The CareerCast report on most stressful jobs for 2013 came out and PR Manager/Executive was number 5 on the list. There has been a lot of talk about this, mainly some confusion as to how something like PR could be ranked right up there with life saving occupations like firefighters and members of the military. These people are faced with life or death situations every day and are forced to make crucial decisions at the drop of a hat.

While PR people often feel like they are in similar situations, because of pressure put on them by clients, other people in their agency, and the media, the truth is, their daily critical decisions hardly ever deal with matters of life or death. It’s important to have a healthy sense of drive and feel your work is important, without getting too carried away and feeling like your world is going to end if one thing doesn’t turn out the way you wanted it to. Managing the situations and the stress are important to being successful. There are some things you can do to manage the stress of a PR job, or any job that occasionally causes stress.

Stay on top of everything. If you know what you have to do and how you are going to do it, you are much less likely to feel bogged down and stressed out. This is where lists come in. In addition, keep in regular contact with your clients or other people working on a project with you so that you are always up to speed on what they are doing and what they want from you.

Keep expectations realistic. Make sure that you and your clients are aware of the realistic goals you have set. Don’t let a client get carried away and build unrealistic expectations of something you will not be able to help them achieve. Be honest from the beginning and continuously throughout the relationship so that you don’t find yourself risking disappointment and scrambling to pull off the impossible.

Plan for the worst. Hopefully, a client will always have something exciting and newsworthy going on. But this isn’t always the case. There are always times when you or a client wish to gain some coverage, but just don’t have anything new to promote. Keep a couple of ideas up your sleeve for times like this. A few timeless ideas that will be applicable at any time of year and at any stage in the business’ life, will come in handy if you ever feel pressure for promotion. There is nothing worse than feeling like you have nothing to work with, so writing down a few ideas before the time comes will save some stress later on.

Do everything you can do, as soon as you can do it. Don’t put things off when you have the ability to take care of them. You will feel less stress if you have completed every task that you could each day. If an email comes in during the evening and you are technically not on the clock, just shoot a response back immediately. Not only will people see you as reliable and on top of things, but it’s one less thing to have to worry about later. The less you have to add to your to do list for the morning the more stress-free you will be.

Take a little time for yourself. Sometimes you just need to make sure you are personally relaxed and refreshed. When you feel good and ready to take on the world, little things don’t stress you out so easily. Indulge in a weekly yoga class, take a walk with a friend during lunch, paint on the weekend. Whatever makes you feel relaxed and allows a bit of time for yourself and refreshes your mind.

These are some ways to stay stress free in a stressful job. Whatever works for you is great. What do you do to handle stress in PR or another stressful job?

You can be productive working from home

With the awful weather (which didn’t actually turn out so bad around here, thankfully) in the area this week there were a lot of business closed and people urged not to leave their houses if at all possible. This meant a lot of working from home for those who could. There have been many articles written about it in the last few days such as this one from The Huffington Post. As one who works from the kitchen table on a regular basis, I felt I had a bit of knowledge to share for those who are not used to it and could suffer a day of total unproductivity if not prepared.

Here are some tips:

Plan ahead. If at all possible, plan your day the night before. I like to plan whatever possible for the whole upcoming week the Sunday before, though of course many things change or get added as the week goes on. Then each night plan the next day in more detail so I know what needs to be done and what to expect. This helps to designate enough time to each project and make sure you will be able to get everything done each day.

Keep a running list. In addition to the days schedule, keep a running list of all the specific tasks you need to get done that day. Update it constantly each time there is an email you will have to get back to later, a phone call to make, or a new task that pops up, so that you won’t forget anything or get off track. Once the list is finished you know you accomplished everything you were meant to do in the day.

Start with coffee. Be sure to get up and out of bed at a reasonable time to begin your day at the time you normally would. Working from home is not the same thing as an extended weekend. You still need to work and people will be expecting you to be available at the same time you normally would. Get out of bed, make a cup of coffee, and get settled with your computer, phone, and any other supplies you will need at the kitchen table or a clear workspace (probably not the couch unless you’re very disciplined).

Structure your day as normal. Always read the news online before getting started? Take lunch at 12:30 every day for an hour when you’re in the office? A 10 minute coffee break or a 5 minute walk up and down the hallway at a certain time to get your blood flowing? Do it at home too. Stick to normal routines so your day feels much the same and the afternoon wont drag or the day get away from you before you realize. Definitely don’t forget lunch- just because you’re working from home does not mean you don’t need a mid-day break (and nourishment!)

Keep out distractions. Don’t turn on the TV. Even if you think you just need some background noise, it will cause a distraction. Listen to some music instead. Don’t tell people you are working from home if it means they will call to chat or drop by. Not everyone understands that this is still a work day and essentially the same as if you were in the office. Don’t let yourself think of household tasks that need to get done. Pretend you are in the office and the household tasks are still out of reach. It’s easy to think you’ll just throw the laundry in or pick up the living room real quick. But unless this is during a scheduled break, it is taking up work time and ends up becoming a larger distraction than you originally think.

What do you do to stay focused and get work done from home? Do you like working from home or prefer an office?