I didn’t have to dig too deeply into a Harvard Business Review article by Tony Schwartz, a work and productivity expert, to realize that his “six keys to achieving excellence” are perfect guideposts for anyone who is stressing out about her job, especially over worries that you are not good enough at what  you do.

I’ll give you his six points and tell you how I am learning to apply them to my own work-related stress. Then it’s up to you to sit back — maybe with a steaming cup of decaf coffee — and take it in, finding ways to use the six keys in your own challenging work life.

1.  Pursue what you love.

I left my career in teaching partly because I didn’t “love” it, as you hear so many other teachers do. I was passionate about certain aspects of it, but there wasn’t enough fuel to keep the fire going. Writing, however, I’ve been passionate about since I was a kid, and it’s always had a place in my life. When I write, I’m focused, I’m driven. And I love a good deadline.

2.  Do the hardest work first.

I would much rather read my email and poke around Facebook every morning, but I know that the stretch between breakfast and lunch is my most productive and energetic time. Writing is hard work, but on good days I wrap it up by 2 p.m. and go on to other aspects of my business.

3.  Practice intensely.

Schwartz says that the intense focus you bring to any given work activity seems to max out at 90 minutes. Then you need a short break. In addition, the hardest aspects of your work should be packed into no more than 4 1/2 hours a day. I know this is true, because for many years I worked part time at a newspaper, where I often managed to be more productive in a five-hour shift than my full-time colleagues. These days I stay aware of my daily threshold for transferring ideas from my brain to the keyboard.

(I’ll be right back for points four through six after this short iced tea break.)

4.  Seek expert feedback, in intermittent doses.

Schwartz says “too much feedback, too continuously can create cognitive overload, increase anxiety, and interfere with learning.” Sounds like a nice way of saying, “It’s no fun when a supervisor is constantly on your back.” I work for myself now, but I know from talking to friends that there is a way to finesse the relationships with co-workers and supervisors so that there is no overload. Know when to retreat to your office or workspace.

5.  Take regular renewal breaks.

A weekend is a weekend is a weekend for me, especially after many years of spending my weekends grading papers. So these days I am rested and relaxed when I tickle the keyboard again on Monday morning. Schwartz says that relaxation after intense effort helps embed learning and perhaps even nurture creativity.

6.  Ritualize practice.

If I didn’t have set days dedicated to certain writing tasks, I would be lost. I need my rituals, and Schwartz says that sticking to a schedule for your most difficult tasks means you won’t waste energy thinking about when you will actually get to those tasks.

So don’t procrastinate. Start incorporating these keys to excellence in your life right now and relieve that job-related stress.

Schwartz is the president and CEO of The Energy Project and author of “Be Excellent at Anything.” To see his August 24, 2010, article in the Harvard Business Review, go to http://blogs.hbr.org/schwartz/2010/08/six-keys-to-being-excellent-at.html

Written by Deborah Ross.