This week I’ll be getting real about the stressful side of corporate life. I’ve been under tremendous pressure at work for several months now. Well, that is work life sometimes, especially with my chosen career, so I just need to suck it up. That’s what I’m getting paid for after all. And to think that when I was starting my career I wondered why the managers got so much more pay when they had such easy jobs that they just sat around talking in meetings. Little did I know then. The responsibility is what pays, but it’s a heavy load to carry.

All the different personas in a big change project: The collaborative, the almighty, the confused, the part-hero, the uncertain, the “business-as-usual”, the busy, the exhausted, the unmotivated, the productive bastard, the questioning, the outsider. I’m the almighty productive bastard. 🙂

Don’t get me wrong, I love my work and the company I work for. I thrive on challenges and would be bored without them. But sometimes the stress gets a bit hard. Plus, sleep is so fundamental that it’s my personal life that suffers when I try to juggle between work and getting enough sleep.

Outside my work, headed for lunch.

To achieve balance, joy and success at work, my advice is to think small. Don’t always concentrate on the bigger picture and feel like you never achieve anything or get anything done. Every day, every week – when thinking small – there are successes and accomplishments.

At home I find that my dog always makes me smile. I can’t be grumpy around her.

Doing the things I love when I have the time also keeps things balanced. That’s why I always want to write this column every week even though sometimes with my schedules it seems impossible. (I have to admit that a few weeks ago my column wasn’t published because I thought Tuesday was Monday and didn’t get the post ready in time . . .  ooops! But I just had to laugh at myself even though I felt a bit gutted to have been so silly.)

To put a style spin on this post I do have to admit that being vain helps with coping with the stress. When I dress well, cover my stressed dry skin with nice fresh makeup, hoist my bosom up with a well fitting Deco bra, put on heels and stand up tall and poised,  then I feel like I can take on whatever the day will throw at me. This is why even if I stay home and work from there, I dress nicely and wear a bra even though my home office style is very different from work. More about that in my next post.

Basic day to day look.

Lots of positive energy and support to all fellow career women who sometimes feel there’s just too much to do and so little time!

ÂÂ