Managing Stress Today Will Improve Your Career Tomorrow
America is a fantastic country when it comes to economic opportunities. However, that often comes hand in hand with huge personal pressure; a poll conducted by Gallup shows that 57% of US workers experience chronic stress. For many people, having a successful work life and climbing the career ladder is important, and with that often comes a feeling of great accomplishment. On the flip-side, building a successful career can be both mentally and physically exhausting, which can lead to extreme stress and other mental health issues. That’s why it’s vital to take the right steps in order to avoid workplace burnout.
Keeping organized
Organization is key to ensuring you are in control at all times, and having that control is a powerful countermeasure to stress. Being organized is a simple yet highly effective principle that will guarantee that you are always one step ahead and can stop yourself getting distracted or losing focus. Indeed, one Forbes article explains how both mental and physical clutter can actually have a severely negative impact on mental health and wellbeing. Planning your week and day out in advance is an easy and efficacious way to clear your mind and allows you to stay on track on the tasks ahead.
Taking time out
Working hard in your career can often mean lots of late nights and early mornings. In the short-term, that’s fine, but making sure you also set some time aside for yourself is a crucial step when it comes to avoiding workplace burnout. The word self-care means something different to everyone, and can cover a multitude of things. Exercise, sleep and diet, although basic needs, play an important part in keeping your mind and body healthy and active. Hobbies are also a great way to indulge yourself- reading, knitting, cooking and gardening are all great ways to relax and have fun and will take your mind away from your work. Whatever your hobbies or interests, it’s important to make time to enjoy them and switch off from work.
Fear of failure
When you’re an ambitious person who is always looking to get ahead in work or life, the fear of failure can be overpowering, and can lead to long term stress. A useful technique to counter this, according to the Harvard Business Review, is to re-frame how you look at failure. Accepting from the outset that you are unlikely to be successful in every single venture will give you a healthy mindset upon which to base your actions. This reduces stress and anxiety and presents you with regular learning opportunities; when you’re prepared for setbacks you’re always prepared to learn and improve.
When it comes to minimizing workplace stress the key really is in your mindset. You don’t always have to be on and constantly working to get ahead. Also, you should expect there to be bumps in the road. By slowing down today, you can supercharge your future progress.