Judy's and Sally's Blog

Four ways to de-tox and get rid of the Blahs, the Blues and the Stresses in the Contact Center.

Everything seems to depend on time in the call center.  No time to eat, no time to talk to your neighbor in the next cubicle, no time for a break outside by the back door, no time to be friendly. That is because time is only used to crunch numbers, check ratios from call to sale or shorten call time and lower the abandonment rate.   This sounds like no fun at all.  So, let’s see if we can open that door of opportunity even if the knocking you hear is the person in the next cube banging their head against the wall.

1 Minute

If you have only one minute to spare, you can:

• Subscribe to Comics on the Internet and read 2-3 of them – laugh – laugh – laugh!
• Spritz some Citrus Scent around you and breathe in calmly for one full minute.
• Move your shoulders up and down in a vertical motion to release tension on neck and back
• Check posture, sit up straight. Your back deserves a break, too.
• Drink a glass of water for your voice. Your body is a sponge and needs hydration.
• Make a secret list of two things that really make you mad – tear it up and throw it away.
• Billy Joel said: “she never gives in, she never gives up, she just changes her mind.”  You can too, take a moment and “Lighten Up!”  That’s what enlightenment is all about.

8 Minutes

• If you have two or three or four minutes – really eight minutes – Listen to a CD of calming music, no rap or angry stuff.  OR, put a recording on your i-pod of  soothing affirmations or positive sounds,  relax and you will handle the stress better. You can buy these kinds of CDs. (Call me.)  It’s very inexpensive and they work.  You go back to work cheerful and energized.  Why doesn’t everybody do this?
• Go outside and sit on a bench and just BE….no talking, no thinking, just SIT and BE.

4 Minutes

• Ask someone for direction.  Ask people what you should do with your life and Listen.
• If you are angry, sad, lonely, or depressed, Put on a Happy Face and pay it forward.
• Buy a candy bar and give it to someone else.
• Call a friend and say: “I miss you.”  Remember you only have 4 minutes but that’s all it takes.
• If you are worried, sit in a chair and try very hard to worry, for 4 minutes…bet you can’t do it!