There's no denying it--credit and collection is a stressful business. There's pressure to improve customer relations and there's pressure to collect delinquent accounts. Sometimes the pressures make you feel as though you could explode.

Your day-to-day tasks are stressful, but that doesn't mean you have to let the pressures get you down. Dealing with stress is often a matter of control. A sense of control can be the most important tool you have to cope with the stress you face each and every day. Here are some tools you can use to help handle stressful situations and minimize your own physical and emotional distress:

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the Credit & Collection Manager's Letter, which Credit Today purchased in 2006.

• Avoid dependence on nicotine, sugar, salt, and caffeine. All of these chemicals increase stress in your body, making it easier for outside pressures to affect you.

• Breathe deeply. Breathing slowly and deeply (from your stomach) increases your oxygen level and helps you relax. Give it a try. Take one or two deep breaths right now and see if it doesn't make you feel a little better.

• Relax. Take about 30 seconds to relax in your chair and let your muscles go loose and limp. Start at your feet and imagine your body relaxing slowly up to your head. This takes only a moment of your time, and yet you'll be surprised how the tensions release as you relax. Do this many times during the day--after particularly stressful calls, before making a call to a difficult customer, etc.--and you'll feel an increased sense of control.

• Learn to manage your time more effectively. Sit down at the end of each workday and plan your next day. Arrange to tackle the most difficult work when you're at your best and brightest. Some people do their best work in the morning. For others, the afternoon hours are more productive. Plan your day accordingly. Set goals and check them off as you meet them. The sense of satisfaction you'll get from completing your "to do" list will help you avoid stress.

• Back away from your job for a moment. Take a temporary break from a particularly stressful situation. Get up and take a walk, but don't take your problems with you. The idea is to focus on something else for a moment--look out the window, look at a newspaper or journal, or get a drink of water. When you feel calm, you're ready to face the problem once more.

• Think in fast-forward. When faced with a difficult situation, look to the future and visualize successfully solving the problem or completing the task.

• Juggle calls. If your company has a policy of calling good accounts and thanking them for their prompt payment, intersperse collection calls with these more enjoyable customer contacts.

• Be firm. A positive, firm attitude toward collection calls will help you deal with stress. After all, your company's ability to pay its bills on time and maintain its credit rating depends on its customers. They have to follow through on their commitments by paying in a timely manner. Your company has a right to collect past-due debts. Of course, it's important to maintain good relations whenever possible. Working with customers to come up with fair payment arrangements can be a positive experience that will also reduce stress.

Stress is an inevitable part of your job, but it doesn't have to bring you down or wear you out.

Editor's Note: The above article originally appeared in the Credit & Collection Manager's Letter, a newsletter purchased by Credit Today in 2006. This article originally appeared prior to 2000.

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