Think about your work environment, how is it? Do you have really loud noise constantly and poor communication? Do you feel pressure to work at optimum levels all the time? Do you have too much work and have too little time? These are the most common sources of stress in the office. Do you know how to manage it? I know when I was at school, I didn’t take the subject How to Manage Stress Effectively 101: we are not taught skills to manage our worries, but it is a part of everyday life now. It is normal to experience a certain level of stress in the office, but when it starts to undermine your productivity and results, you are juggling between success and failure in both that area and your health. Managing stress is not about ignoring it or shutting yourself away so you don’t have to think about it. Look out for the common signs of stress, I remember when I started my business and I thought I was managing my burdens really well, until I developed bruxism, I didn’t even know it existed! There are many strategies for dealing with stress – Here are two of my effective strategies for managing stress
1. You must be bigger than the situatio.n and change your perspective.
I want you to think about the last time that you were stressed—what was your immediate response to the stressful situation? Think about it; did your response help the situation or did you make it worse? In other words, you are a big contributor to the situation and the outcome, so you might actually be guilty for worsening the situation, harsh? Perhaps, but true. You need to be bigger than your problem, not scared, fearful and stressed—problems are just things to handle, not the end of the world. Next, put the situation into perspective; I’m sure you have heard that it’s not what happens that matters most, but how you deal with what happens, and the same goes for stress. How you deal with pressure is important, as stress is often simply a question of perspective. The way you think leads to your feelings, and that dictates your actions. If you are feeling stressed, change your thoughts and your feelings will follow. It is important to manage your emotions because when you are overwhelmed, you can’t think straight anyway, which leads to rushed decisions and mistakes. Remember, what you focus on expands.
2. Get organized, because chaos contributes to your stress.
The second biggest contributor to stress is lack of time, or feeling that way. There are many factors that influence how much time you feel you have in a day. We all have 24 hours, but some of us feel like we have only half of that, while others accomplish everything they set out to effortlessly. If you only implement the ideas listed below, I know it will be enough for you to start to noticeably feel less stressed and overwhelmed on a daily basis and experience more enjoyment at work. If you are not planning your days, prioritizing what you need to do and breaking your tasks into small steps, you are setting yourself up for stress. The first problem is that most individuals don’t actually have a system that is effective for them, and even fewer individuals stick to the system. If you are not planning your time, you are planning to be stressed. Remember, when you plan your schedule, include time for unforeseen crises every day, otherwise you will find it stressful that you are unable to follow your schedule. Delegate whenever you can—even the most menial tasks—so that you are able to focus on getting the more serious responsibilities dealt with. Identify your time thieves: what are you doing that is sucking up your time and leaving you stressed? I know over 100 time thieves, and most individuals deal with around 80 of them. Time-management and stress are directly related. How many people do you know arrive late at work completely stressed and already exhausted every day? I am sure if that person simply woke up 15 minutes earlier, their morning would sing a completely different tune. It is very simple: if you are not managing your time, you are not managing your life as effectively as you could. Continuous stress does not need to be a common story in your life—or does it? You choose! If you want to master anything in life, whether is it your time management, stress, relationships, success, whatever it is, you first need to master your mindset behind it; that is your secret weapon. Stop looking around you for easy ways to eliminate stress and start looking within yourself. How confidently and honestly can you say that you manage your stress effectively at the office?
