Ways to De-Stress at the Office

In today’s fast paced life, it is very common for people to feel stress. Juggling between work, family, friends and various other responsibilities result in high tension levels at work. Fortunately, there are many ways to de-stress at the office.

• Studies have shown that every colour and texture used in one’s surrounding areas can have an impact on one’s mood. While bright colours cheer up the mood, dull colours do the contrary. Blues, except for royal blue or turquoise tend to create a sombre mood. Shades of yellow, orange, red and lime green, especially on the walls add zest to life.
• Try adding things that are more ‘you’ to your workplace. Adding inspirational quotes such as ‘Never say maybe’ or ‘If you can imagine it, you can achieve it’ create a positive frame of mind. One may also add photographs of places travelled to or those on the wish list.
• Create a peaceful and energetic environment by adding  fresh plants, flowers or fish.
• Remove things such as fake or dead flowers, twigs etc that might exert bad vibesvibes. De-clutter your desk and remove those piles of papers, stacks of files and notebooks or loads of junk that has been lying uselessly around you for a very long span of time. This will help you free your thoughts and de-clutter your thinking as well.
• Have light outings. Go for a lunch outside or take a walk in the park/outside your workplace. This will help you put things into perspective.
• Make sure that you share a good rapport with your boss since it is next to impossible to work with an angry, un-friendly boss.
• Prepare what you have to do today. At the end of the day, make a to-do list for things to be done the next day. This will keep you focussed and help you get a perspective of your work, keeping in mind the time allocated for the same.
• It is very important to create a work–life balance. One must learn how to leave work once work hours are over and switch to one’s own life and de-stress.
• Learn to make most of the transition time between your workplace and home. This may be used to de-stress, best done by listening to your favourite music.
• When at work, try to take things in a light vein. Cracking a joke or two sometimes can definitely make the situation lighter and reduce tension and stress.
• Some cardiovascular exercise or yoga is necessary to keep the body awake and kicking all day.
• Organising work and sticking to an apt schedule always helps. Try not to procrastinate. Allot specific time for specific tasks.
• Set your priorities right. Out of the various things that are supposed to be worked on, decide the ones that need to be finished soonest and the ones that can be dealt with at a later stage.
• Apart from customising your workplace as per your needs, it is also important to take out some time for an activity that you would like to do. A hobby class may entail a dancing lesson, a baseball game with your friends or any such activity that interests you.
• Research has proven that a tension free mind leads to an increase in work efficiency and productivity. Therefore, these few ways to de-stress your mind at work may be helpful for a happy, peaceful and satisfactory work environment.

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