3 Things You Can Do to Immediately Reduce Anxiety at Work
Is it one of those days when your job just feels too stressful?
(or maybe more like one of those weeks... or worse... it's the constant state 🤯).
It's obviously not an ideal situation, and you should totally look for the underlying reasons.
But for now, I'm here to give you three quick stress-relief methods, that you can do, right now.
Take a step back and shift your body
Easier said than done. I know, I know.
But chances are, you're already spiraling, keeping yourself in a stressful mindset.
So please stand up and leave your computer for a few minutes.
Move! Go out.
Walk around your block.
Do jumping jacks.
Take a shower.
Do a breathwork routine.
If you're already thinking: "Dude, what are you talking about!? 🙄 I'm overwhelmed with work. Going on a walk is the last thing I have time for"—think again!
I'm only asking for 10-minute breaks. It's the same time it'd take to prepare a coffee or (god forbid) smoke a cigarette.
Shifting your position and moving your body will clear your mind and release a lot of tension.
Look forward to the time when it's over
Soldiers are sometimes trained to visualize an end to their suffering, which helps them maintain their psychological health during difficult times.
Now, I trust you're not being physically tortured at work - even if it feels like that sometimes 😅.
If you're dealing with a particularly difficult task or an annoying project, try to define to yourself when will it be over.
Reassuring yourself that these stressful times won't last forever can immediately lift your mood and give you some hope to look forward to.
Remember, why you started
What causes this stressful situation is usually:
the mismanagement of time,
annoying colleagues,
unexpected technical challenges,
or a difficult client.
It's seldom related to what's in your job description, your craft.
So, try to focus on doing your best work, that once got you all so excited.
See the good parts of it, and remember why you started doing it in the first place.
And if you say: "I'm in only for the money," that's BS, my friend. You could be doing a million other things, but somehow you still chose this, so there must be aspects of your job that you like).
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Is the stressful situation ongoing?
Try to come up with a long-term strategy to change.
But in either case, there's no point in spending your days stressing out.
Your work has to be done either way, so why not try to do it with a little bit less anxiety?