One piece of research says that what causes the most stress for us in the workplace is unexpected visitors (who often outstay their welcome and steal our time) and unplanned for work tasks. There are some suggestions in the literature that, if you work in a large organization, you should go to the other person's office. Then, when you have finished your discussion, you can leave as soon as you want. The alternative is that a person comes to your office and unless you have great strategies to get people out of your office, you are a victim to their timelines.

This is just one strategy for managing your workplace stress and work demands. The important message is, as far as possible, to plan your day well. Don't be rigid but set goals to achieve each day. Don't take on more work than you can handle but ensure you carry your load. Having a calendar as in Outlook is a good start. you need to make sure of your fixed points in the day and you need some time before these meetings to be prepared. Being prepared means checking the time and place, checking the meeting agenda, printing and reading any preparatory material, and being prepared to engage and contribute meaningfully to that meeting.

I know this advice assumes that you DO have some control over your daily life. In some professions, there might be no control whatsoever. In my case, in my private clinical work, I have been required to provide crisis counseling. This might be for a suicide or fatality in the workplace, or a distressing incident in a school - some event that is totally unexpected and traumatic that requires urgent intervention. On these days, fortunately they are fairly rare, all the normal planning flies out the window, however, for most jobs there is a regular rhythm to the day.

Goal setting for the day and the week is a helpful stress reduction strategy (unless you have so many goals you want to give up!). Goal setting requires lists. You can prioritize your lists. I am a Word table fan - I put lists in a table and leave room for a sorting column, a notes column, and a completed column. Some people use post-its and take pleasure in trashing the post-it after the job is done. Depending on the size of the job, some people rely on Gantt charts or project management to outline the steps and the tasks and the expected timeline for completion. All of these are great strategies and they have one thing in colon - you planning, being in control, feeling a sense of accomplishment.

A major aspect of stress reduction is having a sense of control over the events in your life. When we have no control and feel we are pawns of a merciless fate, our stress levels increase and our sense of mastery and self-efficacy declines. Planning, goal setting, building lists, using post-its - whatever the strategy - are all great ways to help your work day be better managed and much less stressful. A small amount of planning can increase your feelings of job satisfaction and significantly reduce your workplace stress.