The last post on stress at work looked at what the warning signs of work stress were. This post will look at steps to take to help you tackle stress at work and beat job burnout.

As soon as the first signs of stress at work appear action must be taken and you need to recognise the problem. Recognition and acceptance is the key to a series of importance steps to be taken.

 

 

 

The following are useful steps to take to help relieve stress and prevent job burnout:

1. Make list of jobs, check them off one by one as completed

Get a pad and pencil and, taking a deep breath, start making lists of tasks that need to be done and any problems that are worrying you. Lists are essentials as they help you put everything into perspective and it can often clear your brain. List making helps provide relief as it sorts out what you have to do but also allows you to tick off each task when you have completed them.

2. Plan, set priorities and make appropriate time scales.

After you’ve set your list of tasks, divide them up into short-term, medium-term and long-term. Starting with short-term what can you do today or tomorrow? Focus on those during the week.

3. Do a simple task each day.

This is essential to ensure that have a sense of achievement each day.

4. Plenty of sleep

Ensure you get into a good sleep routine and have plenty of it. If you need help with insomnia look here for more information.

5. Eat healthily.

This is essential for helping us feel better. I believe we are what we eat. If you eat junk food or miss meals you will feel tired, have less energy and generally feel not bothered to motivate yourself. It is important to maintain a healthy diet by eating more fruit and vegetables and trying to reduce or cut out sugar, processed foods and wheat. If you feel better in yourself, it is easier to feel more positive.

6. Exercise more

When you are stressed it is easy to miss out exercise as you feel you don’t have time for it (or can’t be bothered). It is essential to make time for it. Simple exercise can be going out each day for half an hour walk during your lunch break. If you find once you are home it is difficult to exercise then try doing something on the way home. A good way of ensuring that you walk each day is to buy a Fitbit and set it for 10,000 steps each day. By recording your steps it allows you to work towards a set target.

7. Cut down on alcohol, caffeine, tranquilizers

There are various research that support cutting down on all of the above. Caffeine has been related to heart disease and excess of it can bring on headaches, trembling of hands, feelings of agitation etc.  Alcohol is an anti-depressant so if you are feeling low you can feel worse. Additionally it can make you feel worse in the morning.

8. Share problems with friends, family and colleagues

This can help you feel lighter but also help you talk through your stress and find your own way of coping with it. If you feel you’ve leaned on family members too much, then you can seek professional help in a trained counsellor.

9. Do not give up.

Try to reduce it but if after trying all the above, then maybe it would be useful to write down negative and positives of your job. If the negatives outweigh the negatives then it may be time to consider getting a new job.