Let me give an example of where "potential problem analysis" worked for me I was running a boat ride for about 300 attendees of

an engineering conference in New York City, and we chartered the

famous Circle Line, the extraordinary boat ride around the island of

Manhattan. We had made all the arrangements one had to make,

and, except for guaranteeing good weather, we were good to go.

During the week before the boat ride, I did a "potential problem

analysis" on a blank sheet of paper. I wrote down all the things that

could possibly go wrong, and had a list of about a dozen items, one

of which happened to be that the "Band doesn't show up." We had

HAVING FUN 145

hired a band for entertainment, recommended by one of our mem­

bers. The next step in the analysis was "how likely" was it that they

wouldn't show up? It was unlikely; we called them the week before

and all was fine. The third step was "how important" was it that they

show up; and it was moderately important, since the band was our

entertainment and we wanted to let people dance. The fourth and

last step was "what would you do" if it happened.

At this point, you might be saying to yourself, "Well, this will

never happen, so why bother thinking of what you would do for

every possible thing?" But I persisted and thought about it, and de­

cided that if for some reason the band had not shown up by ten min­

utes before departure (they were due to arrive about an hour before­

hand), then I would hop in a taxi and go to a specific music store in

nearby Times Square, and ask the taxi to wait while I bought a radio

(a "boom box" to be more precise) and a bunch of tapes (no CDs

then!), and that would be our music. You'll never guess what hap­

pened! The band did not show up (and we never found out why, but

we saved their fee!) and just as I was ready to go get the music, one

of the hands on the Circle Line said he had a stereo and tapes and

could patch the music into the boat's public address system. That's

what we ended up doing, but the "potential problem analysis" antic­

ipated that situation, and many others, and allowed me to deal more

comfortably with managing the stress of running a complicated

event.

HAVING FUN

It seems very ironic and, at the same time, totally appropriate, that

one of the last "skills" we cover in this book is the need for engi­

neers to learn how to have

Yes, having fun is a wonderful part

of our lives and also an effective way to deal with stress. And yet

many of us have trouble finding time to have fun, or, when we do,

feel guilty that we are enjoying ourselves when there are more im­

portant things to do.

My son Doug, a scientist, put it well when he saw that I urge

engineers to "have fun." "Are engineers the only people who need to

be told to have fun?" Well, perhaps yes. To be sure, many readers

are saying that this doesn't apply to them, that they have plenty of

good times mixed in their lives, and that is fine. But many engineers

146 CHAPTER 15 DEALING WITH STRESS AND HAVING FUN

Figure 15.2 Reading for pleasure is very relaxing and you can also learn a lot. And, yes, you can make time to read!

get into a workaholic mode that is drilled into them in the "boot

camp" of engineering school, where they can be overwhelmed with

the amount and difficulty of the work, and are forced to work many

more hours than students in other fields. This carries over to the

workplace when the hours increase and there is less time for person­

al business, relaxation, and having fun. Recent statistics show star­

tling increases in hours worked per week by people in the United

States, resulting in less personal time.

Your on aying "engineer are the only people who need to be told to have fun" i exactly true. ompletely dead on. That wa probably my fa­ vorite part of your eminar. It opened my eye to explaining the way en­ gineer behave. My dad, who i an engineer, is a complete workaholic. Having fun eem like it i a chore for him. Your on' de cription i 0

accurate it' not even funny. Make ure you alway include that In your pre entation.

enior chemical engineering tudent at Cooper Union

Before I "teach" you how to have fun, let me tell you a story of

a junior in engineering school who had been in a communications

HAVING FUN 147

workshop I gave and e-mailed me afterwards to confide about some

problems she was having. Linda's first message was pretty seri­

ous-she was having a number of problems with the heavy work­

load and her roommate, and her mother was very sick. All this was

really stressing her, especially the unrelenting workload. I tried to

encourage her to stick with things, talk to her professors to get some

relief-the usual advice. I also told her to take some time for herself

to go have fun. In a series of messages over a week or two, Linda

seemed to be having more and more trouble, and I was ready to

refer her to get some professional help.

At the same time, I kept urging Linda to take more breaks and