Part 3: Continuing to Develop Healthy Choices to Increase Efficiency

We are pretty blessed here at Marah Creative to be working with some great people and clients but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t get stressful around here. Reliving stress at work can be a challenge but you might be surprised at how a few small changes might make all the difference. As our lives get more chaotic it is no surprise to find that work related stress is going through the roof, and the time that is lost because of this stress can be devastating to the schedule.  Here are a few things to consider that have helped me with my own perspective on my working life:

Adam Koller

My Diet & Exercise 

Stop the press.  You mean that our diet can affect our mood and stress levels which leads to less output and time wasted?  This is no secret and at the same time we do nothing about it.  I wish there was some way to slap people into the reality that if you eat poorly then you are going to feel miserable.  I do not agree with everything that Mark Bittman, (popular author on food and health), has to say, but his philosophy in Food Matters is hard to argue with:  ”Eat far less meat and stock up on fruits and veggies.”

Along with diet you would be shocked at how different your stress level would be if you worked out.  Even getting up and walking around the office a handful of times through out the day would be a big help.  I never really got in to anything with a great level of physical activity because I never really liked track or football growing up.  I found cycling, which changed my perspective on everything.  The point is, find something you love and make it a part of your routine.  When you can find ways to relax, you will be more productive with the time you have at work.

Sam Bible

I Thought About Multi-tasking 

Forget it.  Multi-tasking doesn’t work.  I know there are many of you out there who say you are great at multi-tasking.  What that translates to me in the working world is you are good at doing small things here and there and never really getting anything of substance done.  Make a clear plan for your day, week, even month with clear goals and paths to finish those goals.  Multi-tasking usually leads to large amounts of stress because in reality is incredibly difficult/impossible to work on multiple things at once.  There is something called,Chunking which helps if you are someone who thinks they are great at multi-tasking.

Stop the Behind the Back Chatter

This means stop the water cooler talk so-to-speak.  When you get involved with personal politics you open yourself up to a lot of problems, one of them being stressed.  If your nose doesn’t belong there, keep it out!  You will be better for it.

Kelsey Drake

Communication

Communication really does go both ways.  If you do not feel like you have a strong direction at work, tell those directly responsible for your workflow that you need help to better understand your responsibilities.  Many people get frustrated with management and that frustration leads to a lot of stress.  Now I know there are some terrible managers out there but take it from someone who does manage projects and people, if you communicate and are open to listening and learning you would be surprised at how grateful the management will be.  And if you have a clear direction, the stress at work would vastly decrease.

Relationships

One of the best things I have found to help relieve stress at work is surround yourself with great people both in and out of the workplace environment.  When you align yourself with smart people who work hard and compliment your abilities you will be much more satisfied and that will help relieve stress.  If surrounding yourself with those types of people is not an option, do it outside of work.  Let’s be honest, work isn’t everything right?

Final Thoughts

So, we know that it isn’t possible to relieve all of your stress or use all of your time efficiently but that doesn’t mean you can’t be doing a better job than you are right now.  If you work on focusing on being more holistic at work rather than just a cog in the wheel, you have a good shot at bring the stress levels down while become a more productive and efficient employee.

(And seriously, we love coffee…)