Deadlines, pressure, budgets. A cranky boss, overbearing colleague, or a client you just can not make happy. All these aspects of your professional life can add up to feeling over stressed and may trigger your anxiety.
When you experience anxiety at work it can inpact every aspect of your life. We spend more time at work than we do at any other activity so, if time in the office is stressful it can bleed into your home, social and physical well being. Acknowledging the problems, reducing stress, and then putting a plan in place to manage your work environment can help you cope.
Here is a basic three step process to use when dealing with stress so you can reduce the impact before it takes over your life.
- Acknowledge what the issues are at work. You can keep a small notepad by your desk and monitor stress throughout the day. Does your stress increase when your boss calls or a particular co-worker stops in? Do you start to experience a hint of anxiety as a deadline approaches or when you have to deal with your staff?
- Take responsiblity for your part of the problem. If you feel stress around deadlines it might be because you are not planning far enough ahead to complete your work. Maybe you have an employee who is not performing and you are ignoring the problem at hand. It could be that you are contributing to the stress and not realizing you have the power to make it better.
- Put a plan in place to fix the problem. Create timelines for projects and review daily to ensure you are on track. Consult with human resources for options when employees are not performing. Keep your boss informed more often of what you are working on so he/she is aware of what you are doing. Be vigilant about the time you need to complete your work by closing your door and asking others to respect that boundary.
- Take care of yourself. If you work in a particularly stressful environment I always recommend a walk at lunch to help ease the stress. Breathing in some fresh air and moving your body can have a profound effect on lowering stress and ensuring anxiety does not creep into your mindset.
- Get social outside the office. It can be beneficail to regularly meet-up with others who are in your same position but not necessarily in your office. Maybe a fellow partner at your law firm that manages a different department or a friend who also manages individuals but for a different company.
If the above tactics do not seem to be working, it might be time to get some extra help. We can strategize together and build a stress reduction program that will help ease your tension and anxiety. We will review and fine tune your plan by enhancing what works and eliminating what doesn’t and in that way we will build a stronger foundation for you that will positively affect all aspects of your life. We can ward off the stress, make you more successful at work and most importantly make sure the anxiety does not take over all aspects of your life.