The cause of stress?

If I were to ask you, what causes you stress, would you know?

I am not sure I had a definitive answer til now. I would most probably have conjured up a few theories. For example, I may have said too much work causes me stress. Or maybe too little sleep. Maybe too short deadlines. Possibly even bad relationships with peers.

But I would not have know for sure that these are the root causes.

This week I think I have reached a conclusion on what actually causes me the most stress.

I think it is lack of control of my time.

Meaning I cannot chose if I have an 8am meeting or a 5pm one. I also can't chose to have a lunch break or a lunch  meeting. I most definitely have not been able to chose when I go the gym.

This control of my time, has exhausted me.

I have realised, I am not a resilient machine that can consistently do 12+ hour work days, without pauses of energy renewal.

Anyway this period is most definitely time boxed and very soon I claim it back, but at least I have understood why I feel this way.

What about you?

What causes you stress?

Ambiguity. Workload. Relationships...........

Do let us know.