Stress - how to avoid

1. Outwitting Stress Burnout
By Edward T. Creagan, M.D. December 11, 2014
So how can you hop off the hamster wheel? How do you
keep burnout at bay?The pace of modern life is maniacal.
Regardless of where you are in your personal or
professional life, you probably feel that the demands and
expectations, and the time pressure, are exhausting and
relentless. It's like trying to drink out of a fire hose. This
challenge becomes magnified during the holiday season with
an additional set of invitations and commitments.
Many books have been written about this phenomenon and
what you can do about it. Some are helpful; a few are fluff.
As a board-certified palliative care/hospice specialist and
board-certified medical oncologist, I work in two areas of
medicine with the highest burnout rates of any professional
group. Depending on the source, the burnout rate among
oncologists is about 50 percent. The rate is closer to 60
percent in the palliative care community. So what have I
learned and what can I share with you?
Rather than a giving you a laundry list of 17
recommendations, let me give you three tips you can take to
the bank:
• Focus on the "WIN." I don't mean victory. I mean
remember to ask yourself: "What's important now?" It's

2. not brain surgery to know what's important at the
present time. If you're driving, pay attention to the road.
If you're having dinner with a friend, be engaged. Don't
play around with your tablet or phone. It's not only
distracting, it's disrespectful.
• Quantify the commitment. Before you agree to sit on a
committee, host a dinner party or write a manuscript,
recognize that it means giving up a commodity that
cannot be replaced — your time. So before you say
yes, consider Creagan's rule. Whatever I'm asked to
do, I multiply the estimated time commitment by a factor
of 4. No, I am not kidding. If you anticipate that you can
review a manuscript or write a resume in 1 hour, I
guarantee it will take you more like 4 hours. So factor
that into decisions about what's worth your time.
• Make yourself unavailable. I recently called a physician in
New York. I was greeted by his answering machine,
and I was rather surprised and amused by his
message. It went something like this, "Thank you for
the call. If this is an emergency, please dial 911. If this
is not an emergency, I will be available on Tuesday,
Thursday and Friday between 12 and 2 p.m., and on
Monday between 4 and 6 p.m. Otherwise, I am not
available." This was a novel approach that let callers
know in no uncertain terms that the physician had
limited availability.
When I share these comments with an audience of health
care providers, I also add the comment that if I really need to

3. do something in the office, I might put a sticky on the door
that says something like this, "Conference call in progress.
Please do not disturb." There's something about conference
calls that discourages people from interrupting. OK, I accept
that this is deceptive and perhaps manipulative, but it
enables me to get done what needs to be done and not be
bombarded by other people's issues.
By the way, be sure to get at least 8 hours of sleep and I
guarantee that the next day will be far more productive.