🌳 How to Stress Less & Do More (Work Edition)

💭 Quote of the Week

Ever notice how this hits different when you're staring at an overflowing inbox and three overlapping deadlines? But here's what Seneca was really getting at: Half your stress isn't from the work itself - it's from the mental horror movie you're directing about it.

💡 Stoic Lesson of the Week

Your heart just dropped. That "urgent" email from your boss came right as you were finally making progress on the three other "urgent" projects due tomorrow. Your brain is doing that fun thing where it imagines every possible way things could go wrong - in vivid, anxiety-inducing detail. At this point, living in a cave is starting to look pretty appealing. (Pro tip: Cave WiFi is terrible for Zoom calls.)

Here's what's interesting: You've got about 50 tabs open in your brain when you really only need three. The Stoics understood something most productivity gurus miss:

Translation: The workload isn't your biggest problem. Your reaction to it is. When you're freaking out about everything you need to do, you're actually making yourself less capable of doing it. It's like trying to drive with one foot on the gas and one on the brake - you're burning energy but getting nowhere.

🎯 How to Actually Use This

When you're drowning in deadlines and stress, try these Stoic-inspired practices:

The Morning Mental Reset (5 minutes before opening any apps)

• Write down what's in your control (hint: other people's incompetence isn't on this list)

• List your energy-drainers (meetings, difficult conversations, tight deadlines)

• Set one "fortress of calm" moment - a 10-minute break that's non-negotiable

• Pick your ONE "must win" for today (ignore everything else until this is done)

The Overwhelm Emergency Kit

The 3-3-3 Rule:

1. Take 3 Deep Breaths (actually do them)

2. Ask 3 Questions:

• What's the actual worst case? (Not your anxiety's version)

• What's in my control right now?

• What's the next tiny step?

3. Spend 3 Minutes on immediate action

The Pressure-Proof Protocol

For maintaining sanity during high-stress periods:

• Work in focused 25-minute blocks

• Take actual breaks (scrolling Twitter while stress-eating doesn't count)

• Move your body every 2 hours (even just standing counts)

• Set hard boundaries: No work email after 8pm

• Schedule "worry time" - 15 minutes to stress about everything, then back to work

Try This Now: Look at tomorrow's to-do list. For each task, ask:

• Does this actually need to be perfect?

• Who can help me with this?

• What's the simplest way to get this done?

Remember: The Stoics knew that productivity without peace is just sophisticated suffering. Your goal isn't to do everything - it's to do what matters while keeping your sanity intact.

📖 Story Time

During one of the empire's darkest moments, Marcus Aurelius faced what seemed like a perfect storm: Invasion threats from three borders, a plague ravaging the capital, and his most trusted general had just betrayed him. While everyone around him was losing their minds, Marcus did something counterintuitive.

In his journal that night, he wrote: "Do not disturb yourself by picturing your life as a whole... rather, scrutinize each question at hand."

Instead of getting overwhelmed by the big picture, he broke everything down into single actions. He didn't think about "saving the empire" - he thought about the next decision, the next action, the next hour. He didn't try to solve next month's problems with today's energy.

The empire survived. The problems got handled. Not because he was superhuman, but because he stayed focused on what he could control in each moment. To this day, CEOs use a version of this - breaking 'impossible' quarterly goals into weekly targets, then daily actions

🤔 Takeaway

Your workload isn't going anywhere. But the Stoics teach us something crucial: Being busy and being overwhelmed are two very different things. You can have a full plate without a racing mind. You can meet deadlines without sacrificing sanity.

The secret isn't in doing more things - it's in doing the right things, deliberately, while letting go of the mental baggage that makes work feel heavier than it needs to be.

You can't control how much work lands on your desk. But you can control:

• How you organize it (smart systems beat heroic effort)

• How you think about it (emergencies are rarely actual emergencies)

• How you protect your peace (boundaries aren't selfish, they're strategic)

Your Weekend Challenge: Pick one meeting or task tomorrow. Approach it like a Stoic - focused on what you can control, detached from what you can't, and committed to keeping your cool no matter what chaos unfolds. Notice how different it feels.

Question to ponder: What would your work life look like if you stopped carrying the mental weight of things you can't control?

✍️ Journal Prompt

Evening reflection:

• What did I actually accomplish today? (Be specific)

• What worried me but didn't happen?

• What's the smallest next step for my biggest project?

📚 Interesting Reads & Listens

Some of my favorite content I found on the internet this week...

• A nice reminder on the tiny, daily practices that help build your confidence (SELF)

• A few things I expect to see in 2025… (Scott Belsky)

• The best inventions of 2024 (TIME)

Remember: The goal isn't to do everything. It's to do what matters, deliberately and well.

As Seneca said: