There are two types of stress: the good type, which makes you excited and motivated to work, and the bad type; the one that makes you worry and uncomfortable. Unfortunately, for many workers, it’s the latter that they find themselves suffering with on a day to day basis.
So here we’re going to look at a few ways that you can deal with your stress at work and keep calm.
Keep it clean – If you sit at your desk surrounded by bits of paper, crisp packets, empty bottles, and other bits of rubbish, it’s going to make you feel stressed.
The first move towards reducing that stress should be to clear out your desk. Get rid of anything you don’t use and organise those all-important files so that they’re to hand, but not piling up around you. It’s important that you’re comfortable at work if you want to keep stress to a minimum, and no one is comfortable when surrounded by mess.
Diet – The food we eat drastically affects our moods, so if you’re finding yourself stressed at work, it could be down to your diet.
Office dwellers tend to starve throughout the morning and then when dinner time comes around, fill up on carbs. This means we’re pretty productive after dinner, but at any other time we’re a little… lacklustre.
To avoid this, try snacking throughout the day. We’re not talking junk food, but fruit. This should keep your body well fuelled so that you can remain productive.
Communicate – Feeling overwhelmed at work does nothing for your stress levels. That’s why it’s important that you communicate your issues with the team and your employers. They may be able to re-distribute the workload or resolve another issue you have making working life much more enjoyable.
Exercise – Wherever you read something on keeping the body and the mind happy, you’ll hear the word exercise. It’s the best stress-buster, so whenever you get the opportunity, hit the gym or go on a run.
It can be quite hard to make room for exercise in your day to day routine, but it’s important that you do.
Try heading out on a walk at lunch. Stop getting the tram to work and buy a bike. Get up earlier and head out for a run. You can fit it in. You’ll just have to make a few adjustments.
Take a break – Many workers find it difficult to take time away from work. There workload hasn’t eased up in months, the boss is pressuring them to meet those targets; at what opportunity do we have to take a break?
Well you must. Time away from the office is your chance to recharge your batteries, take stock, and then when you return, go back at your job with everything you’ve got.