How to Stay Productive at Work Even When You’re Under Stress
Creative work can be quite demanding. And more often than not, you need to learn how to work and deliver under pressure. Handling work under pressure may even be an important part of your job interview. Pressure and stress usually go hand in hand. You have probably already experienced work-related stress. But when you have delivery dates, meetings with clients and working with team members, managing your stress can be problematic and seriously affect your performance. In that respect, it’s always good to remember some tips that can help you maintain your productivity at work even when feeling stressed out.
Accept that a certain level of stress is part of your job
Any job related to creativity is stressful, be it design, advertising, content creation or any other similar career. The first step to being able to work under stress is to accept that your job is stressful. Therefore, the only thing left to do is learn to work in such circumstances.
For some people, it is much simpler than others. Stress can have consequences on your health, so you must learn to keep it under control. An interesting point of view that may help you face stressful situations at work is to focus on the final results, particularly the gratification that you get to feel in the end, despite all the difficulties.
Doing a job under pressure, following deadlines and delivering satisfying results is rewarding as you gradually see how the product evolves until it reaches its final version. Setting goals and achieving them is what makes work so rewarding.
Eliminate all possible stressors
There are many elements that can increase your stress at work. Deadlines, difficult customers, resources issues, lack of communication with other team members, etc. Sometimes, you have no control over these things, which makes these situations much more stressful. But some of them can be dealt with, so focus and try to solve them. Not only does this help keep stress under control, but you can learn to handle certain situations, such as finding more effective ways to communicate and work with your teammates.
Do not forget to take short breaks during work hours
Taking breaks is essential, regardless of the workload you have at that time. If you are working in front of the computer, it’s best to distance yourself from it for a short period of time. Go to the kitchen for a glass of water, go for a walk or do some other activity that does not involve being in front of the computer. Even though this is a short period of time, try to relax and forget about work for a moment. Breathing exercises or yoga could help keep your mind clear for a couple of minutes. Find some short, simple activity that relaxes you completely.
Since the objective is to completely relax, it’s advisable not to check social media or search for videos on YouTube. While these are activities that help keep your mind away from work, they can also be very distracting. And they also require you to stay glued to your screen, which is something you don’t want to do when you’re already spending hours in front of a computer.
Use stress in your favor
Not all people react to stress in the same way. For some people, working under pressure can cause creative blocks and physical discomfort like headaches. In these cases, as we mentioned previously, all possible stress factors should be eliminated and, if possible, introduce a relaxation routine. On the other hand, there are people whose productivity could increase due to stress. If you are one of these people, you can use that stress in your favor. However, remember that stress has physical consequences and is not good for your health, so try to minimize these situations.
Keep your productivity habits
Once you have become aware of the level of stress that exists in your job, the best thing you can do is not to panic. Understanding that stress is part of your work helps a lot because you have already managed to make other successful projects and deal with pressure before, even though you may have not noticed it explicitly.
Remember that you have already worked under pressure, to a greater or lesser extent. So, continue with your daily routine. Try to perform activities that relax you during your breaks and continue with the habits you have established that work well for your productivity. You have already been working for a while and you must have some habits and routines that are positive for your creativity and productivity.
At some point in your career, you will have to feel stress, it’s inevitable. The important thing is to create strategies to combat it and stay creative in spite of everything. These techniques are intimately linked to your way of being and working. The more you know yourself, the more you can discover what works for you and what doesn’t.
