Tag: Work

Sunday Night Stress

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I recently came across a study that concluded that 76% of Americans deal with an increased amount of anxiety on Sunday night concerning the impending arrival of Monday and the beginning of the workweek. While it may be called Sunday Night Stress, Sunday Night Blues, or even the Sunday Scaries, whatever it’s called it seems to be having an effect. Personally, I do fine Sunday night, it is at whatever point that I wake up on Monday morning do I feel the stress of “all the things” that need to be done to begin the week. This feeling abates little by little as I accomplish those things and usually by mid-afternoon I can take a deep breath and begin to feel normal again.

Practically speaking what can be done to mitigate or eliminate Sunday Night Stress altogether? Proper planning throughout the week may help. If you aren’t procrastinating or putting things off through the week it will definitely reduce the amount of stress on Monday morning. I’ve found that if I do certain tasks at the end of each work, day in preparation, it makes the next morning go much more smoothly. Having a proper perspective may also help. There may seasons in your work where you know they are going to be busier or more stressful by their nature. Learning the cycles of your business will help you prepare your mindset to know “it won’t be like this forever, just for now.” Also, it may be that there are stressful aspects to your job that are unavoidable. Having a proper perspective means that you learn to accept those things that you simply cannot change. Finally, might I suggest persistent prayer. There is a verse in the Bible which encourages us to “not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Phil. 4:6 ESV). There is a calm assurance that awaits those who can offload the stress and anxiety to One who is a little more capable of carrying it.

Conference Notes: Four Keys To Effectively Listen

At Restoration Church’s marriage conference this past weekend we were led through a session on effective listening. While these are great application points for a healthy marriage, the principles work for any relationship.

1.Remember You Are On The Same Team – this was shared as not just an internal reminder but something that was expressed to be verbalized. Especially when faced with a situation where you are communicating in conflict try looking at your spouse and say, “We are on the same team!” There are so many forces at work that want to divide and conquer the marriage relationship, we must remind ourselves and our spouses that we are on the same team, no matter what. Within an hour after leaving the conference, Amy and I found ourselves in conflict and tested on this principle. One of the ways we worked through the conflict was taking a step back and saying “We are on the same team!”

2.Seek First to Understand and Then Be Understood – oftentimes we are so busy formulating our response, we fail to adequately understand what our spouse is trying to communicate. When we don’t give time and space to understand each other we can often jump to conclusions that aren’t based in reality. I know I can come up with all kinds of solutions to Amy’s problems when I think I know what they are-except many times I try to fix things that aren’t broken, or miss what the problem really is about.

3.Ask Clarifying Questions – asking good questions helps slow things down and also helps us to really understand the need. On getting through this point I need to admit a personal growth area. I can sometimes (ok, so a lot of the time!) get defensive when Amy asks clarifying questions. For whatever reason inside of me, I see the questions as not just a quest for understanding, but as a kind of attack. As a growth point for me, I have to be reminded of #1 (we are on the same team!), and use clarifying questions to bring us together.

4.Come up with a win-win – If you are truly a team there is a way you can work together to find a best path forward together. We live in a fallen world, so sometimes it may not be that at the end of a “discussion” everyone is shooting off confetti cannons in celebration. We should be able to follow Scriptures teaching, not letting the sun go down on our anger (Ephesians 4:26) and getting to an acceptable resolution.

Again, I felt this session was immensely helpful. Amy and I literally put this into practice upon getting home, and guess what-it worked!

Questions for Discussion:

How can you put these listening skills to good use in your relationship?

How might these skills help you in other situations at work, school, etc.?

Finishing Well

“…So Moses finished the work.” Exodus 40:33b (ESV)

What project are you working on? What project do you need to start? What project do you need to finish? I’m constantly asking these types of questions in my own head, all at the same time running the seemingly perpetual project of the busyness of life! We all have projects we need to start and some we need to finish. I have plenty of little projects around the house that I definitely need to finish! Some projects feel as if they are never going to get completed.

For the last three weeks I have been reading through the book of Exodus. It’s amazing to read through this book and watch the transformation of Moses and his leadership. He is no perfect leader and he makes mistakes along the way, but when you boil it down Moses accomplishes a supernatural task. While on Mount Sinai God gives him the instructions for building a tabernacle which will serve as the spiritual hub of the newly constituted nation of Israel. God gives him the physical and relational resources to carry out the task, and one year after the first Passover, Moses completes the Tabernacle, consecrates it, and God’s glory comes down and fills it. This verse near the end of the book brings me great comfort – “So Moses finished the work” (Exodus 40:33b). Not to skip ahead, Moses has more projects ahead, and one major project he is personally not going to be able to complete. This time, however, we can see the beauty of a leader who receives a vision for a project and completes that project.

May this be an encouragement for whatever project you may be facing down at work, at your church or ministry, at home, or personally-with God’s help and God’s assistance, you can complete it. Let’s get it done and move on with the next project the Lord has for us!