As the world continues to operate at an increasingly fast pace, it’s easy to become overwhelmed; you may find yourself struggling to keep up, regardless of whether or not you work from home. If so, you may also start to feel stressed more often before beginning your work day. Fortunately, there are several strategies you can use to improve your mental health and thereby better handle challenges in your professional life.
7 Tips To Help With Anxiety
There are many ways to help control your anxiety before work. Here are seven tips that can help.
1. Get Up Early
In the post-pandemic world, when many more people have transitioned to remote work, it’s especially tempting to sleep in until you have no choice but to get ready for work. However, getting up early can help you feel less anxious. According to a study conducted by Barnsley College in the United Kingdom, 90% of company executives and 50% of self-made millionaires get up 3 hours before their workday starts (around or before 6 am). These famous people use this time to do things such as check emails, read the news, or help their children get ready for school.
You can establish a morning routine that includes things like exercising and having something specific for breakfast every day. If you’d like to save even more time (and thus, anxiety) in the mornings, you can also pack your lunch and/or clothes for the next day the night before.
2. Control What You Can
It’s normal to feel frustration and anxiety over not being able to control certain life or work-related things. However, there are other things that you can control, so don’t hesitate to routinely manage those whenever you have free time. For example, you can create a daily or weekly to-do list to avoid forgetting certain tasks or errands. You can also unsubscribe from certain emails if you feel like you get too many from certain organizations. If your desk/office is messy, take time to clean and organize this space too.
3. Take Breaks
Although it can sometimes be difficult to take breaks, it’s crucial to do this to manage anxiety. Try using downtime during your workday (e.g., in-between meetings) to just stretch and walk around your apartment, neighborhood, or office block instead of doing research or clerical tasks, especially if there’s greenery near you. Also, remember that “taking breaks” also sometimes means avoiding all technology. If possible, try not to look at your phone for any reason (texts, emails, social media, etc.) for at least a few minutes each day.
4. Get Exercise/Meditate
There are countless studies that show regular exercise and meditation can help improve mental health, aside from helping you burn calories. Therefore, consider doing at least one of these two things every week to reduce your anxiety. You can jog and listen to upbeat music, do weights, push-ups, or sit-ups, or meditate while listening to slow, relaxing music. If you want, you can use a fitness app to track your exercise. Be sure to also try breathing exercises, especially in the morning and at night. These can be a great complement to meditation.
5. Maintain A Healthy Diet
An unhealthy diet can also contribute more to anxiety than you think. Thus, be careful what you eat and drink every day. Specifically, try to avoid processed foods, sugar, and caffeine. It’s ok to occasionally have coffee, dessert or fast food, but don’t consume these every day, as they can aggravate your anxiety.
What foods should you try to eat more frequently to minimize anxiety? Try to stick to water and herbal tea for liquids, and almonds and fruit (especially berries) for solids.
6. Plan Ahead
Planning out your day — or even your week — can also help you reduce your anxiety. Consider setting daily or weekly goals and priorities and keeping a to-do list to help you manage all your responsibilities.
7. Get Professional Help
If you have so much anxiety that you’re having trouble sleeping and focusing at work, it may be a good idea to seek professional support. An experienced therapist or life coach can help you determine what’s causing you stress and offer suggestions for how to combat it.
Speak To The Remote HR Consulting Experts
Reach out to the professionals at HR Search & Rescue to learn more about how to control anxiety before work. We’re an independent human resources consulting firm dedicated to helping employees and employers (including HR professionals) throughout Northern Virginia with many types of workplace issues. You can choose to have either a 1-on-1 meeting or a crowd consultation to discuss your workplace challenges. No matter what type of industry or role you work in, our team will work tirelessly to ensure you’re in a safe environment. Call HR Search & Rescue today at (844) 934-3293 or contact us online to request a consultation.