Archive for Stress and Managing
Tips to Get Control of Stress in the Workplace
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Everyone would agree that one of the sources of stress is your workplace. The seemingly impossible task assigned to you, noisy workmates, the pollution in and out of the office, as well as your state of mind can easily lead you to the throes of stress if you aren’t careful.
Now what if your employer wants you to each lunch in the lunch room? You may have extra challenges if you are high strung. I found it impossible to get a moment of rest in the lunchroom, people wanted to talk to me and I was obliged to smile and listen to what they were saying. I wasn’t really much of a lunch eater anyway, I found the best solution was to take my lunch how I wanted, get some quiet, but then spend 10 minutes in the lunchroom talking, smiling and greeting everyone. I was “on” at the time, refreshed, and ready to listen.
If you don’t take some time off from your busy schedule to address the problem, then stress will just keep piling up on you until such time that it will affect your work — which could prove to be a problem for your career or business. There are adjustments you can make at work.
If you are a manager it’s critical you be aware of stress in the managers under you. Make sure they are practicing good habits. If they are new managers you ESPECIALLY need to make sure they are starting good habits that won’t burn them out. As a manager it’s just as important for you to manage your stress as it is for you to help other manage theirs.
It is very important for a workaholic or a busy-body to integrate proper stress management program into their daily routine to ensure that both their mind and body is up to the task of addressing the demand of work. If it’s your first time to try this out on yourself, then here are some tips that will help you get started.
One Small Step At A Time
It is impossible to remove all your stress with just one flick of a wrist, and we can safely say that your mind is not equipped or prepared to handle the effort of getting rid of your problems in one go.
If you are planning to apply stress management in your career then you need to keep in mind to take it slow. Don’t rush the process of self-improvement if you want to benefit from it. Start first by determining the source of your stress and note them down so you can take care of it one-by-one.
Instead of ranting and raving on your fellow workmates due to your problems, or snapping at someone you don’t mean to, you might want to take a short break from your task and take some time off to relax a little bit. Get some fresh air or make yourself some coffee to help you calm down.
Know Your Limits
If you think that you can do anything in one sitting, then you might want to reconsider this if you want to properly implement your stress management program. Keep in mind that our body has it own limits, even if our mind can cope with the demands.
You need to realize that your mind is linked with your body and both can break down if you’re not careful. If you think that you are getting stressed with work then its fine time to take a break and relax. Do some easy breathing exercises to help you calm down or you can try out a simple meditation trick to push worrisome thoughts out of your mind to improve your focus.
Pamper Yourself Once In A While
We can safely say that a workaholic or a busy-body will not have any free time to indulge in pampering as a stress-relief. If you are one of them then you better rethink your options if you don’t want your body to break down on you.
You might want to start pampering yourself once in a while to help you relax when the demands of work are starting to take its toll on you. Start your pampering session by getting a massage to help loosen those tight muscles that causes aches and pains to appear in different parts of your body. Feel free to enjoy the services of a health and fitness spa near you to make your career more bearable.
Activities to Reduce Stress
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It is quite possible to easily cope with stress if you find the right activities to help you get your mind off the problem that’s bothering you. Even if having fun does not directly get rid of the source of the problem entirely, diverting your mind from it for a short period of time will calm you down and regain your composure before taking it on again.
You don’t have to go on an extended vacation just to get rid of stress. In fact, you can easily have fun while in the comforts of your own home to get your mind off it. You can indulge in word or board games, sports, music and art, and many others to fill up your time with something you like to do and forget your problems to help you relax.
Write Down Everything
One trick I used when I was stressed was to write down everything…. Everything you feel you need to get done, work, home, everything….. Then go through the list. Then cross everything off that isn’t important, figure out which items you can delegate and focus on the things you can get done.
This trick works….. I have had several people try it over the years and they said it worked for them too.
Let Your Mind Have Some Fun
Since stress is centered on your mind, then it would only be plausible to divert it into something more productive and fun. Try to delve into games that require your mind to think. Chess is a great way to stop thinking about the problem and focus more on how to beat your partner. You can also try playing word or number games that will put your logical mind at work, like scrabble, Sudoku, word puzzles, crosswords, and the like. This will help divert your mind from stress to help you achieve a sense of relaxation.
I also recommend you make humor a part of your day…. Even if you don’t feel like laughing, smile….. And the world smiles back!! As I would tell my managers, show your teeth if you don’t feel like smiling, most people won’t notice the difference at a glance and they will approach you more positively without even knowing why.
Sweat Out Your Stress
One stress management technique is to engage in sports. Many would agree that a friendly bout of basketball or tennis with your friend will help you relax. This will help you focus your mind into winning, especially if you turn it into a competition. Consider this as an outlet for your anger or irritation with work and channel it in a positive way instead of venting it out at the office.
Also, stress can also affect your anatomy if left unchecked. Engaging in exercise or sports will help sweat out those toxins that accumulate due to stress that will surely grow on you. Moving around a lot will also help in muscle rejuvenation — which is often cramped and sore every time you are under the throes of stress.
Go To The Gym
If you want to channel all your stress to something productive and release it in one go then you might want to try coping with it at the local gym. Stress affects you physically, mentally, and emotionally; so it would only be best to address these three aspects in one sitting.
Going to the gym to help cope with your stress is a good idea. The instructor will help you divert your mind from your problems to the program he or she has in store for you. You will need to focus all your mind and effort to completing the workout routine. This way, you won’t have time to think about your problems at home or office; just focus on getting your body in shape for a better you.
Another benefit of going to the gym is to strengthen your heart from the effects of stress. Heart attack and stroke are health conditions commonly attributed to stress. By going into a cardiovascular workout, you are strengthening your anatomy for the future — this time, you will be physically equipped to deal with it.
The Basics of Stress Management
Posted by: | CommentsWhether we like it or not stress has an impact on a our lives. Stress has always been a part of our daily routine; problems at work or issues with your business, or even 
some conflicts between your friends and family members — stress always rears its ugly head to make our life difficult. If left unchecked, stress can result in wrong decisions due to our confused state of mind, and that leads to bad performance. Fear and anxiety takes over a person’s rational thinking.
Stress Management aims to help an individual cope with stress. This involves techniques and strategies to help a person to physically, mentally, and emotionally cope with their individual problems. If it’s your first time to hear this term then you might want to read on to know more about it and apply it to yourself if you need to.
Stress Management 101: Definition
Stress management involves methods and strategies in which a person can directly take control of their problems before they take its toll on their bodies. In most cases, a person who is under the grip of stress is often plagued with physical ailments, emotional problems, or even mental and behavioral changes that can affect your lifestyle.
There are different techniques and tricks that a person can use to deal with their own stress and problems. Even if one method of stress management worked on some, there is no guarantee that it will have the same effect on you. In truth, the application of stress management depends on our mindset on how we view stress and our capability to deal with it.
Relaxation Is The Key
Experts would agree that stress always starts with problems that crop up in our life from time to time. Small problems are easy to deal with, but when they start piling up on you that they become stressful. In truth, stress takes root in our minds and may become a problem when we let it control our way of thinking.
It is very important for an individual to relax when gripped by stress. There are plenty of relaxation methods you can use to achieve a calm state of mind. Meditation is a great way to focus your thoughts on a more productive subject than wallowing in your problems that will eventually result to self-pity and depression. Practicing meditation daily will help a person develop a method of looking into a problem in a detached state — which is to say that your emotions will not be affecting your decision and you can proceed to fixing it without worries of making a mistake.
Breathing exercises are also very useful if you want your mind to achieve a relaxed state. Proper intake and distribution of oxygen throughout your body can help keep our mind clear and focused. Also breathing exercises serves as a prologue to meditation.
Ask The Help Of A Professional
If you are having problems in dealing with stress on your own, then its fine time to look for a professional to help you out. You can have an expert on stress take a look at your condition and help you cope with it. In most cases, these experts will help you face your fears and worries head-on and help you find a solution to cope with the problem to remove stress from your system.
Stress Management 101
Posted by: | CommentsI am going to do a series of articles on stress because stress can have an enormous impact on health, productivity, happiness, and everything to do with managing.
Now I can’t say I was always the perfect example but in almost 20 years I rarely got sick and managed to stay a size 4 or 6. I didn’t exercise everyday but I did it a few times a week and I ate whatever I wanted…….. Okay, within reason. More on that to come.
Also, the impact on our personal lives is HUGE!
So this will be a series of subjects relating to stress. Be sure to submit your comment by clicking on “comments”, or even emailing me or filling out the contact form to let me know any concerns, topics, stories, etc.
Stress Management 101: Learn To Take Care Of Yourself
Stress can really harm our body’s normal function; especially if we don’t pay attention to the warning signs. Often even when we deny the sensations we are feeling on our bodies, we can surely feel that our physical and mental state is in an alarm state. It’s very important for an individual to learn to watch out for the warning signs that stress is already taking control of your system. You need to learn the ways to take care of your body to avoid a total breakdown.
I know first hand this sounds like common sense but often people dealing with overwhelming stress often don’t know what to do to get out of it. Not managing stress can lead to a series of diseases and destructive behaviour.
Look Out For The Danger Signs
Stress often starts out in our minds before it starts to show some signs on our bodies. Keep in mind that both are connected and one will show some effects of the other. A stress-free mind is often linked to an active and healthy body, but a mind riddled with problems will surely result to a deteriorating health.
It is very important for a person to watch out for danger signs your body is nearing the limits of its tolerance to stress. Often times, we will feel some minor aches and pains in various parts of our body when your mind is getting burdened with all the stress and problems it is subjected to. If left unchecked, it might result to sleeping and behavioral problems, lack of breath, or even a potential heart attack when it is already above the danger level.
Mentally Cope With Stress
The mind shows the first signs of stress and will later reveal itself to your emotional and physical state when left unchecked. It is extremely important that we learn how to calm our minds when under the throes of stress and learn to focus our thoughts in order to push the problems further back in our minds and learn to relax when you need to.
This might take some effort if it’s your first time trying to manage your stress. But there are some techniques you can use to simplify the process and help you learn it bit by bit. You can start by listening to your favorite music to help focus your thoughts. Try singing along with the lyrics or hum the tune to yourself to divert your attention away from your problems.
Breathing Exercise
Another method is to focus on your breathing. You can start some exercises which involves breathing in and out in specific intervals. This might take some getting used to on your first try but you will be able to focus on your breathing immediately after some practice.
Also, this exercise will ensure that your body, as well as your mind will get enough oxygen for it to function properly. We usually hyper-ventilate or suffer short breathing when stressed so it’s best to practice some breathing exercise to help you cope with it.
Eat The Right Food To Fight Stress
You need to take care of what we eat if you plan to fight stress head-on. It is essential that our body gets enough nutrients for it to function properly and avoid a breakdown when our mind is getting bombarded with problems. The bad thing is this is often where people go off the tracks.
All of this is easier said than done of course, often when people are under extreme stress they reach for food to make themselves feel better. For me that usually meant chocolate……. Almost every manager that’s worked for me would list chocolate as my main food group, but it wasn’t. I ate it in moderation most of the time.
Avoid eating foods that are high in cholesterol and try to focus more on integrating a healthy lifestyle of fruits and vegetables. You might not know it, but healthy foods can also help you in dealing with stress. After all, if you’re not burdened with body pains then you can focus more in helping your mind cope with it. Mix healthy foods with something that comforts you (that is my opinion really), I was always working long days so when I did cook it needed to be simple.
One of my favorite dinners when I was stressed was a healthy salad, baked salmon and penne noodles with my “special” fettucine sauce. I know purists will disagree with me on this but I think butter is a natural ingredient, so I use real butter because I prefer eating natural ingredients over others. So I would saute a little garlic, then add it to another pan. In the other pan I would melt half a stick of butter, add some non-fat milk, basil, oregano, dash of pepper, and fresh shredded parmesan (okay, I buy my parmesan PRE shredded, but hey, I was busy!). I would put a half the sauce on my noodles, put the salmon fillet on the noodles and pour the rest of my sauce on the top. This meal would satisfy me AND my soul!!!
There is more to come with this article series.
