I’m typing this message up just days before the return of the in-person Global edition of INDUSTRY: The Product Conference in Cleveland, Ohio. In fact, this will be the first in-person edition of INDUSTRY in three years! To say that I’m excited for next week is a giant understatement. But since we’re all friends here, I thought I’d let you in on something else I’m feeling.
I’m super stressed.
It’s a healthy level of stress – and not any different than what I normally feel this close to conference time. I’m sharing this because I bet there are times when you’re also super stressed, whether it’s because of a new product launch, trying to do the same workload with fewer team members, or really, anything.
When I’m feeling this way, though – there are a few things that help me (and may help you):
- Reminding myself why I’m feeling stressed helps. INDUSTRY is coming right up next week and I simply want it to be great for all attendees. But after next week, I also know that my stress level will likely go way down. So there’s an end in sight!
- I have to find a way to burn that stress off. Lots of different things help with it. In my case, biking, running, and working out all help a lot. So while there’s so much to do, I’m making it a point to find time to burn some of that stress off today however I can.
- Focus on the things that I can control. I can’t control everything. Despite all of my best efforts living in Cleveland, Ohio, I just can’t control the weather. But there are lots of things that I can control… and it’s most productive to simply focus on those things.
Despite the stress, I’ve been looking forward to next week for the past three years – and it can’t get here soon enough.
So here we go – onto INDUSTRY!