By Jean Hollands

Jean on the Job

Too busy to stop and chat with an old friend? Too stressed to take the class you really need? Too tired to prioritize? Too rushed to make a list?

Remember the rosebush? It must have dormant time, fertilizer time, watering time and then growing time in order to bear those beautiful roses.

I am tired of people who say they can’t change because they can’t stop the daily grind to take the time out to assess, reflect or fix themselves. Here’s what they sound like:

1. I can’t start my weight class because I am working late every night.

2. I am too busy to struggle with the John problem.

3. I can’t exercise because I am running back and forth between jobs.

4. The launch is happening so I can’t start a new project now.

5. My boss is out of town so I can’t take the salsa class.

6. I will miss the luncheon party because I have to work through lunch.

7. Lunch? I haven’t had one since I started this job.

8. I can’t go to that fun party because I have to research for this report.

Workaholics, fearful people, often those with low self-esteem, don’t believe they deserve a lunch or a rest or a class on self-improvement. These unfortunates simply can’t ask for help, and when it is offered, they are too busy to accept it.

Are you one of those little animals that run the maze, hurrying and dizzyingly busy, but without the timeout, the break, the respite, the opportunity to breathe again? If you have some of these pleaser and work-only traits, you are missing the opportunity to:

1. revive yourself,

2. reflect on your crises at hand,

3. problem solve,

4. work more efficiently after a rest,

5. be more effective on the job,

6. enjoy your tasks,

7. prioritize,

8. get creative about saying “no,”

9. work with new energy and enthusiasm,

10. look like someone who is in charge of himself,

11. look like someone approachable,

12. look like someone who can do her job with ease.

C’mon. Take a 10-minute vacation. Take a Friday off. Go to the movies in the afternoon. Get some perspective.

By the way, the compulsive worker does break ranks. He resides in the CEO down to the security guard or the temporary mail clerk.

People on the rise, often in mid-level or higher ranks, tend to have the hurry/worry syndrome. Stop! Consider what others think about you when they see you always running, panting, stressing.

Work smart. Not long.

Jean Hollands, CEO of Growth & Leaership Center, was voted Business Woman of the Year in 1986 and 1996. Write to GLC, 1451 Grant Road, Mountain View 94040