How to reduce stress at work

If you currently have a job, you’ve probably already experienced a stressful situation at work this week. Projects keep on arriving, emails are stacking up, your phone won’t stop ringing, you have to attend meetings and then a co-worker comes along and gives you an urgent assignment on top of that. I got stressed just by reading it. Now imagine living it day after day.

The average business professional gets all of these things done. Although that’s impressive it can’t be a healthy way of doing. In fact, chances are pretty high that most of these employees feel overwhelmed, anxious and constantly think about work even when they left their offices.

How do you stay calm when you have so many things to do? Is it possible to lower your stress level, when you feel overwhelmed?

Take A Deep Breath

If you need to clear your mind, because you just got out of an intense meeting, take a deep breath, hold it for 4 seconds and exhale. Repeat it five times. This is a meditation exercise that helps you focus on your breathing. This way, you’ll forget about your stress for a minute and feel more relaxed afterwards.

Separate Your Work Life From Your Personal Life

Work is important but it isn’t everything. You only get to experience life once so try to do something that makes you happy when you are outside of your office. Stop thinking about your projects and deadlines. If you’re not working on them, you shouldn’t be thinking about them.

You Can’t Be Efficient For 10 Hours Straight

A lot of people think that if they work long they will get more done. At first it’s just one longer shift a week and before you know it, you just keep pushing yourself on a daily basis. The worst part is that most of the time you don’t even get more things done. Studies have proven that productivity and efficiency come in waves. This is why you should take short breaks every 1-2 hours to give your brain a little break. It might seem like a loss of time at first, but trust me in the long run you will save yourself many additional working hours and even all-nighters.

Set Your Priorities Right

When you work in a fast-changing environment with many projects and deadlines it is completely normal to feel overwhelmed. But you can deal with it. Obviously you can’t finish everything at once. This is why you need to set priorities. Make a list to see which tasks are more urgent than others. Then focus on those first. Once you’re done with the most important tasks, move on to the next one. If it helps, cross every task you finish off your list once you’re done with it. This way, you’ll see how much you have achieved and you’ll feel more confident. Don’t always focus on all the things you haven’t done yet. Learn to celebrate what you’ve accomplished.

Slow Down

Sometimes you have to decline assignments. You can’t do everything, which is why you have to say no to some tasks if you’re already drowning in work. Your colleagues will understand, because they’ve probably been in your situation more than once.

Don’t Neglect Your Sleep and Eating Habits

The worst part of having too much on your plate is that you start thinking that you don’t have the time for anything else than work. This is why many people neglect their sleep and eating habits. A lot of us underestimate how important a healthy diet and rest are. Your body and mind need time to relax so that you can recharge your batteries. If you’re constantly working you’ll be out of energy at some point. And this can lead to serious health issues.

Communicate With Your Co-Workers

Experts say laughing is the best medecine. It sounds silly, but laughing can reduce stress significantly. Try to relax a little from time to time and have some quick chats with your co-workers to catch up on things or exchange some funny stories. It will light up your mood and you will feel more comfortable and motivated. Sometimes colleagues can also pass some advice on certain tasks or projects. Work isn’t always about getting the job done. It can be a great environment to meet and interact with interesting people.

Track Your Progress

We often lose track of our accomplishments, because we focus too much on what we haven’t done yet. That can be really frustrating. However, there are ways you can start celebrating your victories. You can start by tracking your projects and their progress in order to keep up with your overall performance. It’s not only a great way to see your own accomplishments, but it also gives you a great overview of your team’s performance. Once you keep track of your progress, you’ll be able to tell what deadlines are realistic. This way, less people will get stressed because they will know that the project will be done on time.

If you aren’t sure how to track the progess of your projects you might want to check out the project time tracking tool TimeTrack.

TimeTrack is a great tool for employees and companies looking for a way to keep up with their working hours, efficiency and performances. You can set it up in just a few minutes and keep track of all your projects. Keep up with your strenghts as well as weaknesses to improve the planning process of future projects and never stress about a deadline again. Are you ready to try it out? Learn more about TimeTrack. 

Ivana Spiridonovic

Time management is an important topic for companies, whether small or large. As a trained business economist and expert at TimeTrack for many years, I deal with the topic of time tracking on a daily basis. I would like to share with you the tips and tricks I have discovered in the field.

I also like to write about my experiences in project management. I attach great importance to team management, manageable work processes and transparent communication – in my opinion the basics for every successful project.