Why do some office executives – especially overworked businessmen—look prematurely old and die young? How can they avoid worry, hypertension, and an eventual stroke or heart attack?

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Here are a few practical tips taken straight from the firing line of day-to-day office experience:

1.  Follow a healthy lifestyle.

Prepare for the day following the healthy regimen of a sensible lifestyle.  Get ample amount of sleep.  Don’t borrow from your much needed sleeping time by watching late night TV, cable, videos or playing video or online games; or worse, dissipate your precious strength in those regular after work drinking sprees will wee hours of the morning.

Instead, get a good morning warm-up by jogging or walking around the block.  Have a quick shower to get your circulation going.  Eat a hearty breakfast.  Fill your mind with thoughts of peace by looking at the blooming flowers still wet with evening dew, or by listening to the happy songs of the birds, if there are still any around your area. Sing, pray, or meditate, to clear up your mind and be prepared for your tasks to face through the day.

2.  Don’t procrastinate.

Never allow your work to pile up.  Loosen your necktie, roll up your sleeves, and tackle the jobs one by one as they come up. 

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Resist the slightest temptation to procrastinate.  Read the reports immediately.  Call that long-overdue committee meeting right away.  Send the memos today.  Answer the letters now. Return calls.  Delegate some of the work to your associates. 

3.  Clear your desk and mind.

Clear your desk of all debris.  Some desks fairly groan under the load of a mountain of junk – financial statements, receipts, vouchers, checks, budgets, feasibility studies, committee agendas and minutes, board actions, books, magazines, newsletters, mails, newspaper clippings, job orders, directories, article manuscripts, pictures, memos, appointment slips, plane tickets, incoming and outgoing trays, a flower vase with wilted flowers, pencils, pens, clips, rubber bands, paper weights, a drinking glass, a lunch box, a marble nameplate, a telephone, folders, letterheads, ad infinitum, ad nauseam.

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A cluttered desk tends to create a cluttered mind.  By the same token, a cleared desk tends to produce clear thinking. Somehow you feel you’re on tops of any problem if all you see in front of you is the one piece of paper you’re presently working on.  The mere sight of a loaded table tires you immediately even if you haven’t done any work yet.

4.  Take “mini-vacations” throughout the day.

Take a shot nap during the noon break.  A few minutes of siesta tend to give you another dose of energy.  You can also take a mini-vacation every few hours’ interval by simply sitting on your swivel chair.  Instead of the traditional coffee break, for a change, why not try reading a bit of inspirational poetry or a devotional?  This is an excellent tonic for your mental health.

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More often than not, what tires you at the end of the day is not the volume of work you’ve done but the thought of being buried under an avalanche of unfinished work.  The way to handle this situation is for you simply to do what you can each day, and you drive home n the evening with a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction.