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Top Five Tips To Beat Workplace Stress
I always love it when my client Dave offers a "newsletter update" as I know it’s going to be inspirational stuff for all of us.
But I also know that there are going to be some who feel a little glum about the fact they don’t run their own business, and who may therefore feel that the joys Dave talks about aren’t achievable by them.
So if you’re feeling at all like this, these tips are specifically for you! What I’d like you to do is think of yourself as the CEO of your own company, because you are really – and the business is YOU!
1. Set your own agenda
One of the key reasons people who work for themselves can feel less stress is that they feel in control of their own destiny, rather than feeling on a treadmill of being controlled by someone else. But this isn’t just a nirvana for the self-employed.
You can rapidly get more control even if you’re "employed" by asking yourself what it is YOU want to acquire from your job – rather than simply focusing on what your job description is asking you to do.
Start by stepping back and revisiting why you took on the job you’re doing in the first place, and then ask yourself what, since, has become important to you. Now, what are you doing to make sure those ambitions are being realised? How can you make these things your priorities and USE your job description to achieve them? How can you meet your own agenda?
2. Feel you are developing
If you’re self-employed, you tend naturally to develop yourself as you develop your business which is a sure-fire way to counter any negative effects of stress. You can do the same.
Ensure you’re not standing still but continually take steps forward. Start today to look for short term and longer term projects that will grow your skills, develop your competence, and give you a sense of achievement. There’s nothing like the high of self-directed achievement to beat stress!
3. Tackle isolation
An important symptom of stress is a feeling of isolation, and a significant result of stress is that we make ourselves more isolated and stop connecting with others – so it can become a vicious circle. As soon as we feel isolated another thing happens: we lose our sense of perspective. You can avoid this state of affairs by doing two things.
Firstly, make sure you are engaging with others lots of times each day (in person where possible, or by phone if not, and not by email if you can help it!). Secondly, talk to someone you trust and respect when you feel your stress buttons being pressed.
It’s amazing how tunnel-visioned we can be about our own problems. It’s also amazing how helpful another’s perspective can be on our situation! Just think of the success of shows like Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares – the moral of the story is: no matter how much of a nightmare is going on, there’s always a way out!
4. Catch yourself moaning
One thing successful business owners don’t do is sit around moaning! When we get into a moaning frame of mind, our energy rapidly depletes and our stress levels soar. The occasional winge that ends in laughter and a feeling of "right, that’s out of my system, let’s get on" is one thing, but getting into a habit of moaning as a way to cope will quickly become destructive and disempowering and will make things worse.
So if you find you’re tempted down the "ain’t it awful" road, give yourself a mental shake and think "CEO of my own destiny" and start to look for things you can do about your situation – including getting help if you’re flummoxed!
5. Take time out
To paraphrase an old saying, too much of a good thing makes Jill a dull girl; too much of a bad thing makes Jill massively stressed. The key is ‘too much’ – we all need to break out from time to time, to rejuvenate, to regain a sense of perspective, shake things up. And one of the best ways to do this? Have some good physical fun. Pillow fight, anyone?
