How well you beat stress at work?
Do you usually find yourself having too much on your plate than you can finish or handle in the given time?
In your everyday life, do you often get overwhelmed with too much to do, and feel lost and clueless about how to get things done in the most efficient way?
In this post, I will talk about how to relieve stress at workplace giving you strategies to sail your work life smoother.
I’ve experienced it a ton of times moving around with “so-much-to-do” in my head, only to have realized later that the clutter on my mind was forcing me not to deal with one single task efficiently.
Such scenarios usually leave me steaming with frustration and anxiety. If you are here reading it, you may be sailing in the same boat.
And I am totally aware that you and I don’t deserve to feel inadequate, powerless and lost.
On getting caught up with this feeling of overwhelm, I take a moment to acknowledge, and do something serious about it.
This post is going to give you real working strategies that always save me from avoidable stress, and unneeded work pressure.
P.S. All these ways are simple, and might not seem like much, but they really do add magic.
This page contains affiliate links. Please view my full disclosure here.
A Marvelous Method to Relieve Stress at Work
Stress happens when we feel inadequate; when we are not able to cope with external situations or internal dialogues.
We all have our own thresholds when it comes to handling stress.
For example:
Meeting new clients may stress you out, while it may be fun for your colleague.
Working on a new creative project may excite you, but for another team member, it may be stressful to move out of their comfort zone, and work on something new.
Whatever be the case, the truth is that dealing with stress is a common everyday occurrence, and it happens to all of us, usually every single day.
And we cannot leave it unaddressed. If we do, this disastrous little dragon can make us lose our sanity, and threaten our productivity.
So, here’s a technique that you can instantly adopt (if you so like), based on what I do to eliminate stress at work:
De-clutter Your Mind
Imagine yourself sitting on your work desk full of clutter – piles of files, folders and papers, dirty coffee cups, and messy stuff. You probably would not even think of starting a simple single task without first having put things in order.
It’s the same with our minds. Cluttered minds can’t produce efficient results.
So, just go ahead and do this.
- Sit in a nice quiet place with a pen and paper.
- Take a few deep breaths.
- Scribble down ALL THE TASKS that are boggling your mind. Don’t even leave the minute ones unwritten.
- Release all the stress, overwhelm, and feeling of unease into the universe.
- Assure yourself that everything is simplified, and can be easily taken care of.
Reschedule & Plan
- Now, on your list, circle all those Tasks / Projects which can wait, and shift them to a later date in your Planner.
- Go through the list once again, and make a note of one-time small tasks or projects that can be delegated (to a colleague / helping friend) or outsourced.
- Choose the MOST IMPORTANT ONE SINGLE TASK / PROJECT, and make a great action strategy to accomplish this.
Take Some Time to Relax
After having done the above, you must be feeling calm and in control. Relax some more.
I meditate to rebuild my focus and energy. You can choose whatever works best for you. Spend some time chit chatting with a close and positive friend; take a quick walk in outdoors; get yourself some healthy snack to munch on; watch a funny video clip; or just do anything of your taste which can chill you out.
Go Ahead & Execute
I am absolutely sure that doing all above, you would be feeling great now. So, it’s the time to get into some real action.
- Remember, one thing at a time. Multitasking is a no-option, if you want awesome results.
- Find out the right people so you can delegate.
- Stay mindful in the present moment.
- Start with the highest priority task.
- Complete all your tasks in the order of their priority.
- Be gentle and kind to yourself. Don’t push yourself too hard. But, stay in your stretch zone.
So, next time when you get bitten by overwhelm of too much work, use this technique, and you will be good to go.
Liked this post? Share it, and help me impact more lives.
I would love your thoughts in the comments below.
20 replies to "Overwhelmed with Stress at Work? Here’s how to fix it in 5 Minutes"
It really helps to write down everything if there is too much on the mind without a plan. Re-scheduling and executing one by one saves me on hectic days. Do you have a post on planning ahead your time so that one does not need to do this daily? thanks!
Yes, you’re right. It does help. I will soon come up with a post on ‘planning ahead’. Thanks for your wonderful comment!
Those are some handy little tips, thank you for those. I’m gonna print this out!!
So glad you find them useful. Thank you!
Thanks for these helpful tips. Bookmarking and sharing this one 🙂
Thank you so much!
I am always looking for ways to de-stress!!! These are great suggestions!
In this world full of noise and clutter, we all need simple ways to de-stress. Thanks for your comment
This is SUCH a helpful tool for dealing with overwhelm in work. It’s so simple and easy to implement but also very easy to forget to do when overwhelmed. Thanks for the encouragement!
Yes. That’s an important point. We often forget or dont feel motivated to take action when overwhelmed. It’s just a matter of practice. Conscious practice a few times in the beginning can make the habit permanent. Thanks for your comment.
This is all stuff I need to be better at. Especially decluttering my mind. Writing down thoughts and taking some time to relax and breathe would definitely help!
I am sure it will. All the best, and thanks for your wonderful comment.
These are great tips and reminders. I totally agree that multi tasking is not the best option. I also love to do a mind dump where you pull of the stress and tasks out of your mind, onto paper, and then prioritize.
Mind dump is a fabulous way to de-stress, and focus on specific outcome. Thanks for sharing this awesome thought.
Great tips! I really does help to write everything down and prioritize.
Great post! I have always thought the same about decluttering my space and mind and I love lists!! Definitely going to try to do this more often.
I have a hard time with the execution part. I love how you gave great ways to help people that feel overwhelmed. My favorite part of this post what how to de-clutter the mind. I have struggled with a decluttered mind many times before. I think taking a minute to write out the things cluttering my mind would be very helpful. I am then able to see on paper a visual of what is taking place inwardly. Seeing it might help me erase it from my mind easier. Thank you for sharing this helpful advice.
Kristen
Oh this is me! Once thelist on my head has more than 4 things on it, it is like I go into a panic! Thank you for these practical steps to keep me from going overthe deep end!
I’ve heard that we can only keep 4 things in our heads at any given moment — getting them all down is the only way to get clarity and remember things long forgotten!
I have beeb doing so much reading and listening to things similar to this post. I like your point to meditate and take some time to relax. This is a step I am missing. I usually make my to do list and then get overwhelmed and start trying to do everything with an anxious feeling. Thank you!