4 Tips for a Less Stressful Work Life (Guest blog)

Work is stressful, particularly in today’s always-connected society in which the line between work and personal lives is practically non-existent. Trying to balance work and family demands becomes an insurmountable obstacle, and you resign yourself to the constant stress of trying to achieve your ambitious career goals, meeting your project timelines within budget, and coping with difficult co-workers and supervisors. Instead of giving in to this stressful existence, take back your life with these tips for a less-stressful work life. 

Get Physical: Hit the Gym or the Trail

The idea of taking on yet another time-consuming daily habit seems absolutely absurd, right? But exercise is a fantastic way to release your pent-up frustration, plus you’ll actually find that you have more energy and a strengthened ability to focus when you take even half an hour a day to improve your physical health.

HIIT (High Impact Interval Training) workouts are incredibly effective at burning calories in as little as 20 minutes. High-intensity not your thing? A daily walk, jog or swim can boost your health and increase your overall focus, too.

Work Smarter, Not Harder

You could be adding unnecessarily to your own stress without even realizing it. Are you constantly multi-tasking? Do you ever take a break – really take a break and unplug?

Implement some proven strategies for working smarter instead of harder, such as learning to say no, keeping a clutter-free workspace, focusing 100% of your energy on one task at a time, prioritize your tasks, and eliminate distractions such as checking email multiple times throughout the day and trying to read too many blogs (even if they are related to your job – there is such a thing as information overload).

Embrace the Power of the Conference Call

Meetings are so early-2000s. With so many technology tools at our fingertips, it’s astounding that people still have face-to-face meetings. But alas, they do, and they probably want you to be there for all of them.

That’s not to say that the occasional face-to-face meeting isn’t important. Real interactions are crucial for professional and personal relationships. But if you need to be somewhere else and a meeting can’t wait, a conference call is a beautiful thing. In fact, conference calls are ideal for communicating new ideas and gauging buy-in without flying key stakeholders halfway around the world.

Be Mindful and Take Control

Awareness is the first step to taking control. What situations, tasks, or people are contributing to your stress? Once you’ve identified the stressors in your work environment, recognize that there are some things you can control – and some things you can’t.

Instead of focusing on the factors that you have no control over, such as whether your company is laying off staff or the moods and habits of your co-workers, make a list of the things that are within your power to change and focus on those. Make a list of your personal short- and long-term goals, such as earning a promotion or hitting your quarterly sales goals.

Work is stressful, but the stress doesn’t have to take control of your life. With a few savvy approaches to your tasks, your lifestyle habits, and your mindset, you can make any job less stressful.

About the author:

Jennifer Scott is a lifelong sufferer of anxiety and depression. She created her website, SpiritFinder.org, as a platform for advocacy on opening up about mental health. Through the site, she hopes to share the types of steps and success stories that can help others realize their own power. When she isn’t working on her website, she enjoys traveling, working with animals, and seeking out new friendships and adventures.