Don’t let work stress keep you up at night

Work stress is inevitable, but it doesn’t have to get in the way of a good night’s sleep. Try these strategies during the day to avoid worrying about work at all hours of the night. Make a to-do list. The act of writing down uncompleted tasks allows you to put them out of your mind. You also might consider keeping a journal, where you write down your thoughts and feelings. Putting pen to paper can help you process emotions and reduce anxiety. Get some exercise. Physical activity — even a single instance — decreases rumination, which is often linked to insomnia. Or practice meditation. Researchers in the Netherlands found that even small amounts of mindful meditation (10 minutes before and after work for two weeks) helped calm racing minds and improved sleep quality and duration. Lastly, be easy on yourself. Self-compassion can often break the cycle of negative thoughts that keeps you up. Work stress may be inevitable at times, but these strategies can increase your ability to wake up feeling refreshed and able to tackle your biggest challenges.

(This tip is adapted from “How to Stop Thinking About Work at 3 a.m.,” by Rebecca Zucker.)

Inspire your team during a crunchtime

Sometimes work gets intense. Whether it’s a seasonal rush or a project with a tight deadline, it can be hard to keep people focused and motivated when they’re overloaded. What’s the best way to rally the troops? For starters, check your own emotional energy. You’ll be hard pressed to lead your team if you’re feeling beleaguered or stressed yourself. Take the time to reflect on why the work matters. Why is it relevant to your organization’s goals or mission? And who will benefit from the hard work of you and your team? Then, convey that message to your staff to inspire excitement and enthusiasm. Acknowledge that success will require hard work and perhaps some sacrifices, but express confidence that the team will prevail, and assure everyone that you’re all in it together. Finally, remember that incentives are your friend, and they should be deployed throughout the project, not just at the end. Identify milestones and find ways to reward your team’s hard work: a Friday afternoon off, perhaps, or an office ice cream party. Moments of celebration foster camaraderie and create sustained engagement.

(This tip is adapted from “How to Motivate Your Team During Crunchtime,” by Rebecca Knight.)

How to stop constantly checking your phone

It can be hard to focus with all that beeping and buzzing from your phone. Fortunately, there are simple ways to reduce distractions. Start by turning off push notifications. If that doesn’t help, use airplane mode to limit interruptions when you’re trying to focus. If the idea of being out of touch gives you anxiety, you can always make exceptions for specific numbers, such as those of loved ones or important business colleagues. Try to check email, instant messages, social media and text messages in batches, rather than sporadically throughout the day. “Just quickly checking” anything, even for one-tenth of a second, can add up to major productivity losses — it can take an average of 23 minutes to get back in the zone after task switching. It’s OK to not respond immediately to a message. Aside from the benefit of giving you more uninterrupted focus time, delaying can lead to better decision-making by giving you more time to think about your response.

(This tip is adapted from “10 Quick Tips for Avoiding Distractions at Work,” by Steve Glaveski.)

Kick your distractions to the curb — for good

Dealing with endless distractions at work can be exhausting and make you feel like you never get anything done. To avoid burnout — and to accomplish thoughtful, important work — you need to combat interruptions, especially ones you’re creating yourself, such as checking your email every five minutes. Pay attention to how often and why you’re allowing your attention to be stolen. Make a note every time you find yourself switching away from a task before your intended stopping point. Then think about what caused you to be distracted and jot that down, too. Once you become aware of these cues, find ways to overcome them. Record these ideas, then look for opportunities to try them out. Keep a record of which ones were successful and which weren’t. Over time, you’ll end up with a list of tactics that will help keep you focused and give you a greater sense of accomplishment.

(This tip is adapted from “How to Overcome Your (Checks Email) Distraction Habit,” by Maura Thomas.)

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, January 27th, 2020