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How To Maintain Sanity and Productivity At Work In Stressful Days
Stress at work is a very common phenomenon. Even if you enjoy your work, any job or position can be stressful at times depending on the workload and amount of time spent every week. The BIG gist is simple - almost everyone is busy nowadays!
My best guess is that you've been there before as a freelancer. Yeah, we've all had that looming experience. You get a notification late in the night reminding you about a deadline, your client is upset, but you've also got lots of other clients to attend to. And there are lots of deliverables waiting for your attention - regardless of all your personal plans.
You are occupied with a large project demanding all of your time. You may probably be in the loop of a pressing deadline, trying to fix things in record time while providing quality service delivery and keeping your clients' objectives in check. Irrespective of the situation you're in, one thing stands out - you've got a lot of deliverables on your desk and have to work long hours in order to meet up.
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In times like this, you're often overwhelmed, hyperactive, sometimes angry, super anxious, mad at everything and everyone. As a result, stress steps into the picture. It doesn't even end there. Your stress level can get so high that you start to feel the horrible pangs of burnout, and mental fatigue follows - which has a negative impact on your health and life.
Here are some tips to help you stay recharged, focused, sane and most importantly - keep your work-life balance in check.
1. Understand Your Stressors
The best way to beat your opponent is to understand how they attack. Same approach can be applied in understandind your stressors. You wouldn't know what you're up against unless you understand how stress works. Define the circumstances that increase your stress levels and keep a diary to track how you react and handle them. You may even notice a relationship between your stressors and how you react to them. That's the first crucial step in the journey of beating stress.
2. Keep A Simple Daily Routine
Your mental workload matters a lot. As a busy person, everything counts - seconds, minutes, hours, decisions and actions. Keeping a simple routine will increase your focus at work by ensuring that you worry only about the very important things, allowing you to channel your mental energy in the right direction. Arranging all the stuff you use in the week at once in a day is a great way to get started. Think about it - that way you don't have to worry about where you placed XYZ in the room, thus improving your productivity and giving you a lot of time advantage.
3. Do What You Love
When was the last time you spent some quality time with family? Have you been able to visit friends, your crush, or gone for any other social event held in your area? Have you considered reducing time spent commuting to work, focusing on your hobbies and taking care of yourself? Maybe its time for all that now. Do what you love everyday. Focus on positive energy and stay happy even in the face of daring issues of life. Your mental health depends on it.
4. Engage In Regular Exercise
In reality, its easy to get so busy with work and neglect the need for physical excercise. Our body needs to be recharged regularly, and there's no better way to do that than exercising regularly. Your physical health has a significant impact on your mental and emotional health. It's time to join a gym!
Participate in exercise activities you love such as jogging, playing football, riding a bicycle, skating, or take some Yoga classes. Exercising regularly will help your body stay fit and in shape. This will also keep your mental health in check and reduces chances of stress, mental fatigue and burnout.
5. Practice Delegation
We all have our unique breaking points. Try not to overwork yourself past your limit. Learn to say no or delegate some of your responsibility to someone else even if you have to pay a fee for that. When I first started my freelance career, I felt that taking more work not only meant that I'll earn more, but also will help me grow my career faster. That was a terrible approach as I also felt the negative impact it had on my health while handlng too much workload.
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The reality of work for every freelancer is simple - if you take more work than you can handle, it will surely affect your health in the negative. What's the need for earning all that money and yet not being able to enjoy it in good health? Set your priorities aright. You can start by setting reasonable boundaries for yourself and stick to them diligently. Also, build a support team under your lead and delegate your work to them occasionally.
Practicing delegation keeps your sanity in check and helps you understand how to manage human capital. Delegating some of responsibility to others will also give you the quality time needed to spend on other valueable matters of life - such as maintaining good relationships with family and friends, as well as making quality connections with other professionals in your industry. It's a win-win strategy for you!
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