Editor’s note: This is the first of two articles about managing stress at work.
In life, stress is unavoidable and needs to be dealt with sooner rather than later. However, the key to managing stress is to develop a take-charge attitude toward it.
The thing about stress at work is that it feeds off itself and can seep into your personal life if you aren’t careful. Similarly, stress from home can be brought over to work. But learning to manage and cope with stress can bring you a higher degree of peace.
Here are a few tips for reducing stress at work:
Start off on the right foot. Too many of us wake up and rush off to work, eating junk food bought from a coffee shop drive-thru window as we speed toward the work day. This hastened behavior frames our mental state for the rest of the day. Instead of rushing about, take a few minutes out of your morning for yourself. Start by sitting down at a quiet place and enjoying a relaxing moment. Whether you read the paper, sip some coffee or eat a nutritious breakfast doesn’t matter — just find time for yourself.
Be comfortable. How comfortable you are directly affects your stress level. Make sure you pick comfortable clothes for work, even if you are required to dress up. Sure work clothes are designed to make you look professional, but that does not mean you need to sacrifice comfort in the process. Another important comfort is your desk chair. Office workers spend the majority of their time seated, and an uncomfortable chair can lend itself to back pains and sore muscles.
Prepare for the day’s mistakes. While you should certainly strive to perform to the best of your ability, it is important to remember that mistakes are inevitable and part of the workday. We all drop the ball from time to time. That’s why when mistakes crop up, we must be able to roll with the punches and own up to our mistakes. Otherwise, the occasional hiccup will become a splinter in your mind, stressing you out for weeks on end.
This post is brought to you by the good folks at Dale Carnegie Training of Central & Southern New Jersey, providers of professional development and management development courses and information in New Jersey. We would love to connect with you on Facebook and Twitter @CarnegieJersey.
1 thought on “Tips for reducing stress at work”
Comments are closed.