You work to live, you don’t live to work. A beautiful maxim that however becomes more and more difficult to embrace in everyday life. Frantic times, tight deadlines, growing responsibilities. When is it time to stop this stress?
The best way to manage stress at work is to have a balanced working lifestyle. Every day we are in close contact with many workers engaged in as many sectors. Our advice is always the same: focus on the things you can have control over, to make each activity less difficult and (possibly) more enjoyable.
In this article, we have identified 5 tips to manage stress at work effectively. A few simple steps to keep in mind, for a peaceful and balanced working life.
1. Establish real times
“Make a timetable”. Even if you repeat it as a mantra every day, it is difficult to make it a reality. As much as you try to write a well-defined To-Do List, you always arrive at the end of the day with an even longer list. But you are not meant to continue like this.
Whatever your workload, it’s time to become aware of it. We work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, and one day – whether you like it or not – always consists of 24 hours. This is to say that you cannot be damned if you feel overwhelmed by your commitments, rather make peace with the fact that what you can do is proportional to the time you have available.
A ban on hopeless timing, on simply unattainable goals. To find peace of mind you must first be objective with yourself and give the right times to each activity. Your times.
So set real and actionable goals, but also be prepared to respond to the classic “last-minute urgencies” and therefore be flexible. And when that task arrives that will give you a hard time, don’t give up: you will know what your chances are and it will be easier to deal with it with the right approach, without unnecessarily increasing stress.
2. Respect your body, take a break
There is nothing more wrong than never stopping, continuing to work with your head down nonstop. You’ll end up bumping into the rock of your body begging for mercy!
Working well doesn’t mean spending 8 hours or more at your desk without ever taking your eyes off the table. Rather, it means bringing quality results, and to do so you need an outlet between one work session and the next.
Stress is often caused by the feeling of never really getting out of a maelstrom of commitments and responsibilities. Then take some moments to regain clarity and rest your mind. Success is guaranteed!
Sometimes it only takes a few minutes with your eyes closed to start again, but what can help you most is the move from the place where you work, get distracted by other things, and let your mind clear a little from too much confusion. A few minutes for a short walk or a coffee at the nearby bar will be good for your body and your work too.
3. When you leave the office, really switch off
We have seen which are the most virtuous behaviors to maintain at work. But a significant amount of stress accumulates away from the office. It is not persecution, but the effect of dragging you with you, like bulky luggage, all the unpleasant events, difficulties, and unresolved issues that arise daily at work.
Have you ever wondered why the time is limited to 8 hours? Because after this threshold it is important that you can dedicate yourself to your family, to your loved ones, to all those activities that in some way make you happy. Try to think of doing all this with the constant thought of that file to be closed, of the dissatisfied customer, of the upcoming meeting with the boss: nothing has the same value.
So the lesson is simple: when you close the door behind yourself every day, remember to leave everything connected there too. First, set the right time at work and then immerse yourself in everything good for you, be it the hug of your child, an intense sports session, or the tranquility of a few pages of that book waiting for you on the sofa.
4. Talk to your colleagues, the right ones
If there is someone who can understand you, that is your colleague, the person who lives the same reality every day, who knows the other people you have to deal with and who knows how to interpret some dynamics that others they could hardly understand.
Sometimes stress is caused by misunderstanding, by feeling abandoned by the company, by the belief that you are the only one experiencing some difficulties. If you open up to your colleague, you will discover that the reality in which you work every day is the lowest common denominator and that this commonality can be a strength.
So look for a comparison with colleagues, express your mood and ask them for their opinion. A different perspective will certainly do you good and will be able to give you interesting ideas to quickly get out of a situation that you thought was unsolvable.
Relying on colleagues can therefore be an important card to play to better manage work stress. But beware of do not rely on colleagues who tend to be negative, to relieve your discontent, to feed anxiety and fears. This type of company avoids them as much as possible in periods of particular stress and surrounded instead of proactive people, objective but also positive. The help of this type of colleague will be a useful outlet but above all a regenerating charge of energy and positivity.
5. Contact only specialized experts
There’s no need to go around it, in some cases everything we’ve just described is just an outline of what you really need. When work stress turns into anxiety and this state of mind no longer leaves you, you should go to a specialist doctor.
Stress is not a disease, but if neglected it can cause significant damage to mood and health. To run for cover and find a foothold, many rely on supplements or even drugs without the support of a doctor. But you can’t joke about your health.
What we can advise you, if you are in a situation of great difficulty, is to contact your doctor without delay, describing your condition and the difficulties related to work. This certainly won’t change the reality in which you work in the blink of an eye, but it can give you the certainty of being supported by a specialist and giving your body only really necessary help.
Sometimes work stress can also be generated by dissatisfaction with the role held or, in general, with the type of activity. If you are looking for a new job opportunity, which can enhance you to the fullest (humanly and professionally), look at the job vacancies currently available here or upload your CV to be always updated on the latest news.