minutes
Be the “Early Bird”
The five minutes before you are supposed to be somewhere can be stressful or calm, and you get to decide which it will be. Needless stress is unhealthy, yet too many people experience it by simply arriving someplace at the last minute or even worse, late. Arriving at the last minute can leave you breathless, perspiring and stressed, with no time to mentally prepare. When you arrive late, your reputation is tarnished, and depending upon the situation, you may lose business as well. Success happens when opportunity and preperation meet up. When you arrive just five minutes early, those five minutes can be spent relaxing and preparing for what you are about to do.
It Works for Me
I have this little “trick” I play on myself. I keep my watch five minutes fast. Although I have done this for many years, and I know well that it is fast, it still works. When I do arrive at the last minute (by my watch), I go, “Whew” and relax.
Try It! Life is too short to be stressed, and even shorter if you are.
July 2nd, 2009 at 8:41 pm
I got a chuckle out of this one. My alarm clock next to my bed is about, maybe, 13 to 15 minutes early - I actually do not know, really, how fast the clock is. The clock has been this way for years. And, I know it! But, I still treat the time displayed as the correct time! I think my brain or subconscious or whatever just likes it that way. And, I never arrive late.
More to the topic, being a little bit early is just plain good common sense - if nothing else it shows attention and respect (and gives you a chance to catch your breath). Not too many things irritate me more than people who arrive late. Arriving late is simply saying with your action that other people’s time is not important. Being inconsiderate with other people’s time is simply an inexcusable sin. I do not waste anybody else’s time and I do not tolerate people who carelessly waste mine. Inconsiderate people are just to be avoided. It may seem difficult sometimes, but life is too short to give away any of one’s precious time to inconsiderate people.
July 3rd, 2009 at 8:52 am
I agree with Richard! And how about when people show up late, strolling leisurely toward their destination while talking on their cell phones . . . AND don’t even acknowledge their tardiness! As a wise man once said, “The way we do one thing is the way we do everything.” People who are habitually late speak volumes.
July 6th, 2009 at 9:17 am
“If you’re 15 minutes early, then you’re 15 minutes late!”
That’s what my brother-in-law taught his children (which they shared with me). My technique is to schedule an arrival time 10 minutes before a meeting. I use this in my prep and drive time schedule. OK, I’m not as good about this as my brother-in-law, but there are few things better than pulling into the parking lot for meetings 15 minutes before it starts. By the way, he was a truck-diesel-mechanic. And he was always on time.