I seem to be hearing more and more about people experiencing stress in the workplace. Is it because it’s happening more, because we hear about it more through social media or a little of both. Stress of any sort isn’t good for our health both psychically and mentally. Employees under stress and those causing stress can make the workweek miserable for many. Each time we turn on the news, read a newspaper or talk with people on a daily basis we are bombarded with bad news. This only ads to your stress. What can you do to decompress and start fresh? Reboot your brain. We’ve all had our phones, computers, internet or other devices freeze up or overheat on us. In many cases all it takes is a little reboot to get it back on track. The same goes for your brain.
Although a reboot isn’t always a cure all, it can sure help. It can do wonders for your stress levels and health in general. When you were young and got in trouble your parents or teachers possibly put you in a timeout. You’d be forced to sit in a chair, in the corners or wherever to think about what you did and how you need to correct it. It was their own way of making your brain reboot. As an adult you don’t want to punish yourself when you are under stress for a reboot, you just need to give your brain a little rewarding time out. Take time to relax.
You can still hustle and reach for your goals and go above and beyond at work and reboot your brain in mini sessions. Some of the tips I’ll give take a long time while others can take just a few minutes.
1. Get Enough Sleep
Sleep is important for your health. Lack of sleep can cause stress on your body and mind. We can’t be exhausted and wonder why the quality of our work isn’t where we want it. A mini 10 – 15 power nap during the day can do wonders. Having 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night is ideal to feel refreshed. A different type of pillow, more comfortable mattress, different bedding and adarker room can help with a better sleeping situation.Yes, you don’t get any work done when you are sleeping, but if you overdo it and die from exhaustion you any work done either. Skip watching the 10 o’clock news and get to bed. You’ll hear all the depressing world news on the way to work 10 hours later. The news can wait. Your sleep can’t. I always find that if I’m staying up too late and not getting enough sleep the quality of my work suffers. I try my best to not let that happen. I never let it happen before one of my presentations. I make sure I get as much sleep as possible the night before and am full of energy when I hit the stage.
2. Turn Off All Electronic Devices
“What? Turn off my electronics?!”. Yes, when you are taking a mental break to reboot turn your computer, cell phone and other things that will interrupt your break. (Unless you are a doctor or something that needs it in case of a life or death emergency.) If possible, turn them off of put them on silent mode when you go to bed or do any of the other things I suggest. I’m a father of 3 wonderful children. I do keep my phone on loud enough to hear just in case they need to call me in case of an emergency. I believe there are some apps or settings where you can choose who can call when you are on do not disturb more. The telemarketer calls and other calls you don’t care to get will be sent to voicemail and only the specified emergency numbers will be able to get through.We’ve become addicted to our devices and it can cause us stress. The email, text or call can wait 10-15 minutes in most cases. You don’t need to focus on the lives of your 5,000 Facebook friends when you need to focus on you for a while. You don’t need to see what’s going on around the country, who shot who, what businesses are closing down, etc. to cause you more stress. Turn it the electronic devices off as you reboot.It will take time to not automatically reach for your phone to see if anyone emailed you, but you’ll get used to it. We live in a world where so many apps, people, TV shows, games, etc. are begging for our attention. Switch them off and focus on some peace and quiet.
3. Take A Walk / Exercise
If you are physically able to, take a nice walk. Listen to the birds singing, water the water flow gently down the local stream, let your mind wander. Try your best not to let your mind wander into thinking about stressful situations. Focus on the nature around you. If you live in a big city you probably won’t see much in the way of nature, but the exercise will make you feel so much better. If the weather isn’t in your favor walk inside a local mall. Just get out and exercise.Sign up for a gym, exercise class or follow along on an exercise video. Get your heart pumping, blood flowing and you’ll have that energy you need to get yourself out of that slump you may be in.
4. Do What Makes You Happy
Life is too short to not do what makes you happy. Do you have a hobby or other thing that makes you happy? Word search puzzles, listening to classical music, going fishing? Think back to when you were a kid and colored to let your mind wander a bit. Now they sell adult coloring books that seem to be very popular. If the stress of work is getting you stressed, take a break from it on your day off and have a YOU day.Reward your brain with something fun. Think of it like giving a child a cookie for doing good on their homework or something. Give your brain a metal treat by doing something you enjoy. A 5-10 minute mental break doing something you love could be all you need for a mental reboot.
5. Meditate / Relax / Pamper Yourself
Just take time to close your eyes and relax. Take a deep breath and let your mind relax with meditation or self hypnosis. Relax your body from the inside out as you listen to calming music. You can also give yourself a nice spa day or go get a massage. Whatever it takes to let you just focus on relaxing and turn the stress of your hectic life off for a while
It’s difficult for some people to let their brains relaxed. They are still thinking of a million and one things they have to do. It’s a technique that has to be practiced to get right. They level of relaxation you can get through meditation or self hypnosis is incredible.
You can find many resources on YouTube and other places online to help you learn meditation and self hypnosis. The key to getting it right is to really believe it will happen. If you can convince your mind it’s going to happen the mind relaxation techniques will be much more effective.
Stress In The Workplace
There are times the more than just one person in a company is having a lot of stress issues and needs to reboot. In cases like this many companies bring in a motivational speaker or entertainer to let their employees have a much needed mental break. A company party, sales conference, awards banquet or other event is a great time for your employees to unwind a bit. Having a motivational speaker or corporate entertainer come in shows your employees you appreciate them. That just might be that mental pat on the back they needed. If you need me to come in and help you reboot your employees, let me know. I’ve been helping companies do that for over 30 years.