A six letter word we can all agree we don’t like, stress. This past week, I’ve been working toward wrapping up classes. I have three projects, 2 major projects, I’m juggling at work, and before any of that I am a wife and a mom. Stress is an understatement, if I don’t focus on managing it.

I believe to manage stress well we must understand the root causes of it, so for myself and my reader here is a tid-bit of information on stress that can help us manage.

Dr Karl Albrecht defined 4 common types of stress in his book “Stress and the Manager” and how to manage them. The 4 types of stress are:

Time stress is experienced when you worry about time or the lack of it.

Time stress can be significantly reduced when a person has good time management skills. Prioritizing a workload and creating to-do lists are essential to juggling any load, whether at work or at home. Another way time stress can be reduced is by using time wisely throughout the day and maximizing its potential. Being organized and maintaining a schedule  to ensure top priority work is being completed during your peak hours, which will vary based on whether you are predominately a morning or night person, will reduce the amount of stress induced by time constraints. Lastly, get enough sleep and don’t over commit yourself. Learning how to say “no” respectfully will help you reduce time stress.

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When are you most productive?

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Anticipatory stress is experienced when someone is concerned for the future.

Anticipatory stress can be reduced through visualizing the event positively. Anticipatory stress sometimes is a result of the fear of failure. To overcome this fear you can analyze all possible outcomes and plan for the possibility of all. This preparation will give you a greater sense of control over the situation. Another way to overcome anticipatory stress is through meditating on the here and now instead of the future. Also, accept that you are limited in what you can control.

Situational stress is when you are in a situation you have no control over.

Situational stress can be reduced by being self-aware. Being able to identify when you are in a situation that is causing tension or pressure by the signals your body, mind, and emotions are sending you, can help you understand that you need to react. How you react will depend mostly on the situation. Whether you choose to withdraw and remove yourself completely or manage a conflict, you’ll need to be quick on your feet to deal with this stress appropriately.

Encounter stress is when you worry about interacting with certain people.

Empathy is a great characteristic that can assist you in dealing with this type of stress, because it allows you to see the situation for the others persons point of view. Also , relaxation techniques that help slow down your heart rate like breathing exercises, mediation, practicing visualization, and exercising regularly can also help reduce encounter stress.

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And don’t forget throughout every stressful situation always, always, keep your sense of humor.