Jobs and stress seem to come as a packaged deal. There’s a lot to be done throughout the day and even though you may spend 9+ hours working, there never seems to be enough time for everything. But once this stress becomes excessive, it can become harmful to your productivity, as well as physical and emotional health. Obviously, you can’t control everything, but you can try managing your stress by focusing on you… because that’s one thing you can control.
Start by recognizing the warning signs of excessive stress. In its early stages, it’s easy to ignore one or two of these signs, but if not addressed, they will just lead to even bigger problems for you and your coworkers. So make sure you know when you’re about to reach your breaking point by looking out for these symptoms.
• Feeling anxious, irritable, or depressed
• Loss of interest in work
• Problems sleeping
• Fatigue
• Trouble concentrating
• Muscle tension or headaches
• Social withdraw
• Stomach problems
• Loss of interest in things outside of work
The best way to reduce some of the stress from your job is to start paying attention to things that can improve your physical and emotional health. This doesn’t require a major change in your lifestyle, but the benefits can make a big difference.
Start exercising. Raising your heart rate and working up a sweat can improve your mood, increase energy, and even sharpen focus. Relaxing things like yoga and meditation are also really helpful.
Make good food choices. Things too high in sugar and fat will leave you feeling gross and even more irritated than before. On the flip side, not eating enough food lowers your blood sugar and makes you irritable as well. Try eating numerous little things throughout the day to keep your sugar up without feeling bogged down.
Get enough sleep. It almost seems like a catch 22 since insomnia is often caused by stress, but if you’re not getting the proper amount of sleep, it’s impossible to stay emotionally balanced. Set a goal for the number of hours you’d like to get for the night and try to stick to it.
Now that you have yourself taken care of, you should start focusing on your time and task management.
This means you must stop overcommitting yourself and trying to multi-task. Yes, you probably said it was one of your strengths in your interview for the position, but its’ really not a habit that should be encouraged. If you’re having trouble focusing on a project, put all emails and calls aside until you finish it. At the very least, set aside break times where you can respond. Just don’t attempt both at the same time.
Also, try leaving earlier in the morning. If you’re starting the day speeding to work or rushing right into a task, you’ve already added extra stress on your day before you even clock in.
Make sure you plan break times. Trying to work straight through the day takes a toll on you mentally where stepping away for a minute allows you to refresh a little. Large projects can be overwhelming. Plan them out in steps, so you can accomplish little feats that will allow you to feel closer to the end result.
Lastly, be willing to compromise. Often the cause of stress is because of a coworker’s differing opinion or an alteration to a current project or deadline. Keep an open mind and try to find a middle ground that won’t put everyone on edge.
But maybe it’s too late and stress has already gotten the best of you before you were able to put into practice these helpful tips. Here’s how to make sure you don’t make things worse.
Realize when you’re stressed. You can’t do anything to help yourself if you’re ignoring the fact that your nighttime insomnia and irritable attitude are due to the fact you’re stressed. Become familiar with cues that are unique to your personality and mood when you’re feeling overworked or anxious. Everyone responds differently, but knowing will help you work on it. Pay attention to your inner emotions and how they influence your actions.
Reverse your negative thinking. If you’ve started seeing the downside of everything and have become your toughest critic, point out the good things that have come out of it. Recognize the small accomplishments you make and the things you love most about your work, so you can stay positive.
Connect with coworkers. Developing good friendships with people at work will give you someone to talk to who can somewhat relate to what may be stressing you out. Sharing how you feel with someone who will be empathetic and caring about what you have to say will relieve some of your stress. Even better, trying to find the humor in the situation or simply just sharing a joke with a coworker will do wonders as well.
Take some time away. Removing yourself from the cause of the stress may seem like you’re just delaying the inevitable, but really it will serve as meditation for your overworked brain. It’ll help you think about the situation differently and the physical movement will rejuvenate you as well.