Everyone who has a job whether as a corporate slave or government servants, even a businessman, will experience work-related stress at some point of their life. Especially in the world we lived in now, with the pandemic and all the uncertainties going on it is not making things any better. For some, working from home can be very difficult especially when you have to juggle in between carrying out the duty as an employee, a spouse and a parent. Feeling some stress or tension is pretty normal especially when you are facing a challenging assignment. However, do not avoid to seek for help if the stress is taking a toll on your body and your mental health. Work stress is unavoidable, even if you love what you are doing. But there are steps you can take to handle and bring work stress to a minimum like a pro!
Spend on work station wellness
A work station should be able to sustain your wellbeing throughout the day. Work hard, play hard motto is not achievable when you, yourself is not balancing your life between work and your wellbeing. During this pandemic, most of corporate slaves are working from home and you should be lucky to have a dedicated home office because not everyone out there can even afford to have one. Thus, you can be a little bit creative by creating a home office that is more enjoyable and a place that can help to boost your well-being. You do not have to spend tons of money to create this space, just facilitate the items you have at home.
Greenery in your scenery
- We need sufficient oxygen to stay focus and alert during the day, hence a little tiny flower pot can do wonders! Adding an indoor plant on your work table can give you that soothing effect and it makes your space feels more serene.
A water bottle.
- To stay hydrated through out the day is very crucial, as it keeps you to stay alert which provides idea conditions for creative thinking as well as problem solving. Well, it is also the best way to ensure you to keep moving because with all the H2O goes in your body, you may need to go to the loo quite often!
Natural light
- Bright and natural lights in your work station can lift up your mood and productivity. It helps you to stay awake too! Pull out your curtain and let the natural sunlight goes in during the day so that you can have that natural light which also help to save on the electricity bills!
Something that smells good
- You can choose your favorite scented candle or a diffuser with some uplifting essentials oils such as lemon, peppermint or citrusy smell. It helps to keep the environment smells heavenly and to shift your mood and awaken your senses through those uplifting scents.
Track your stressors
Write a journal for a week or two, to help you identify which situations that cause you to feel the most stress and how tackle those matters. Do not hesitate to record your feelings, thoughts, or anything that happened around you whether it is involving people and circumstances. For example, did you raise your raise to your housemate? How many times you go to the snack bar, or if your kids make a mess and annoys you? Write on a note can help you to find patterns on your stressors and how you react to them. Especially when you are an introvert, opening up about your problems can be really hard especially when you live alone. Hence, this may be the best way for you to reflect on the things that causes stress on a daily basis.
Organize your daily routine
A great way to a major stress reduction is to learn how to handle your stress at work by organizing and prioritizing your work and your daily routine. As things can get pretty overwhelming sometimes, it very important for you to organize and prioritize by clarifying your goals. Set clear objectives on things you want to achieve on that day and make sure you track your activities. Do not set priorities promptly, use the goals to asses the importance of every task and make sure it helps you to achieve your goals and not vice versa. Besides that, make sure to focus on 2-3 things maximum. Do not be an over achiever by focusing on so many things at once, as a result you may not be able to get all things done.
Learn how to relax
When things get pretty hectic and you got ramped up with works, take a minute or two to relax and calm yourself down. Relaxing techniques like deep breathing exercise, meditation and light exercise can help melt away stress. Spare few minutes to focus on a light activities like breathing, walking or cook your favourite meal. This will help to distract you from things that causes stress for awhile and you will find that you will be more focus and calm after that.
Eat healthy and nutritious foods
Have you ever heard of the phrase ‘you are what you eat?’. Many people turn into a snack monster and make unhealthy foods as their comfort foods as a get away from stress especially when they’re at work. I understand the feeling of a having a bite of your favourite chocolate it is such an indescribable feeling! When we are stressed out, our brain releases the cortisol hormone which makes us to crave on sweet, salty and fatty foods for the temporary pleasure to ease our stress. However, stress eating will only aggravate the problem. This is because, sugary or fat-laden foods such as burgers, pizza, chocolate and ice cream make us feel more lethargic and less likely to help us tackling the problems lay before us. An apple a day, keeps the doctor away remember? Make sure you packed an apple or banana to work and once you feel like binge eating on something, grab the fruit instead of those sugary snacks. Balanced diet is the key to stay healthy and energetic to go through the day.
Get enough sleep everyday
Sleep is known as a stress reducer. By following a regular sleep routine helps to calm and restore the body, regulates mood, improves concentration, sharpen judgment and decision-making. You will be a better problem solver and able to cope with stress better when you are well rested. However, lack of sleep will cause stress, crankiness, reduces energy and your brain will not be able to function properly. Hence, it is very important for you to get enough sleep every day. In average, an adult should sleep for eight hours. Avoid looking at your phone or electrical devices at least two hours before bedtime so that you can go to bed on time and don’t skimp! Another way to get enough sleep is to stick on your sleeping schedule. Set your body’s internal clock by hitting the hay at the same time every night. You will be able to fall asleep easily and wake up at the same time if you stick with the same routine every day.
Get support
It does not make you less of a humane if you seek help. Seeking for help from your family members and trusted friends can improve your stress management. Talk to them and vent out everything that you have because it helps to reduce all the stress you have by talking to someone. You may also seek help from mental health professionals if needed. Do not feel pessimistic about seeing a psychiatrist, you may want to talk to them to help you manage your stress even better and change unhealthy behavior.
Learn new knowledge
You may find it very useful for you to take a short course/training to upskill and upscale. Process improvement trainings like Lean Six Sigma is one of the best training you can take up during this pandemic. You will learn more about process improvement and how it can benefit you during this pandemic. Learn more about Lean Six Sigma training here.
LSS Academy provides various stages of Lean Six Sigma training such as Yellow Belt, Green Belt, Black Belt and Master Black Belt. Our consultants and trainers are Lean Six Sigma certified and they have conducted training for many years to clients with different industries. For your information, LSS Academy is an Accredited Training Organization, Curriculum Provider and Examination Center by IASCC and by Council for Six Sigma Certification. We offer the best price for Lean Six Sigma Training in Malaysia with certified trainers and complimentary training materials. If you wish to learn more about process mapping and Lean Six Sigma training, do visit our website at https://lss-academy.com/ and contact us to speak with our representative at +603 7873 8485 to learn more about our Lean Six Sigma programmes.
References
https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress
