How do you deal with stress when everything is on fire at work?

1. Take breaks

If you know in advance when the “hot time” will come at work, plan a short vacation before and after the emergency. A couple of days off will help you prepare for the upcoming difficulties and allow you to start work fresh and rested, put your thoughts in order. Well, after the holidays they will allow you to relax and recharge. Coping with an intense work load will be much easier if you give yourself the opportunity to prepare and recover from it.

And do not forget about breaks during the working day. Sometimes even a five-minute walk clears the mind. And never eat lunch at your desk! Use lunch time to recharge before the second half of the working day. Get out of the office, walk down the street, don’t sit in a chair all day.

2. Simplify your life

The last thing you need to think about during a rush job is a mountain of laundry or a broken TV that needs to be taken to a service center. Try to fully concentrate on work, do not be distracted by household trifles. If possible, find someone to help you sort out current affairs. Ask a partner to do the laundry, and a friend to take the appliance to repair. Put aside other important things for a while, try to spend less time on your smartphone and laptop, turn off gadgets when you come home.

3. Move

But all of the above does not mean at all that you should give up the sport. On the contrary, regular exercise will help you cope with stress and increase your productivity at work. Even if you don’t go to the gym, try cycling or walking to work, skip the elevator, and take a walk during your lunch break.

4. Take care of your body

Don’t forget about health too. Only eight hours of sleep (no matter how unattainable it may seem in difficult times) will allow you to fully relax and prepare for a new working day. Plus, it protects against burnout. In addition, try to make your diet as useful and healthy as possible. Less sweets: They will spike your blood sugar and make you feel depressed. Fruits and nuts will help recharge.

5. Respect your regime

Some people are most productive in the morning, while others only do it late in the evening. Respect your abilities and try to move the implementation of the main and most difficult tasks to this time. Working during «unproductive» times will make you nervous and there will be no result.

6. Take time for yourself

Even if it will be a ten-minute break — arrange it during the day. Switch, do a couple of asanas, stretch … There are many ways to shake things up and get back to work with renewed vigor.

7. Don’t Recycle

Recycling does not mean achieving more. After a 56-hour work week, your productivity begins to decline. There is no difference between a 56-hour and a 70-hour work week: by working 70 hours, we simply «burn» the hours of our lives, we waste them. Whatever the emergency, try not to stay up late at work. Ultimately, it is not the number of hours that you sit in front of the computer that matters, but the quantity (quality) of the work done.

8. Analyze

After the emergency, take 15 minutes to remember and analyze everything that happened to you during the “difficult times”. When did you feel good? When were you most stressed? How can you fix it? Constant work on the mistakes will help you to successfully cope with subsequent tasks.