Life has been stressful lately. Both self imposed stress and work related. I know most bloggers are always apprehensive with regards to blogging about their personal and / or work life. And to a degree so I am, mostly because you never know who is reading and who may take what out of context.
But work is a big part of my life, a big part that impacts this blog and very often my moods. And now and then I go through extremely crappy (excuse my lack of eloquence) days where I want nothing more than to either quit or just wish certain people / aspects of my job didn’t exist.
Unfortunately you can’t dwell on these things, after all, work is a 5 day a week commitment so even if one day is crap, you need to bounce back for the next. But that isn’t easy, so over the years I’ve tried to come up with techniques to improve my mind set. I’m still by no means an expert, and I still can easily spend an evening dwelling and feeling “bleh” but I’m getting better, slowly.
Here are my tips:
- Talk it out. I’m lucky enough to have a couple of friends at work I can confide in, but I’ve even luckier to have friends I know in real life that are available to chat online during the day to help me get through tough situations. I can’t count the number of times I’ve just been defeated or beaten down and I want nothing more than to hide away and cry. Instead, I flip on my chat program, vent to one of my friends (whom btw are absolutely amazing, they are my world and they know who they are!) and suddenly I not only get a different perspective, but I feel so much better. Like I’ve just unloaded all my problems. It’s incredible.
- Take a walk. If you’re caught in a tough situation, I find it best to just get out of it and take a quick walk. Tons of people take smoke breaks, so take regular walks away from your desk. Whether it’s with a co-worker you trust or on your own to gather your emotions and thoughts. Plus, it’s great for your health!
- Be honest. I’ve made the mistake in the past where something someone at work has said / done ended up really bugged me and all I do is bottle it up. Unfortunately over time it just builds up till I explode. So the best thing to do is when something bad happens, be honest about how you feel and confront that person asap. Tell them what they did wrong in your eyes and why you feel the way you do. If they are reasonable they’ll take it on board. But be prepared that not everyone will see eye to eye with you. Make your peace, accept it and move on. You’ve done all you can do, be happy you were honest and stay professional.
- Let yourself unwind on the commute home. Whether you drive, walk or take public transport, don’t think about the issues you are going through, instead think about the weather, or the ease of your breathing, or people watch. It’s almost like meditation, focus on the simple things around you, or better yet, the simple joys of life.
- Treat yourself afterwards. I don’t mean go spend a fortune *cough* but do something nice for yourself when you leave work. Often if I’ve had a crap day, I give myself permission to go home and veg out. I don’t force myself to blog or make videos, I just do whatever I feel like doing and won’t let myself feel guilty for “wasting” time. Everyone needs time to recover.
- If it’s something serious, always tell your manager or your manager’s manager. It should be clear to you what is and isn’t serious. But unfortunately there will be some situations which really does call for management intervention.
Different methods work for different people, but I suppose the greatest thing I try to take away is reminding myself that a bad day or issues at work doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world. It’s just a job, life is so much more. Our loved ones, our friendships, our health, our happiness.
And just remember, 10 years from now, will what happened to you now really be that big of a deal? Probably not, in fact you’ll probably won’t even remember it.
Hopefully you guys found this post helpful, I would really love to hear what other techniques you guys use as I am always looking to improve 🙂 Have a great day! <3
Awww – great tips there Celina. I also have crappy days at work and because of of pressures from personal life – it gets too much sometimes.
Finding a person to open up and pour your heart and soul is the best dose of medicine for these types of situations.
I hope your crappy days are in the past now 🙂
Sing it sister! Surprisingly though I think I actually confide in my girlfriends with my whingy problems tons more. I think friendships and a partner are equally important to survivine tough days 🙂 Hope the days are getting better for you, I still have another month or so 🙁
Great post Celine! The other thing I find the most helpful is to say exactly how you feel, rather than talking about the issue itself. It reminds others to actually pay attention to people’s feelings.
My pleasure lovely <3 Thanks for the tip, speaking your feelings is so healthy!
My tip: I hear that a good pair of slippers can turn even the crappiest day around ;P
MUAHAHA!
*sends you a virtual masseuse with white hot chocolates and extra marshmallows* Those are pretty good for stress too!
*HUUUUGS* <3 <3
My work is freelance or with my family, so I don’t often encounter these situations. But my loved ones do all the time and it’s nice to have a list of suggestions to give them!
Thanks! I really hope they find the list helpful 🙂
This is a great handy list! I used to smoke, but now I just put some makeup on (if I’m not flat out) when I’m stressed at work 🙂
Oooh you should help other smokers quit! That’s a great way to do so 😀