Hacks for workplace serenity
March 13, 2017 9:33 AM Subscribe
Hi there's some interpersonal drama going on I'd rather not elaborate on (and really no time to write it out at the moment) and I'd like your best go-tos for managing stress. So far I have deep breathing, DBT skills (when I remember them) and Inderol (obviously not a permanent solution). Facts are my friends but obtaining/disseminating them takes longer than I'd like. Thanks.
If you're allowed to wear headphones at your desk, I really like Calm.com or the Calm app. I don't even use the guided meditations, I just find that their background audios are very soothing (and if you're in a noisy office, it can help block distractions).
posted by radioamy at 10:20 AM on March 13, 2017
posted by radioamy at 10:20 AM on March 13, 2017
Best answer: Things I do outside of work:
- Get enough sleep -- this is the #1 most important thing for me. If the stress is so bad it's giving me insomnia, then I try to make time for post-work power naps (they only take 20 minutes). Avoiding screens for an hour or two before bed also seems to help.
- Get 3 square meals/day -- especially a healthy lunch, plus a healthy afternoon snack.
- Occasional massage. Usually for me, this means exchanging massages with a friend/partner or getting a $10/10min chair massage -- even a little bit helps.
- Spend quality time with family/friends.
- Take long, strenuous walks in nature somewhere where my phone doesn't get reception. Any exercise helps, but outdoor exercise seems to work best.
- Indulge in absorbing distractions for a little while (watching a TV series, solving puzzles, working with my hands on a challenging project). I try not to let this eat up my whole life, though -- if it's stealing my sleep, then it's not helping me.
- Meditation & daily journaling.
Things I do at work:
- Take a real lunch break and get out of the building, even for 5 minutes. Taking a brisk walk around the building (even in the frigid cold) or sitting in a spot where I can see birds & trees helps to reset my stress level.
- Between meetings, take a tiny meditation break -- usually, I just take 3 breaths and try to focus on my breathing during that time. Even a break that brief helps.
- While working solo, listen to music that I particularly like (or rainymood, or nature sounds, or even ASMR videos)
- Be kind to others at work & express gratitude. Even when 99% of the day sucks, if one person did one thing that's great, noticing and thanking them for it tends to improve my mood about everything else.
General attitudes & approaches that help:
- Remember the limits of my control. I cannot control other people's actions and I can't always control the outcome of a situation. All I can do is my best; the rest is not up to me.
- Cultivate gratitude. In very tough times, I actually write out three things I'm grateful for in my journal every day. It does seem to subtly shift my mindset and make me more resistant to stress.
posted by ourobouros at 11:17 AM on March 13, 2017 [15 favorites]
- Get enough sleep -- this is the #1 most important thing for me. If the stress is so bad it's giving me insomnia, then I try to make time for post-work power naps (they only take 20 minutes). Avoiding screens for an hour or two before bed also seems to help.
- Get 3 square meals/day -- especially a healthy lunch, plus a healthy afternoon snack.
- Occasional massage. Usually for me, this means exchanging massages with a friend/partner or getting a $10/10min chair massage -- even a little bit helps.
- Spend quality time with family/friends.
- Take long, strenuous walks in nature somewhere where my phone doesn't get reception. Any exercise helps, but outdoor exercise seems to work best.
- Indulge in absorbing distractions for a little while (watching a TV series, solving puzzles, working with my hands on a challenging project). I try not to let this eat up my whole life, though -- if it's stealing my sleep, then it's not helping me.
- Meditation & daily journaling.
Things I do at work:
- Take a real lunch break and get out of the building, even for 5 minutes. Taking a brisk walk around the building (even in the frigid cold) or sitting in a spot where I can see birds & trees helps to reset my stress level.
- Between meetings, take a tiny meditation break -- usually, I just take 3 breaths and try to focus on my breathing during that time. Even a break that brief helps.
- While working solo, listen to music that I particularly like (or rainymood, or nature sounds, or even ASMR videos)
- Be kind to others at work & express gratitude. Even when 99% of the day sucks, if one person did one thing that's great, noticing and thanking them for it tends to improve my mood about everything else.
General attitudes & approaches that help:
- Remember the limits of my control. I cannot control other people's actions and I can't always control the outcome of a situation. All I can do is my best; the rest is not up to me.
- Cultivate gratitude. In very tough times, I actually write out three things I'm grateful for in my journal every day. It does seem to subtly shift my mindset and make me more resistant to stress.
posted by ourobouros at 11:17 AM on March 13, 2017 [15 favorites]
Best answer: Lemon balm acts like Valium w/o addiction and side effects. Article with references
We listen to the hypnosis recordings of Joseph Clough. Android iTunes FB HIGHLY recommended.
We love his voice & Cambridge accent (he is from Cambridge do you call that a Cambridge accent?) but if he is not your cup of tea I strongly suggest you search around or get a friend or use your own voice to make a recording from a hypnosis script you like to "talk you down" from stress and anxiety.
TBH I paid him although some recordings are free, because I use them all day, but then I cut out the beginning where he talks about what he is going to do so it goes straight into the hypnotizing.
posted by cda at 1:15 PM on March 13, 2017
We listen to the hypnosis recordings of Joseph Clough. Android iTunes FB HIGHLY recommended.
We love his voice & Cambridge accent (he is from Cambridge do you call that a Cambridge accent?) but if he is not your cup of tea I strongly suggest you search around or get a friend or use your own voice to make a recording from a hypnosis script you like to "talk you down" from stress and anxiety.
TBH I paid him although some recordings are free, because I use them all day, but then I cut out the beginning where he talks about what he is going to do so it goes straight into the hypnotizing.
posted by cda at 1:15 PM on March 13, 2017
Exercise outside of work. I bet any kind would help. But in the yoga that I was doing for a long time, there's a certain type of breathing you do when poses get hard. I realized yoga was important when I noticed myself drop into that type of breathing during a work meeting.
posted by salvia at 1:16 PM on March 13, 2017
posted by salvia at 1:16 PM on March 13, 2017
Response by poster: Unfortunately, radioamy (someone please show me how to link), headphones were part of the kerfluffle. I'm careful to be mindful of people around who might need me when I wear them, as I'm aware of the impression they can give. Well, one of my office mates caught my eye when I had them on and then told me the supervisor was calling for me. She then proceeded to bang rudely on my desk. I told her politely but firmly not to do that again and she did what any mature adult would do: she ran to the supervisor. No more phones, (even though office noise IS an issue--besides my "yelling", another part of the write-up was for working in a spare (quiet) room).
posted by intrepid_simpleton at 7:13 PM on March 13, 2017
posted by intrepid_simpleton at 7:13 PM on March 13, 2017
Based on your update - in the medium to long-term a different workplace may be part of your stress reduction plan.
posted by koahiatamadl at 12:25 AM on March 14, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by koahiatamadl at 12:25 AM on March 14, 2017 [5 favorites]
Ugh-- great suggestions above. When my workplace was aflame with drama, I made some important changes for my off-time that made a big difference:
-no work emails/updates to my phone's email or checking work email on off time.
-turned my phone on silent for everything and just checked it periodically.
-once, while worrying about the drama before falling asleep I had the thought, "These people are not allowed in my bed! Or my house!" Remembering that helped get off that thought train when I found myself aboard again.
-no going near work during off-time.
Basically instituting amazing boundaries wrt when you think about work.
I hope things calm down soon.
posted by zem at 10:48 AM on March 14, 2017
-no work emails/updates to my phone's email or checking work email on off time.
-turned my phone on silent for everything and just checked it periodically.
-once, while worrying about the drama before falling asleep I had the thought, "These people are not allowed in my bed! Or my house!" Remembering that helped get off that thought train when I found myself aboard again.
-no going near work during off-time.
Basically instituting amazing boundaries wrt when you think about work.
I hope things calm down soon.
posted by zem at 10:48 AM on March 14, 2017
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I also really like the Headspace app for keeping cool and calm under pressure.
posted by schroedingersgirl at 9:45 AM on March 13, 2017