If you find that you feel very stressed at work, and you’re not sure why, it can be useful to keep a stress log for a week to see what’s going on. Include the follow items:
- Write the date at the top of each day.
- Write the time and what happened.
- Rate the event on a scale of one to ten, where one is a minimum of stress, five is, “I feel like I need a break,” and ten is, “I’m going to blow a gasket.”
- Leave room for any comments or thoughts.
Sample Log
Here is an example.
| Monday, June 15 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Event | Rating | Comments |
| 8:15 a.m. | Stuck in traffic | 3 | Why did I get so upset and let this ruin my morning? |
| 10:30 a.m. | Bob messed up his report, so my report will be delayed | 8 | |
| 12:05 p.m. | Pizza shop messed up my order | 8 | I really overreacted at the cook. ☹ |
| 3:30 p.m. | My manager complained about my late report | 6 | |
| 5:15 p.m. | Was late leaving the office and picking my son up | 5 | Luckily his babysitter is nice! |
