My Global Hustle » Archive » 8 Ways To Deal With Work-Related Stress By Guest Blogger Garen Adjemian

8 Ways To Deal With Work-Related Stress By Guest Blogger Garen Adjemian

You’ve tried everything and nothing seems to help. Your boss gets on your nerves more than ever and if that stinking secretary misspells your name one more time, you swear you’ll go postal. Taking off where we last left off on conquering stress, let’s run through some more tricks that can bring down your blood pressure and put some serenity into your mind.
what’s driving you nuts?
Depending on what the source of your stress is, you’ll know how to cope with it. Sometimes it’s just one little thing, like your power-tripping boss, while other times it’s an accumulation of things that just add up to stress and unnecessary nervous energy.

Here are eight tips to deal with different types of stress.

1- Maintain a clean environment
A cluttered workplace breeds a cluttered mind. Your job is probably stressful enough on its own without the added worry of anything else. In such environments, external factors that can contribute to increased levels of stress should be kept to a bare minimum. In today’s hectic world, it’s essential to feel as comfortable as you can be throughout the day. So try to keep things in order as much as possible.

Not sure where to start? Here are a few ideas that can get you on your way:

* Wipe down your work area with some disinfectant.
* If you work at a desk, reduce clutter by using the filing cabinets
and folders for what they were intended.
* Stop scribbling all your notes on tiny bits of paper; designate a
book (or a text file on your computer) to gather up all of your
notes. This way, you’ll never have to stress about where you
left that important contact information.
* Tray dividers are always a good investment to help you
organize your to-do items.
* Keep your computer organized. A computer is no different than
a real work environment — treat it as such.
* Once everything is in its place, add a little life with a plant. The
therapeutic values connected to nature transcend the concrete
walls you work behind.

2- Exercise
Yet again, this infamous word keeps coming up in topics of body and mind. Without getting to the obvious reasons why you should exercise, or why you stopped, let’s look at how you can incorporate exercise into your daily routine without hitting the weights.

* Try different methods of commuting. The simple act of walking
to the nearest bus stop and using your legs to get there can
help a lot.
* Take the stairs once in a while. Elevators are greatâ€¦ for moving
office equipment! Don’t be one of those people who waits in
the lobby forever just to get to the second floor.
* Got an hour for lunch? Eat fast and get outside. A brisk walk to
burn off some of those calories can do wonders for your
afternoon burnout.

3- Keep a balanced diet
Ever notice that about an hour after lunch you’re as productive as a mule in a county fair? That massive bowl of pasta you had in the employee cafeteria is most likely to blame. The biggest problem nowadays is that we starve ourselves throughout the day and once the clock strikes noon, we’re running to fill up on carbs. Not the best idea!

Here’s a tip: Try snacking throughout the day to keep your body nourished evenly from breakfast until supper time. Stay away from junk! Bring a few fruits, a yogurt, some nuts, and you’re good to go. As for lunch, try to keep it light. If you must have the bowl of pasta, make it a small bowl with a side of salad.

4- Anger management
Do you clench your fist every time that hag walks by your desk to keep an eye on your progress? Daydreaming of going postal? Anger management might be what you need.

Some people don’t know how to cook; others don’t know how to manage anger. Put the pride aside and see if there’s someone that can help you cope. The big corporate bosses of today are aware of this phenomenon called “I hate my job and this stinking company” and offer in-house counseling services to appease the uprising. You might want to take them up on that offer.

5- Laughter
Does anybody remember laughter? Nothing relieves stress as quickly and entertainingly as laughter. A great sense of humor is always welcome in a sterile work environment. Applying that ideology to our everyday dreadful routines can be the fresh outlook you’ve been dying to adopt for ages.

6- Communicate
A lack of communication will almost always lead down a road you don’t want to be on, especially if you’re on the butt end of things.

It can be hard to do, but next time you have an issue with someone get it off your chest. Let your colleagues or manager know about it. They are human too, and don’t always see themselves for who they really are in the workplace. A friendly conversation expressing your emotions can do a world of good and can make things a whole lot better around the office.

7- Take the breaks available to you
Too often people work right through their breaks because they have too much work to do. Why are they torturing themselves? When your break arrives, take it! Don’t just stop working. Get up, stretch and get the hell out of the office. Even if it’s just for 15 minutes, getting away for a while and changing scenery can help reduce stress and give you a better perspective on your day. Overworking yourself will only have negative repercussions in the future. After all, that’s why they came up with the concept of a break.

8- Use personal days as personal days
Every once in a while we have to take a day or two off to recharge our minds. Use those days wisely. It’s easy to think ahead and compile those free days off into one big lump and call it an extension to a vacation, but those days are there for a reason: because you need them.

Using these “get out of work for a day” cards can help you manage your life a little better and, in turn, manage stress a little better.

road to serenity
Whatever your method to madness may be, stress is a life factor we can all live without. Gather as much information about what stresses you and get to the source of the problem before it becomes unbearable. What works for your peers won’t necessarily work for you, so try different methods and see what helps you attain your ultimate goal of a stress-free life.