5 Tips to Beat Stress at Work

Ever feel 'stressed out - especially at work?'

You're not alone! Unfortunately for very many of us this stressed state is with us constantly every day.

A small amount of stress can help motivate but ...

For most people a small amount of stress can actually help motivate and help to perform better under a little pressure; operating in a form of ’emergency mode’.

However, being in this stressed emergency mode for longer periods, or even constantly can have serious effects on your physical and emotional health.

And of course, our working environment is one of the major causes of Stress in our lives. Workloads have increased and expectations of bosses are high.

In an ideal world a stressed worker could cut down on e-mails, finish early on some days, take a full lunch break, delegate to co-workers or have a friendly conversation with your boss.

Sadly in most cases it just isn’t realistic to expect you can change these root causes of the stress, unless the person, or reasons causing your work stress goes away!!

5 Practical Tips to help you

However, here are 5 practical ways that you can protect yourself and improve your wellbeing by reducing work related stress even if you aren’t able to influence the root cause.

Tip 1: Avoid Caffeine

Yes, I know it can sound hard to 'kick the habit,' but try! You don't need to go 'cold turkey' necessarily, just cutting back is a good start.

Caffeine in coffee, tea and canned drinks can significantly lower your concentration levels and make you nervy. Try to replace some with de-caffeinated drinks or water instead.

Tip 2: Snack on healthy foods throughout the day

Snacks full of fat or sugar gives you a short-lived boost of energy, but a few hours later your energy levels will be sagging again.

Instead snack on a piece of fruit, some nuts, or some yogurt.

Tip 3: Eat lunch away from your desk

Taking a small break away from your workstation and preferably outside of the building will refresh and invigorate you, allowing you to devote your full attention to your work through the rest of the day.

Even 20 minutes away from your workstation will help.

(By the way, in my free guide "How To Cope With Stress", you can read about a wonderfully simple thing you can do during breaks to help you cope with your stress.)

Tip 4: Walk around the office / factory / shop every hour

Make it a habit to get up from your workstation and go for a short walk every hour or so for a break from routine and help get your blood flowing to prevent you tiring.

Tip 5: Deep slow breathing

When you feel yourself getting overwhelmed and agitated by the pressure make the conscious decision to take a short break and slow down your breathing. Breath in and out deeply and slowly for a minute or two.

Of course there are SO many more sources of Stress than just work - and if you'd like a solution to them all, take a look at my easy to learn and simple to do and easy to do Reiki for Stress packages here.