How to create a stress-free office
How can you create a stress free office environment? You know what I’m talking about. A workplace where it feels like a perpetual Friday afternoon before Christmas, instead of the dreaded Monday before a big deadline?
We’ve put together a short list of 10 ways that you can make your office and work life as stress free as possible.
Get organized
If your desk is chaotic and disorganized, with papers and files everywhere, that can really mess with your head.
Mess equals stress.
Subconsciously, when your office work space is filled with phone messages, papers, files, and you can barely see your desk, you’ll never feel like you’re in control. What have you buried in there? What have you forgotten to do…? It’s stressful just thinking about it…
So, here’s what to do. Make a list of all the tasks and items that you have to get done and rank them in terms of importance.
Then WORK the list.
You will feel your stress levels going down with this exercise. By being very intentional and adopting a ‘get it done’ attitude, you’ll knock a lot of work off your list, and put yourself back in control. You’ll be amazed at how fast you can work through your list, just by focusing in on it and not letting anything distract you from your mission.
Eat the frog
Mark Twain once said:
“If the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that that is probably the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day long”
Your “frog” is the biggest task you have to get done. Often, it’s the thing that you’ll either put off or seriously procrastinate about.
Here’s how to “eat your frog”. Tackle whatever your major task is FIRST. The very first thing you should do each day, is the thing that makes you the most uncomfortable, without taking time to think too much about it.
There is a great book written by the legendary Brian Tracy titled, “Eat That Frog” . If this is an area you struggle with, this book will help you de-stress your work life so you can improve your time management skills, and get more done in a lot less time.
Play music
If you struggle with maintaining focus for an extended period of time, it’s super stressful and you are not alone.
When you’re in a job that requires a lot of focus, this can be considered stressful. Playing music reduces the stress on your brain (especially if it’s a great song)… and allows you to get more done, because it relaxes you..
Scientists have proved that listening to great music actually activates the brain’s pleasure centre. What this stimulation does is improve your creative problem solving, lifts your mood and dramatically boosts productivity.
A handy tool we’ve just discovered is Focus@Will — an app that produces “streamlined music.” This music is specifically designed to be listened to while you’re working on something — to improve mood and productivity. The company built a system that focuses on the key of the music, the tempo and more, to make it as effective as possible. Its music affects areas within the brain in a positive way, to improve your ability to focus. There are different kinds of music to choose from so you can pick the kind that matches your tastes best, and enjoy super productivity..
Go for a walk
If you’re wondering how to create a stress free office, here’s one of the big ones.
Get out of the office. Not only is walking great for reducing stress levels, no-one wants to sit at their desk for 8 hours a day.
Take your lunch hour (for once), go and try a café a few blocks away, or just walk around the block. Sometimes, all you need to do is get a change of scenery to change your entire perspective. Plus, going for a walk will encourage circulation and wake you up. Speaking of getting your blood to flow…
Exercise
Doing some heavy lifting or breaking a sweat can trigger a flood of endorphins, as well as release the stress built up in your muscles. If you have time, go for a short jog, swim or yoga class during your break to take your mind off work and focus on your body.
We’ve just recently joined KX Pilates who offer a fast paced, high intensity, body-toning workout in just 50 minutes. You read that right. Pilates that is high intensity and fun — and definitely how we create a stress free office, and we LOVE it…
Connect with a co-worker
Take the time to connect and bond with a co-worker. Having a social connection in a place allows you to relax and ‘share the burden’. Having a conversation about what is stressing you out at work will help you gain some perspective and insight, and potentially, some solutions, you may not have thought of. You might even end up with a lifelong friend.
Meditate
Meditation has long been known as a great way to de-stress and relax. In an office environment, it might seem a bit unusual to consider meditation, but even the simple act of having a break, closing your eyes and focusing on your breathing can instantly lower your blood pressure and release stress.
For those with a little more time, consider downloading a guided meditation course. They can run from just five minutes up to an hour and handle a variety of different stressful situations.
Go offline
It’s no mistake that most stress comes from being bombarded with urgent tasks through emails and phone calls. One easy step is to go offline for an hour. Find a task that you can work on with a pen and paper (such as planning or organizing) in a quiet space away from distractions.
If you can’t go offline, there are options such as putting your phone on silent or do not disturb, or even as simple as not answering/checking your devices for 25 minutes.
After all, remember the rule: don’t confuse urgent with important.
Have a clean workplace
Surprisingly overlooked, is having a sparkling clean and organised workplace. When it’s messy, you can be stressed for no apparent reason. But a clean workplace is soothing, it’s easy to find things when you need them, and it just looks better.
The best way to have a clean office is to have a professional business cleaning service. Not only do they do the basics of keeping your office spotless, but they know how to clean so you can be as productive as possible.
So the key to how to create a stress free office is: eat the frog, listen to music, make friends at work, get out at lunchtime and do some exercise, meditate and remember that it pays to have Cleancorp servicing your work space so you can focus on your job stress-free.
Hamish Macqueen — Managing Director and Founder of Cleancorp.
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