Best Ways To Deal With Work Stress

We have all been there before. You walk into work with an idea of what you want to get accomplished for the day. Not even 15 minutes after sitting down at your desk, there’s a fire to put out or something urgent that needs to be handled.

With everyone demanding your attention and needing your help, your day can easily become unmanageable and stressful. Sometimes it’s big deadlines that have us experiencing increased levels of anxiety and work stress.

Other times, it’s the constant adding up of one thing after the other that creates high stress environments on a daily basis.

Understanding how to best handle a high pressure workplace will help to reduce the stress you experience at work.

Take A Walk

Sometimes stepping away from what’s stressing you out can help you regain your perspective. When you’re feeling overwhelmed at work, take the time to get up from your desk and take a walk. Whether you just walk to get a cup of coffee or you take a ten-minute walk outside, giving yourself that mental break will allow you to return to your tasks with a renewed energy.

It doesn’t benefit you to feel as if you’re chained to your desk from the moment you walk in the door. Regularly make time get a little exercise to clear your head.

Shut Your Door

Work spaces often come with any number of distractions. Whether it’s the loud conversation happening right outside your door or the person asking you to join them for birthday cake in the breakroom, we can easily be sidetracked.

Not feeling as if you have the uninterrupted time to focus on your work can easily contribute to feeling stressed.

When you’re able, shut your office door to avoid interruptions or distractions. If you find that people will still tend to knock on your door when shut, put a polite sign outside the encourages people to refrain from disturbing you.

If you work in an open space, invest in noise cancelling headphones or a divider that will give you more privacy. The more you’re able to focus on your tasks, the less stress will get the better of you.

Practice Breathing

It sounds elementary, but breathing techniques can be used to help lower blood pressure and relax the body.

If you’re experiencing a significantly stressful event or day, go somewhere quiet for a few minutes and practice controlled breathing. No, it doesn’t solve all your problems but it does allow you to resume your work without wanting to throw your coffee mug across the room or yell at your annoying co-worker.

Be Proactive

Consider that some of the stresses you experience at work could be attributed to poor organization or planning.

If you allow your day to get away from you, you’ll feel out of control and stressed out more often.

Make yourself a plan for the day whether it’s when you walk in the office or the night before. Keep high on the list those tasks which have priority or a tight deadline.

If you ensure the urgent tasks are being completed early, you’ll feel more comfortable when fielding other requests or encountering disruptions later in the day.

Talk It Out

If you get to the point where you feel like you just can’t juggle it all anymore, reach out to someone for help. Talk to your boss about how you’re feeling and what might help you.

For some, that might honestly be to ask for a day a week to work from home so they can focus on their to-do list without any office distractions.

Reach out to your colleagues as well and see what they do when they’re feeling overwhelmed. You may come to realize that you’re not alone and many of your co-workers are looking for ways to manage the stress.

Go Offline

In many of today’s work environments, we’re always accessible. The constant barrage of emails, texts, phone calls, etc. can overwhelm a lot of people. Even when we’re not at the office, the office seems to always be able to get in touch with us.

When you’re not in the office, try to practice restraint when it comes to responding to after-hours requests. Allow yourself the clear distinction between work time and personal time.

Talk to your boss and colleagues about your availability. Don’t allow others to make you feel pressured to work around the clock. If you’re able to get your work done during your standard office hours, there’s no reason you should feel compelled to respond to 10:00pm emails.

If you’re able to leave the work at the office, you’ll be able to leave those stresses there too.

Whatever practices you decide to employ, make sure you’re taking the time to handle your work stress instead of ignoring it. You want to continue to thrive in your job, not feel burdened by it.