Stress – it does your head in. A biochemical occurrence that comes on when you believe the demand exceeds the resources available to you. In your mind, a limited time frame or not enough brainpower to get the job done equals a heightened possibility of failure.

But stress does not have to be a negative thing. To some, especially those in a creative field, the stress of seemingly impossible but ultimately exhilarating work drives them, while others find the pressure so detrimental they sink into a depression, making it doubly hard to get the task finished.

The common signs of stress at work include anxiety, irritability, frustration and a perceived lack of control you may have over your circumstances. The major drawback of stress is that it prevents you from thinking clearly – your brain is running doomsday statements on a loop: ‘this is too much’, ‘I can’t handle it’, ‘I’m going mad’. Not exactly the kind of advice that will get you out of the corner you find yourself in. When things get too much, go to the extreme opposite of stress and take a moment to relax. It’s not easy to assess what’s causing you grief when you’re in the throes of stress, so break it down applying these following steps.

• Action: What exactly is causing you the stress? How much of it is within your control and what can you realistically do about it? Discard all the aspects that aren’t directly relevant to your workload, such as problems at home, and focus on what positive action is required to get the job done efficiently.

• Emotional: You’ve pictured the worst; now look at it from the other angle. By interpreting your situation from the eyes of an optimist, however cock-eyed it might seem – you can at least minimise those heart palpitations and belly butterflies.

• Acceptance: Once you’ve considered the ups and downs of the situation you’re in – deal with it. You know what you can and must do; you know that there’s precious little you can do about it. Instead of wishing you could, just accept you can’t. It will help you concentrate on the aspects that you can work on.

If you experience stress on a regular basis, other than seriously considering a different job, you can take the following precautions to help you manage stress if not erase it altogether.

• Stress diary

The problem with stressful situations is that you’re so preoccupied with your present predicament – you rarely stop to think you’ve been here before and dealt with it quite well in the past, thanks very much. By recording details of your stress, you will be better equipped to assess the cause, effect and, ultimately, find a solution. Soon you will be able to see a pattern of stress, one that helps you achieve and the type that drags you down, ones that regularly cause you trouble and those that happen only as a result of certain eventualities, allowing you to apply the positive lessons to your present crisis.

• Job analysis

There’s nothing that brings on greater stress than work overload. Why have you got so much on? Is it that you work too slowly or inefficiently – or is your boss simply taking advantage of you by handing you the work of two women? 

To do a job to the best of your abilities, you need to fully understand what is expected of you. Nobody is asking you to be a jobsworth that won’t budge from the rulebook, but are you actually getting any praise for going the extra yards? Chances are your boss doesn’t know and should your efforts come to light, will question your leadership skills – why didn’t you delegate, commission or simply ask for help? Remember, martyrs at work are more likely to be taken advantage of than revered.

• Performance planning