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Four Easy Ways to Relieve Stress at Work
- Take your emotional temperature.
On a regular basis ask yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being very calm & 10 being ready to jump off of a building), "How stressed am I?"
Giving yourself a number is a quick method of identifying, in your own terms, where you are emotionally. It is an early warning system. In my practice as a therapist, it constantly amazes me how many people go on from one day to the next without knowing that they are stressed until the discomfort becomes unbearable.
Once you know that you are stressed you can begin to take corrective measures. The problem for many people is that they wait until they get a wake-up call that they cannot ignore. They get physically ill, they become very anxious, or they just want to give up. Taking your emotional temperature can give you a running start at catching your stress before it gets out of hand.
- Make sure you take a break that will reenergize you between three and four o'clock in the afternoon.
The body usually runs out of energy around that time of day. If you try and push past that period without reenergizing, you will be more prone to make mistakes, get more frustrated, and even put unhealthy stress on your body.
- Take Reenergizing Breaks (R.B.):
One example of an R.B. is meditating. The best length of time to meditate is 20 minutes. If you don't have even that much time, take what you can. Even 5 minutes is better than not taking any time at all. Another example of a R.B. is a brisk walk. Getting the blood circulating by moving around from your chair puts the brain into a better gear and changes your environment. These are deliberately simple examples. Research on productivity has shown that the time lost in taking R.B. is more than made up for in effectiveness on the job. Remember how much time it takes to undo a mistake.
- Pace yourself.
If you have been doing a difficult task for a while, unless you are on a roll, stop and take break. To the degree that it is possible, alternate tasks. Schedule a break for yourself before you run out of steam. Also, if you have been working on a challenging task for a while, think of doing a more routine one. If you have been working on a detailed project find one that is less precise. The brain needs time to change gears. You can push, but you will pay a price that might eventually be a high one.
- If you're frustrated share that frustration with someone else.
Be careful whom you select. It may be best to talk to someone not at work. Keeping things bottled up will also cause an explosion. If you need to immediately discharge the frustration, write down what you are frustrated about and why. In the short term, that may also relieve some pressure. If you are frustrated because you are angry with someone, write him or her a letter or a memo. Ultimately, you may not want to send them that communication, but in the short run it does get some of the frustration off of your chest. It may be the source of a future document that is toned down or you may just want to destroy it. But, for many of my clients and for myself it has offered just the temporary relief that the doctor ordered.
The above suggestions are but a few possibilities. Some you may already have tried, some may not work or be possible for you. The idea is to look for what will work. If one of these suggestions has offered some relief then we are on our way. Life can be a real challenge and we will need many tools if we are to be up to the task. The best possible outcome of this article will be to encourage you to develop your own stress busters. The possibilities for stress will always be there, the question is will we run it, or will it run us. It's your choice. Good luck.
Let me know if you have any ideas.
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