Sometimes, work can get stressful. That’s a fact we can't ignore. Unfortunately, anxiety at the workplace bleeds into other aspects of your life, hence managing it is helpful for both your personal and professional goals:
- Write down a list of things you’re anxious about: might seem like it’s a waste of time, but writing things down has been shown to de-clutter your mind, hence reducing stress. Write it all down, the personal and professional anxiety inducing triggers. Writing things down will help you articulate your worries, process them individually, and prioritize them.The Focus Journal includes a full dotted page for notes every day + lots of extra notes pages at the end of the journal. Feel free to use these pages as your work diary!
- Be realistic about your goals and priorities: Decide what must get done, and what can wait. Overwhelming yourself with unattainable goals will increase your stress and anxiety levels. Reward yourself for what you have accomplished at the end of the day, not what you missed.
- Find your stress relieving activity, and stick to it: Whether it’s Yoga, an intense workout, or some meditation, explore different routes of stress relieving activities and pencil them into your day. Be mindful of yourself and what your body needs, suppressing your anxiety will only make it worse. Hence make sure to deal with it in the most beneficial way possible
- Take care of your body: the association between physical and mental health is astounding. Make sure not to let your anxiety provoke unhealthy behaviour. Even though this might be easier said than done, maintaining good physical health gives your body and mind the support it needs to deal with your anxiety.
- Stay Connected: people are more understanding than you think, if you speak to your co-workers about your anxiety, most of the time they will be more than happy to support you, and who knows, some might share the same triggers. Speaking about your anxiety and stress will also allow you to face your fears head on, and will offer you a community of support. If you work from home, consider joining a local co-working space. We work out of L’Atelier Coworking in Vancouver and received a lot of help and support from our community when we were creating The Focus Journal.
- Surround your space with positive vibes: Have a happy playlist on your phone, have a green plant on your desk, put up some inspirational quotes, and make sure your desktop background inspires happiness.
- Breath: Just breath. Take a slow long breath through your nose, hold it for three seconds, and exhale. Then repeat. Let the oxygen flow into your brain, calm your heart rate down, and get back to work.
In the Focus Journal we included a list of 20 self care tips that you can refer to regularly to remind yourself of being more mindful about work life balance.