Just take a second

Get the Tip of the Day via email.

There's not doubt about it - organizing can sometimes be very stressful work. When I start to feel overworked and overwhelmed, I sometimes adopt a more "aggressive" tone.  What's that old saying? You get more flies with honey? It's true, and I'll tell you why.

Whether you're working with volunteers, your team, vendors or even PEPCO, it's really easy to get frustrated when you aren't getting what you want. But if you stop and think about it - when was the last time that you raised your voice and got the desired outcome from a situation?

Just take a second. Take a deep breath, and analyze your tactics. Ask yourself what you would do if you were on the other end of the phone.

At the end of the day, organizing is about managing and navigating relationships. If you make less trouble for someone else, hopefully they will help you out.

How do you deal with managing emotions? Let us know in the comments on the blog.

Jamie McGonnigal is Community Engagement Manager at NOI.

Photo by jennalanger, via Flickr.