A fire is not an interruption of a fire-fighter’s work

Early in my career, I recall complaining about having too many fires to put out, to which my boss replied, “If you didn’t have them, you wouldn’t have a job.” Enough said! I discovered four ways to not stress over interruptions that are necessary.

First, I changed my mind.  I chose to see these things as the reason for my job, not interruptions of my job.

Second, I learned to anticipate the fires.  I wrote “responding” next to the action list item and often prioritized it as a red.

Third, I learned to say “no” emphatically to issues that others could and should resolve themselves.

Fourth, I added every fire I put out to my list of accomplishments for the day.  This helped replace my stress with high self-esteem and a sense of accomplishment.

Why not give these four ideas a try?  If you stress over fighting a fire you were hired to put out, you are doing it to yourself.