Dr. John H. Stokes， professor， Graduate School of Medicine，University of Pennsylvania， read a paper before the National Convention of the American Medical Association—a paperentitled “Functional Neuroses as complications of OrganicDisease”。 In that paper， Dr. Stokes listed eleven conditions underthe title： “What to Look for in the Patient’s State of Mind”。 Hereis the first item on that list：“The sense of must or obligation; the unending stretch ofthings ahead that simply have to be done.”
But how can such an elementary procedure as clearing yourdesk and making decisions help you avoid this high pressure， thissense of must， this sense of an “unending stretch of things aheadthat simply have to be done”？ Dr. William L. Sadler， the famouspsychiatrist， tells of a patient who， by using this simple device，avoided a nervous breakdown. The man was an executive in a bigChicago firm. When he came to Dr. Sadler’s office， he was tense，nervous， worried. He knew he was heading for a tailspin， but hecouldn’t quit work. He had to have help.
“While this man was telling me his story，” Dr. Sadler says，“my telephone rang. It was the hospital calling; and， instead ofdeferring the matter， I took time right then to come to a decision.
I always settle questions， if possible， right on the spot.
I had no sooner hung up than the phone rang again. Againan urgent matter， which I took time to discuss. The thirdinterruption came when a colleague of mine came to my officefor advice on a patient who was critically ill. When I had finishedwith him， I turned to my caller and began to apologise for keepinghim waiting. But he had brightened up. He had a completelydifferent look on his face.”
“Don’t apologise， doctor！” this man said to Sadler. “In the lastten minutes， I think I’ve got a hunch as to what is wrong with me.
I’m going back to my offices and revise my working habits… Butbefore I go， do you mind if I take a look in your desk?”
Dr. Sadler opened up the drawers of his desk. All empty—
Six Ways to Prevent Fatigue and Worry &Keep Your Energy and Spirits High except for supplies. “Tell me，” said the patient， “where do youkeep your unfinished business?”
“Finished！” said Sadler.
“And where do you keep your unanswered mail?”
“Answered！” Sadler told him. “My rule is never to lay down aletter until I have answered it. I dictate the reply to my secretaryat once.”
Six weeks later， this same executive invited Dr. Sadler to cometo his office. He was changed-and so was his desk. He opened thedesk drawers to show there was no unfinished business insideof the desk. “Six weeks ago，” this executive said， “I had threedifferent desks in two different offices—and was snowed under bymy work. I was never finished. After talking to you， I came backhere and cleared out a wagon-load of reports and old papers. NowI work at one desk， settle things as they come up， and don’t havea mountain of unfinished business nagging at me and making metense and worried. But the most astonishing thing is I’ve recoveredcompletely. There is nothing wrong any more with my health！”
Charles Evans Hughes， former Chief Justice of the United StatesSupreme Court， said： “Men do not die from overwork. They die fromdissipation and worry.” Yes， from dissipation of their energies—
and worry because they never seem to get their work done.
Good Working Habit No. 2： Do Things in the Order of TheirImportance.
Henry L. Dougherty， founder of the nation-wide Cities Servicecompany， said that regardless of how much salary he paid， therewere two abilities he found it almost impossible to find.Those twopriceless abilities are： first， the ability to think. Second， the abilityto do things in the order of their importance.
Charles Luckman， the lad who started from scratch andclimbed in twelve years to president of the Pepsodent company，got a salary of a hundred thousand dollars a year， and made amillion dollars besides—that lad declares that he owes muchof his success to developing the two abilities that Henry L.
Dougherty said he found almost impossible to find. CharlesLuckman said： “As far back as I can remember， I have got up atfive o’clock in the morning because I can think better then thanany other time—I can think better then and plan my day， plan todo things in the order of their importance.”
Franklin Bettger， one of America’s most successful insurancesalesmen， doesn’t wait until five o’clock in the morning to planhis day. He plans it the night before—sets a goal for himself—agoal to sell a certain amount of insurance that day. If he fails， thatamount is added to the next day—and so on.
I know from long experience that one is not always able todo things in the order of their importance， but I also know thatsome kind of plan to do first things first is infinitely better thanextemporising as you go along.
If George Bernard Shaw had not made it a rigid rule to do firstthings first， he would probably have failed as a writer and mighthave remained a bank cashier all his life. His plan called for writingfive pages each day. That plan and his dogged determination tocarry it through saved him. That plan inspired him to go right onwriting five pages a day for nine heartbreaking years， even thoughhe made a total of only thirty dollars in those nine years-about apenny a day.
Good Working Habit No. 3. When You Face a Problem， SolveIt Then and There if You Have the Facts Necessary to Make aDecision. Don’t KeepPutting off Decisions.
One of my former students， the late H. P. Howell， told me thatwhen he was a member of the board of directors of U.S. Steel， the Six Ways to Prevent Fatigue and Worry &Keep Your Energy and Spirits High meetings of the board were often long-drawn-out affairs—manyproblems were discussed， few decisions were made. The result： eachmember of the board had to carry home bundles of reports to study.
Finally， Mr. Howell persuaded the board of directors to take upone problem at a time and come to a decision. No procrastination—