The Levo League

Posted on Monday January 30th 2012 at 12:13pm. Its tags are listed below.

Stress happens - especially at work. No matter what line of work you are in you can pretty much guarantee that stress will hit you at some point. Computer servers will fail. Your boss will be cranky and inevitably project the crankiness outward. A deal will fall through. Deadlines will loom and workloads will increase.  Some people have a pretty even disposition toward stress. Others let it run their lives. This paves the way for mental and physical ailments—in fact, some studies suggest that job stress is more closely correlated with health issues than financial or family problems. According to the American Institute of Stress, a Gallup poll found that 80% of workers feel stress on the job and nearly half say they need help learning how to manage it. This is of particular importance because we have seen a sharp increase in the demands of the workplace in recent years. As a result, learning to manage stress in the work place isn’t just a nice skill to have; it’s become a downright necessity. The mere notion of managing stress seems like an inconceivably tall order in a world where busyness is seen as a badge of honor, however by taking small actions and turning them into habits we can learn to get a better handle on our stress. Breathe. It’s going to be okay. As of late, I have found myself doing yoga on a daily basis. I also signed up for a workshop in my local studio in which I have come to realize the importance of breathing through your stress at work. Most of the workshop participants have some sort of ailment - from extreme anxiety and insomnia to physical health conditions. Many of them attribute these conditions to stress in their lives - mostly from work - and have sought the help of yoga to get them to breathe through the fight or flight emotions they experience in their daily lives. We spend a lot of time at work hunched over a computer or up to our eyeballs in tasks. We run around tacking more things onto our to-do list rather than taking time to regroup. Make it a point to take a step back, close your eyes and listen to your breath for a few minutes a day. Get in the habit of doing this now, that way when the real stress hits you’ll know how to move inward, get a handle on your emotions and move through your obstacles. Prioritize. Be willing to shift your priorities as things change. For the time-managing ninjas out there, try putting no more than 3 big items on your to-do list a day. That way you prioritize what really does need to get done and you have pockets of time in between to deal with anything that may come up. Cleaning up your to do list and recognizing that only so much can be done in a day is a great way to start managing your stress at work. Find time to do what you like. Realizing that we have a life outside of work greatly helps us release the tension we build up during the day. Prioritize and find time to do the things you actually enjoy. Take a dance class you’ve always wanted to try, take up painting or maybe just read a good book. Do whatever it is that calms and relaxes you. Don’t forget that you’re human. Move your body. The body holds a lot of emotion and tension and sometimes it just needs to be released through movement. Make it your goal to move your body during the work day in order to release some of that built up tension. Maybe go to the gym before work, go on a walk during your lunch hour or organize some sort of fitness event with your co-workers. It may take some experimenting to find what fitness activity works best for you so feel free to explore your options. There are many ways to manage your stress at work. Keep in mind that different things work for different people, and maybe what works for you wasn’t even mentioned in this article. Make it a point to explore your options until you find something that resonates with you and then turn it into a habit. That way, when stress hits you over the head like a  2 x 4 you know where to go to calm down and focus. —————————————————————————— Amanda is a personnel administrator for a Miami-based employment agency and a freelance writer. When she is not helping recruiters or writing for clients, she runs Grad Meets World, a Gen Y blog that discusses health, career, personal finance, entrepreneurship, and more. 
Stress happens - especially at work. No matter what line of work you are in you can pretty much guarantee that stress will hit you at some point. Computer servers will fail. Your boss will be cranky and inevitably project the crankiness outward. A deal will fall through. Deadlines will loom and workloads will increase.  Some people have a pretty even disposition toward stress. Others let it run their lives. This paves the way for mental and physical ailments—in fact, some studies suggest that job stress is more closely correlated with health issues than financial or family problems. According to the American Institute of Stress, a Gallup poll found that 80% of workers feel stress on the job and nearly half say they need help learning how to manage it. This is of particular importance because we have seen a sharp increase in the demands of the workplace in recent years. As a result, learning to manage stress in the work place isn’t just a nice skill to have; it’s become a downright necessity. The mere notion of managing stress seems like an inconceivably tall order in a world where busyness is seen as a badge of honor, however by taking small actions and turning them into habits we can learn to get a better handle on our stress. Breathe. It’s going to be okay. As of late, I have found myself doing yoga on a daily basis. I also signed up for a workshop in my local studio in which I have come to realize the importance of breathing through your stress at work. Most of the workshop participants have some sort of ailment - from extreme anxiety and insomnia to physical health conditions. Many of them attribute these conditions to stress in their lives - mostly from work - and have sought the help of yoga to get them to breathe through the fight or flight emotions they experience in their daily lives. We spend a lot of time at work hunched over a computer or up to our eyeballs in tasks. We run around tacking more things onto our to-do list rather than taking time to regroup. Make it a point to take a step back, close your eyes and listen to your breath for a few minutes a day. Get in the habit of doing this now, that way when the real stress hits you’ll know how to move inward, get a handle on your emotions and move through your obstacles. Prioritize. Be willing to shift your priorities as things change. For the time-managing ninjas out there, try putting no more than 3 big items on your to-do list a day. That way you prioritize what really does need to get done and you have pockets of time in between to deal with anything that may come up. Cleaning up your to do list and recognizing that only so much can be done in a day is a great way to start managing your stress at work. Find time to do what you like. Realizing that we have a life outside of work greatly helps us release the tension we build up during the day. Prioritize and find time to do the things you actually enjoy. Take a dance class you’ve always wanted to try, take up painting or maybe just read a good book. Do whatever it is that calms and relaxes you. Don’t forget that you’re human. Move your body. The body holds a lot of emotion and tension and sometimes it just needs to be released through movement. Make it your goal to move your body during the work day in order to release some of that built up tension. Maybe go to the gym before work, go on a walk during your lunch hour or organize some sort of fitness event with your co-workers. It may take some experimenting to find what fitness activity works best for you so feel free to explore your options. There are many ways to manage your stress at work. Keep in mind that different things work for different people, and maybe what works for you wasn’t even mentioned in this article. Make it a point to explore your options until you find something that resonates with you and then turn it into a habit. That way, when stress hits you over the head like a  2 x 4 you know where to go to calm down and focus. —————————————————————————— Amanda is a personnel administrator for a Miami-based employment agency and a freelance writer. When she is not helping recruiters or writing for clients, she runs Grad Meets World, a Gen Y blog that discusses health, career, personal finance, entrepreneurship, and more. 

Stress happens - especially at work.

No matter what line of work you are in you can pretty much guarantee that stress will hit you at some point. Computer servers will fail. Your boss will be cranky and inevitably project the crankiness outward. A deal will fall through. Deadlines will loom and workloads will increase. 

Some people have a pretty even disposition toward stress. Others let it run their lives. This paves the way for mental and physical ailments—in fact, some studies suggest that job stress is more closely correlated with health issues than financial or family problems.

According to the American Institute of Stress, a Gallup poll found that 80% of workers feel stress on the job and nearly half say they need help learning how to manage it. This is of particular importance because we have seen a sharp increase in the demands of the workplace in recent years. As a result, learning to manage stress in the work place isn’t just a nice skill to have; it’s become a downright necessity.

The mere notion of managing stress seems like an inconceivably tall order in a world where busyness is seen as a badge of honor, however by taking small actions and turning them into habits we can learn to get a better handle on our stress.

Breathe. It’s going to be okay.

As of late, I have found myself doing yoga on a daily basis. I also signed up for a workshop in my local studio in which I have come to realize the importance of breathing through your stress at work.

Most of the workshop participants have some sort of ailment - from extreme anxiety and insomnia to physical health conditions. Many of them attribute these conditions to stress in their lives - mostly from work - and have sought the help of yoga to get them to breathe through the fight or flight emotions they experience in their daily lives.

We spend a lot of time at work hunched over a computer or up to our eyeballs in tasks. We run around tacking more things onto our to-do list rather than taking time to regroup.

Make it a point to take a step back, close your eyes and listen to your breath for a few minutes a day. Get in the habit of doing this now, that way when the real stress hits you’ll know how to move inward, get a handle on your emotions and move through your obstacles.

Prioritize. Be willing to shift your priorities as things change.

For the time-managing ninjas out there, try putting no more than 3 big items on your to-do list a day. That way you prioritize what really does need to get done and you have pockets of time in between to deal with anything that may come up. Cleaning up your to do list and recognizing that only so much can be done in a day is a great way to start managing your stress at work.

Find time to do what you like.

Realizing that we have a life outside of work greatly helps us release the tension we build up during the day. Prioritize and find time to do the things you actually enjoy. Take a dance class you’ve always wanted to try, take up painting or maybe just read a good book. Do whatever it is that calms and relaxes you.

Don’t forget that you’re human. Move your body.

The body holds a lot of emotion and tension and sometimes it just needs to be released through movement. Make it your goal to move your body during the work day in order to release some of that built up tension. Maybe go to the gym before work, go on a walk during your lunch hour or organize some sort of fitness event with your co-workers.

It may take some experimenting to find what fitness activity works best for you so feel free to explore your options.

There are many ways to manage your stress at work. Keep in mind that different things work for different people, and maybe what works for you wasn’t even mentioned in this article. Make it a point to explore your options until you find something that resonates with you and then turn it into a habit. That way, when stress hits you over the head like a  2 x 4 you know where to go to calm down and focus.

——————————————————————————

Amanda is a personnel administrator for a Miami-based employment agency and a freelance writer. When she is not helping recruiters or writing for clients, she runs Grad Meets World, a Gen Y blog that discusses health, career, personal finance, entrepreneurship, and more. 

  1. levolove posted this
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