5 Tips for Managing Stress

A number of studies have determined that stress at work is one of the leading causes of people taking time off work sick and most people experience stress at some point during their working life. There is no such thing as “good” stress, but some people find it more manageable than others. It is important to tackle the causes of stress in the workplace as stress at work can lead to problems for the individual, affecting working relationships and the overall working environment. These issues may include poor concentration skills and a lowered self-esteem.

Without smart habits for dealing with situations that could be stressful, work life can be a whole lot more burdensome. Stress affects people differently. Some people seem to thrive on extremely stressful lifestyles, while others struggle to cope with everyday life.

5 Top Tips

1) Sleep, Eat and Exercise. Getting enough sleep, eating healthily and exercising a couple of times a week. When you manage these three areas they can create a difference for your mood, energy, outlook in life and how well you can handle stress.

2) Learn to distinguish between “urgent” and “important”.Since we don’t have all the time in the world to tackle every task all at once, we should learn the how to prioritise. Urgent tasks demand immediate action while important tasks can wait until a later time.

3) If you think you're stressed, ask for help. Consulting a professional, like a therapist or a counsellor, or talking to a colleague, a friend, family member, or a someone from a support group, is an effective step in taking control of stress and managing it properly.

4) Become familiar with the telltale signs of stress.These include: being anxious, irritable or depressed; experiencing apathy, loss of interest in work, difficulty sleeping and having concentration problems.

5) Be realistic of what you can achieve in a day. This is the most important tip, at least for me. I don’t want to be overworked. I know how much work I can get done in a day and I just stick with it. It’s not helpful if you bite off more than you can chew and then berate yourself for not getting it done.

As teachers and students, it is important that we look after ourselves. Taking care of yourself doesn’t mean that you have to do a massive overhaul of your lifestyle. Take things one step at a time, and as you make more positive lifestyle choices, you’ll soon notice a decrease in your stress levels. The British Heart Foundation has more tips for staying healthy and well at work.

Daily Digest

To keep up-to-date with the tutor2u Psychology team, follow us on Twitter @tutor2uPsych, Facebook (AQA) / OCR / Student or subscribe to the Psychology Daily Digest and get new content delivered to your inbox!