5 Quick Stress Busting Tips For The Busy Project Manager

Being a project manager means overseeing every aspect of a project from start all the way through to completion, so it should be no surprise that project managers are some of the most stressed out individuals into today's modern workforce.

Project managers need to be in constant focus, and able to handle any project issues that may arise. Being stressed can affect the ability to properly focus on important tasks, and in turn cause a negative impact on the project. In this article, we will be sharing 5 quick and easy stress building tips for busy project managers.

The first step in managing stress is to have a plan in place that reduces the risk of confusion and chaos within the project. The majority of stress that project managers endure is as a result of poor planning. Taking the time to prepare for potential risks, as well as pinpoint various strengths and weaknesses within the project, and your team, can reduce or eliminate the potential for stressful situations arising. If you're looking to enhance your project management planning skills you may be interested in researching current project management courses online.

Project managers focus so much on ensuring the success of the project, and wellness of their team members, that they often put their own health and wellbeing on the back burner. Project managers will instruct their team to go home and rest up at the end of the day, but fail to take this advice for themselves. Fatigue and stress go hand in hand, if you're not well-rested than you are virtually guaranteeing that your day will have a higher level of stress than necessary. In addition to getting proper rest, a project manager should also take the time to sit down and eat regular healthy meals- this does not include living off the snacks in the office vending machine!

This is another common thing that project managers encourage their teams to do but do not do themselves. Project managers often use their “break times” to do things like checking voicemails, answering emails, and thinking about work. This is a mistake and will cause additional stress and exhaustion to an already hectic schedule. Taking even 5 minutes every couple of hours to leave your desk, get a coffee, or talk about non-work related topics can do wonders for combating stress.

Regular exercise is an excellent way to maintain both physical and emotional well-being. Exercise not only enhances vitality, it releases endorphins which are proven to reduce stress levels. Devoting even 30 minutes a day 3-5 days a week either hitting the gym, or taking a brisk walk, can substantially reduce stress in your everyday life.

This may seem like a cliched suggestion, but it's something that many project managers struggle with, especially while in the thick of a troublesome project. Developing a positive outlook is not only important to project managers, but to the project managers team members as well. Negativity is like a plague, and it only takes one negative person to spread that negativity throughout the entire team. As a project manager it is your responsibility to maintain a positive working environment, this cannot be done properly if the project manager themselves carry a negative outlook.

Even the most issue ridden projects have positive aspects, so try to take the time each day to focus on the positives with your team. This will help to boost morale and maintain positive focus on the tasks at hand. If you're looking to enhance your skills as a project manager, you may benefit from enrolling yourself in additional project management training.

Add paragraph text here.