Your job can be a source of harmful stress.  It is not uncommon for this to happen over time.  And yet, you may need your job for now!  It may have been enjoyable once but has gotten much more stressful.  Or, maybe, it’s a means to get to your real purpose. 

Regardless, here are 3 ways to help you fight stress on the job right now so you stay healthy and happy:

1. Take a look at your physical surroundings.  Is there a noise that is causing you to be nervous?  Is the lighting too bright or too dim?  Is your chair causing you to slump over your work?  Do you do repetitive work?  All of these things are important contributors to stress on the job.  But there are things you can do about them.  Don’t just try to consciously ignore them because subconsciously, your body is still suffering!  Alter lighting in your work area.  Try out different chairs or just consciously adjust your posture until it becomes a habit to sit up straight.  Put a little cotton in your ears to muffle out distracting sound, or try using headphones with soft music or noise canceling.  If you do a job that requires a lot of repetitive movement, take short breaks where you stretch your body and keep the blood flowing.  Or, do things like re-positioning a keyboard or your chair slightly every 30 minutes.
   
2. Look at how you do your work.  Do you try to do several things at once?  Whenever you can, it is best to complete one task before beginning another.  There will be interruptions, of course, but you can return to the job until you complete it.  Also, try doing unpleasant things first.  That way, you always end on a positive, less stressful note.  And set reasonable goals for the day.  “Reasonable” is the key here!  There are few things that can cause as much ongoing stress as the feeling that you “never get anything done.”
   
3. Look at what you eat, drink, and breathe.  Unfortunately, we often get in the habit of eating and drinking things at work that cause our bodies to be stressed.  Snacks in break rooms, fast food, and sweets are all things that artificially stimulate your body, putting stress on your nervous system.  Most of these things contain more protein and sugar than your body needs.  Avoid hamburgers, lunchmeat, bread, peanuts, potato chips and sweets.  And it’s also important to limit coffee, tea, and soft drinks.  Replace them, instead, with water.  Because, your body is mostly water and needs water to maintain its proper balance, particularly blood sugar balance.  Try putting a glass of water on your desk instead of that cup of coffee.  Once you get used to it, you will feel much better and avoid the depression that coffee can cause.

Link to Morter March Monday Rebroadcast: