Work pressure part 1

Work pressure is a drainer. It eats away at your energy, takes away your work pleasure, and if it lasts too long, it also affects your health. You sleep worse, make mistakes, and get irritated more easily. And yet... you keep going, because relaxing is something others do.

Why? Because work pressure is something you can't control. Something that happens to you, something you can do very little about. But that's not entirely true. Sometimes the core lies in your own habits and beliefs. Sometimes it's the environment or the demands being placed on you. Often it's a combination of both. "A better environment starts with yourself," so let's first look at how you might be contributing to your work pressure yourself—and what you can do about it.

Sometimes, you raise the pressure yourself. Not on purpose, but through patterns you've developed. Maybe you recognize this:

• You say "yes" to everything, even when your schedule is full.
• You feel that good isn't good enough—everything must be perfect.
• You measure your value by how much you get done.

I know very few people who don't struggle with this, including myself. Success is usually tied to dedication and results. But what if we flipped that around? What if success isn't about how much you do, but about how meaningful you are to others? And what if saying "no" doesn't mean you're a jerk, but that you set clear expectations? You can't do everything. Communicating that clearly prevents disappointment.

A mini-reflection: Where does your work pressure really come from?

Take a moment to reflect on the past week and answer these three questions:

1. What were the three moments when you felt the most work pressure?

• What happened exactly?
• How did you feel at that moment?

2. What contributed to the pressure?

• Your own expectations (e.g., perfectionism, always saying "yes")?
• External factors (e.g., unclear priorities, culture)?

3. What small change could you make to feel less pressure next time?

• Set a boundary?
• Reduce perfectionism?
• Have a conversation about priorities?

Write your answers down and see if you spot a pattern. Small adjustments can make a big difference.

High work pressure often feels like the fire department. You put out the flames on the left, and then they're smoldering on the right again. But what if you just pause? Literally. Take a deep breath and ask yourself: What is truly important right now? By taking breaks and more consciously choosing where you spend your time, you'll regain more control over your work. A useful tool for this is the Eisenhower Matrix, which you can find on Toolshero, for example.

But let's be honest: not everything is in your hands. Sometimes, the problem lies in the work environment. How do you address that? How do you change not only yourself but also how work is organized? More on that later this week.