Is Working from Home Always Stress-Free? The Answer is No.
I hope my husband reads this blog today. I don’t know if it’s because it’s the day before Thanksgiving, and the normally five-day work week is condensed into two and a half, but he is really stressed out today. As some of you may know, he and I both work from home. Thankfully, I get to escape every now and then because of the office space I lease in town. But he doesn’t. And sometimes this can really get to him.
So it got me thinking…sure, work from home jobs are proven to be less stressful for the average employee. It is a well known fact that telecommuting has been proven to have positive effects on stress, employee morale, and even work-family balance. But, oftentimes, like pretty much every situation in life, working from home can cause one to occasionally “lose their cool.”
If you work from home, here are some simple ways to keep calm and reduce the stress:
1.) Eliminate any stressful situations about your workspace, such as disorganization or clutter. Maybe even consider adding a soothing water fountain, zen garden, or other calming element near your desk. When you’re feeling frazzled, take a moment to just listen to the water, or rake through the zen garden.
2.) If gadgets don’t do it for you, calm your stress the natural way. Take long, relaxing, deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth. To properly deep breathe, don’t inflate your chest, but rather your abdomen. Take a deep breath in, hold it for three seconds, and release for three seconds. Continue this until you feel a little more balanced.
3.) Take note of your home office decorations. Sometimes, the way a room is decorated can overly stimulate a person. Don’t choose cold whites, alarming reds, or bright oranges. Instead, select soothing colors for your office, such as pale yellow, light greens, or water-toned blues.
4.) If you are religious or spiritual, say a prayer. After all, praying is known to have a quite powerful, positive effect on one’s well being.
5.) Call Fido or Whiskers into the room and give him or her a pet. Sometimes, just petting an animal can instantly nip stress in the bud, if even for a few moments. (Of course, for this to work your pet must be, in some way, calm and affectionate. If you have an overly hyper dog or a hissing cat, this technique may not work.)
6.) Talk to yourself to calm yourself down. Is what you are stressing about REALLY worth all the frenzy in your mind and tension mounting in your body? Seriously, a week, a month, a year from now, is this REALLY going to matter? Think bigger than where you are right now. Sometimes, when we look at the bigger picture, handling small grievances is that much easier.
7.) Get moving! Sitting at your desk all day, especially in front of a computer, is no good for the mind or body. Take some quick breaks to stretch, take the dog for a walk, do a little gardening, or simply walk around the house or yard. Exercise is one of the best ways to get rid of/reduce stress.
8.) Divert from your work for a little bit by calling a friend.
9.) Instead of coffee (a stimulant), try drinking soothing tea such as chamomile.
10.) Slow down. You may have a lot of work to do, but you will be more productive with a calm body and sound mind.
Hopefully these tips will help you when stress is getting the best of you! Now, I’m off to share these tips with my husband.
Happy Thanksgiving to you all!
P.S. Check back for a new blog on Monday!
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