Stress arises when we think we can’t cope anymore. Continuous changes, some expected, some unexpected, make us feel uncomfortable. An increase in vulnerability and decrease of power makes us feel worried and stressed, especially in Covid-19 times as you may have noticed. The CDC recommends recognizes that people may have experienced increased stress during this pandemic and recommends that “Learning to cope with stress in a healthy way will make you, the people you care about, and those around you become more resilient.”
Post published originally @ Forbes by Lu Paulise
A certain amount of stress, in the right circumstances, can enhance performance, says Judit Ross for Harvard Business Review. But stress can also undermine your performance. “When our stress level is too high or the stress has lasted too long, we can’t concentrate. Creativity fizzles out, and frustration sets in. We become distracted, forgetful, irritable” says Ross.
Managing stress is all about managing yourself, becoming the hero in your life, not a victim. It is not only about what happens in your life that you cannot always control but also how you deal with it.
RESET your daily routine
The way you manage yourself has to do with your habits: your daily routines and how you usually react to unexpected events. You can train your mind and body to react in a certain way that is more productive and satisfying for you. Through time, the more you practice how to manage different situations, the better you become at it. Though it is not an easy task, it will get easier over time.
Remember, it is all about your routine. Here are the five habits that you want to incorporate in your daily life to RESET, improve performance and have more joy at work.
- Relax: calm your mind breathing deeply
- Enjoy: see the bright side in everything
- Simplify: only keep what you need
- Exercise: turn thoughts into actions
- Thank: appreciate what you receive
Relax: calm your mind breathing deeply
Stress activates the body fly or fight response, so blood pressure and heart rate go up. Hormones like epinephrine and cortisol are released into our bloodstream. In the short term, focus memory and creativity are improved. However, once stress exceeds a certain threshold, then your performance decreases. If you have to speak in public, you are out of breath. If you have to make a quick decision, your heart rate is too high to let you think clearly; you are just trying to escape. You are so stressed that you cannot even realize you are under stress, so you cannot think of how to overcome this.
How? You have to establish a daily routine when you invoke the relaxation response, that is, a state of profound rest by practicing meditation or yoga. You can practice just 10 minutes of deep breathing. It will help you calm your mind and be under control. Learning a relaxation response is not instant, it takes some time, so that’s why you need to start practicing before you need it. The good thing is that you can do this everywhere, anytime, at no additional cost! Now you are under control.
Enjoy: see the bright side in everything and celebrate it
Once you have your body under control, you are better capable of choosing your thoughts. They can be positive or negative. Employees turn to negative thinking when they feel fear of an unexpected outcome, especially in remote work. As you don’t get to see your leader or teammates face-to-face, remote work can undermine your self-confidence and your sense of community. You may feel left out if your boss doesn’t answer an email or if you were not invited to a meeting. In your mind, you start looking for the reasons why, which makes you feel threatened and lonely.
Help yourself, and your team start and finish the day seeing yourself doing a good job. Avoid thinking just about what went wrong or what could go wrong in the future: that is counterproductive thinking. Notice the present, what you have accomplished (no matter how small it seems), enjoy it and celebrate it.
Simplify: only keep what you need
As part of the counterproductive thinking, you probably think you don’t have time to breathe, relax or enjoy. So how do you make up for more time? You make your work life more simple. Check your desk, your wallet, your purse, your mailbox! How many things do you see that you don’t need? How many of them bother you or distract you? How many of them keep you busy in exchange for nothing gratifying?
Reduce if you have too many. Eliminate if you don’t need it. Move out if it may be useful somewhere else. Just review your daily routine and eliminate all the waste you see every day; focus only on what matters to your purpose. Use the 5S methodology as a guide.
Exercise: turn thoughts into actions
The fourth habit is about turning thoughts into actions. Sometimes it is hard for us to manage our thoughts, they just come and go, even when we are trying to breathe and focus. Go out and engage in an activity that calms you such as walking, running, or cooking. Take advantage of your working from home experience while it lasts!
The more challenging the activity the better. When you have to concentrate on your body movements, you don’t let your problems affect your emotions. As the Mayo Clinic put it, it is like meditation in motion. It helps you not only exchange new oxygen but also pump up endorphins that help you improve your mood. You’ll often find that you’ve forgotten the day’s irritations and concentrated only on your body’s movements.
Thank: appreciate what you receive
Stress is the reaction people have to excessive demands placed upon them. Sometimes, you are not sure if you can cope with the work or fear the outcome. Whatever you are working on, make sure you and your team have a routine to review the project at various milestones to avoid surprises at the due date. Share both the bad news and the good news, but especially ask for help if you need it, and thank them for the support you received. No matter if you are the leader or a team member, thank your team for the effort in public.
Be thankful at the end of every day. Just before going to bed, include in the routine a moment to say thanks to yourself for what you have received during the day. It could be a work accomplishment, or it could be a simple hug from your daughter, try to think about anything that made you feel happy that day. If you don’t have anything to thank for, you are too hard on yourself. Think again.
Establish a Routine
Follow every day the same night routine. Always at the same time, to enhance the sense of ritual and establish a habit. If you practice it every day, it will be easier over time, so you will be able to enjoy the routine and your other tasks to accomplish. If you are not enjoying, go back to square 1!
