4 Ways to Reduce Workplace Stress

Everyone has at one point or another experienced stress at work. Whether it was about meeting a deadline or balancing heavy work load, we need to keep it in check. It can become overwhelming and start to negatively impact us both physically and mentally. So here are some tips on how you can avoid stress in your workplace.

Is your office cubicle a big mess so that you don’t know where anything is? Just by looking at clutter your body starts to produce stress hormones, meaning that you can get stressed just by working in a messy environment. So next time you’re in your cubicle be sure to tackle that giant stack of papers that has never been filed.

Staying organized doesn’t just apply to desk clean-up. If you’re disorganized with work you need to be able to plan ahead of time to stay organized and reduce levels of stress. You can do this by creating a balanced schedule and monitoring it each week. This is so you can identify unproductive demands, time wasters as well as try to find a balance between your work, social life, daily responsibilities and family life.

After a very stressful meeting you may find your mind cluttered, so in order to start your work with a fresh perspective why not take a physical break? Just by taking short breaks throughout the day or during lunch by going on a walk outside can help you clear your mind and be more productive.

Try to schedule at least half an hour twice a week where you get away from your desk to take a physical or movement break. Getting your blood flowing is not only good for your immune system but also reduces stress, lifts your mood and helps you to blow off some steam.

No matter how hard you try, no situation, project or decision will ever be perfect and in most fast-paced workplaces you won’t have the time to do everything flawlessly. So trying to attain perfectionism on every single thing will just add to your stress.

It’s good to be ambitious and to be a high achiever, but when you set unrealistic goals or try to do too much, you’re just setting yourself up for failure. Which is why you need to be flexible and be able to adjust them. Instead, aim to do your best even if you think that it falls short of perfection.

Techniques such as deep breathing exercises, meditation and mindfulness can help to keep away stress. The point of these exercises is to focus on a single activity without distraction to allow you to clear your mind and do away with stress.

So when you find yourself in a stressful situation do some deep breathing exercises for a few minutes. You start by inhaling for five seconds, holding it and then exhaling through your nose, doing it over the course of three minutes. If that’s not for you, even listening to music after a hard day of work can relieve stress and help you become relaxed.

Avoiding stress in the workplace won’t always be possible. Then next time there’s a deadline you can take on these preventative measures so that you don’t find yourself being overwhelmed by stress.

Source: http://www.inspiringwomen.co.za/