There are often many different situations and experiences that can contribute to feelings of anxiety and stress. Work, in particular, is a common one, where there are multiple deadlines, stakeholders and issues to deal with it can often feel incredibly stressful. When it all gets on top of you, it can feel as though you're heading to burnout. But, firstly, you are not alone, and secondly, there are many ways to help combat stress.
It is essential to take control and manage your stress, controlling it means that it doesn’t take over and start to affect your health, well-being and performance
The following five methods can help you take control and manage stress in everyday life:
1. Communicate
If you are experiencing feelings of anxiety or stress, then make sure that you let someone know. Having a supportive network at work where you can let colleagues know when things are getting a bit tough is essential. The phrase “a problem shared is a problem halved” may sound cliché but is useful in putting problems and issues that cause stress into perspective.
It can also help you identify what it is that is causing you stress, whether it be a particular deadline or your working style. Your colleagues and friends are there to help and keeping silent are not going to make the problem better; in fact, it can further damage your performance, therefore, be sure to let someone know – whether your manager, a friend or work colleague. Everyone gets stressed, and chances are they will be more than happy to help you find ways to manage it.
2. Organise / Prioritise
Organising and prioritising your workload can be done through many different methods –making extensive lists, using online organisation tools such as Trello or through careful planning of your working time.
However, organising your time is often not enough – you also need to be making sure that you are completing the tasks that are most important and urgent. At times when stressed, it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of things to get done; this is when it is essential to understand prioritise and put the more relevant tasks at the forefront. Prioritising puts your jobs into perspective and again can help you know what the cause of the stress might be.
3. Exercise
Moving around and getting fresh air is a big way to relieve stress. Whether that be taking a quick walk during your lunch break or doing some exercise after work. It helps take your mind off any frustrations and improves overall mood helping you manage your stress both during working hours and outside.
4. Mindfulness / Positivity
A method that has gained increasing popularity, mindfulness is a great way to help get problems back in perspective. By meditation and other relaxation techniques (Apps such as Headspace are useful for this) it is easier to see the bigger picture and reach a calmer state. This can help you to gain control of a situation. Mental wellbeing is the concept of trying to adopt a positive attitude to help put the stresses and concerns into perspective. Whether it be writing down three good things that have happened in one day or trying to see the positives of a situation – remaining optimistic can help you remember what you are good at and what goes well at work.
5. Help others
Finally, a fundamental way to help manage your stress is to help others manage theirs’. The awareness of others stress allows both them and yourself to know that they are not alone when they are stressed, and it fosters a broader atmosphere where it is ok to talk about feeling stressed. Without taking on their problems as your own, helping others to solve issues that they find difficult also helps you to build confidence and increases positivity.
It is important to remember that everyone feels stressed at some point, but it is how you manage the situation and your next steps that prevent you from hitting burnout, find out more about the importance of mental wellbeing in the workplace here.
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