Simple and Effective Ways to Manage Stress

No matter what your line of business is, and whatever industry you work in, stress will always be a big part of it. No matter how much you love your job, there will always be things you can’t control, plans that will go wrong, and unsuccessful attempts that will get you into a bad mood. So if stress is part of your everyday work life, how do you manage it and effectively rise above it, preventing it from ruining your day? Here are surprisingly simple and fun ways.

Chat with a friend

You don’t necessarily need to rant to your friend about how bad your day is going. Sometimes, just talking to someone close to you, calling your mom for a quick chat over lunch, or sharing a funny joke with your friend, could completely alter your mood. So when you’re feeling like you’re about to implode with all the stress that’s going on in your life, take a deep breath, pick up the phone or open your Messenger, and talk to a friend.

Read a funny article or watch a funny video

Many people opt for reading a good book, but these days it’s often a luxury to even have time to read a few chapters. So if you only have a few minutes to spare before you go back to your stressful task, open a new browser and look for a funny article or video that could distract you. Here’s a tip: it’s impossible not to smile at cute baby animals doing their thing. No matter how bad your day is going, they will always make you smile no matter what.

Go for a run

If you feel like you’re physically weighed down with all the stress in your work life, doing another physical activity to counter it is an effective solution. And if going to the gym is an intimidating task for you to do, that’s okay. Running is a fun activity you can either do alone or with friends. It doesn’t require any previous training, and the result is extremely rewarding. As a matter of fact, doing any form of exercise has been scientifically proven to make you happy because working out releases certain chemicals such as dopamine that are responsible for telling your brain you should be happy. Not only does exercise lessen your stress, but it energizes you as well for whatever task you need to finish.

Go offline

If your job involves mostly doing work and communicating with clients online, then one of the things you should do once you feel the stress piling up is to disconnect from all your accounts. Either log out or simply turn off your Internet, so you can’t get notifications and people can’t easily reach you. You need some peace and quiet, and there is a certain inner peace that going offline provides.

Write in a journal

Releasing your stress into whatever channel is always a good way to make yourself feel a little better. And if the previous suggestions haven’t been enough to lift your mood, another way is to write about how you feel in a journal. You don’t have to publish it online. Often, simply writing down your thoughts is an instant stress reliever and could even help you make sense of what you’re feeling and how to solve a certain stressful situation.

While stress is almost an everyday occurrence with many people’s line of work, it doesn’t have to take over your entire day and ruin your mood.

Nov 02, 2015