Time Management Tips to Reduce Workplace Stress

The holidays are literally just around the corner. Unfortunately, not only joy and cheer are associated with this season; stress levels also spike during the holidays. Aside from the regular amounts of stress individuals work under, the American Psychological Association reports that the holidays increase stress for women by 44% and by 31% for men.

Stress often comes with feeling overwhelmed and losing of control at the workplace. To help you get a handle on things, try these time management techniques at work and reduce work-related stress.

Work-Life Balance – To lower stress levels, it’s vital to find the balance between your work life and your home life. Compare your work schedule and job responsibilities with your family life and social activities. If you see that you’re too heavily involved with work and have little time for your outside life, make it a point to balance the two. Look through our blog’s Work-Life Balance page for more ideas.

Take Breaks – Instead of misusing time throughout the workday, taking small intentional breaks throughout the day will help you focus the rest of the time. Stepping away from your desk or getting up to stretch will give your mind a quick break and allow you to quickly recharge.

Prioritize – Properly allocating your time to complete important tasks keeps you on track and organized. Pay attention to what you’re working on and how much time is required for each task. This allows you to know if you’re able to take on an extra task or help out a co-worker with another assignment. But, make sure you don’t over do it, because taking on too much is simply asking for added stress.

Understand that some stressors are out of your control, but with proper time management, you can reduce your stress levels at work. Be sure to review our other tips on reducing workplace stress, so you can enjoy the holidays without overwhelming stress.

Comments

[Kell]

I think you hit the nail on the head with priorities. Lets face it, we are all really busy, and if you are not careful you can end up being controlled by the tyranny of the urgent, constantly putting out fires. I write about prioritizing and planning your work, and then working your plan, as a great step towards getting the most important things done.
http://www.effective-time-management-strategies.com/time-management-matrix.html
Kell

[jade]

The objective is to change your behaviors over time to achieve whatever general goal you've set for yourself, such as increasing your productivity or decreasing your stress. So you need to not only set your specific goals, but track them over time to see whether or not you're accomplishing them. We have to realize that time management is a myth. Many of us are prey to time-wasters that steal time we could be using much more productively. Tracking Daily Activities explains how to track your activities so you can form an accurate picture of what you actually do, the first step to effective time management.

[mind management]

Thanks James for the info...

I was a workaholic, striving to get things done at work. This itself burns a lot of energy, and stress hormones are released into the system. I was so caught up in my work that I even paid less attention to the people I love and trust...

Then not that long ago it hit me... when we work toward a goal, we are not doing it because of the goal itself, but because of the experience we get in pursuing that goal.

Ok, so what this has to do with stress?

Stress is nothing more, but a chemical reaction, caused by overdoing and worrying about things... it is often referred as the "Grey zone." This is where when we are with our family and friends, we think about work, and when we are at work, we think about family and friends. That's a conflict or a distraction that has to be eliminated and often time STRESS is not the problem :)

To prevent stress as you've suggested, we have to take proper breaks.