Home – based professionals are not immune to work related stress. Although we do not have to deal with things like commuting and office gossip, which can cause stress, we still have other work related pressures that can cause us to feel anxious. Things like deadlines, unanticipated difficulties, and challenging clients can leave even the happiest home – based professional feeling frazzled.
When I feel stressed, I tend to let the issue churn over and over in my mind. This is not a good thing, as I continue to get more and more worked up about it even if there is nothing that I can do in the instant moment to deal with it. Sometimes I know of things that I can do to help remedy the situation and I get stressed because I cannot do them immediately because the kids are awake and I am unable to steal a moment to make that phone call or send that email.
Effectively dealing with stress is something that I have yet to learn how to do consistently. Sometimes I can do it, sometimes not. The things that I have found to be effective stress relievers for me include taking long walks with the boys, figuring out an action plan to deal with whatever is stressing me out and then dealing with it step by step, or eating a snack. Preferably a chocolaty snack.
As you can see, some of my remedies are effective and healthy, while the other is not so much. Taking a walk does not make the problem go away but it sure makes me feel better. As an added bonus, I sometimes spontaneously find a solution to the problem at hand. Breaking a seemingly unmanageable issue into smaller pieces and working through them step by step helps me to slow down and bring the issue into focus. It also helps me to avoid getting overwhelmed, because when I feel overwhelmed I tend to shut down and do nothing. As for the chocolaty snacks, they taste good and sometimes a moment of comfort can help me to calm down and get a little perspective on the situation.
What is your favorite way to relieve work related stress?
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