Office Stress Management Tips

It's fascinating to read what annoys people in the office but really not that surprising.  It can be difficult when you're busy and under pressure to find the patience to deal with the quirky habits and behaviour of other people.  

LinkedIn recently compiled a survey of the most common 'Office Annoyances' around the world. You can read the results in this link:

WORKPLACE PET PEEVES

Here are 3 top tips to help you manage stress in the office and stay calm throughout the day.

1. Remember the stress response is natural.  In the old days we dealt with it by fighting or fleeing, both of which can be difficult in the office. 

The next best thing is to channel your stress into positive activity - step out of the situation and immerse yourself in a demanding project or take a short break for some physical movement.  You'll instantly feel much calmer

2. Don't aggravate stressful situations by putting your body under additional physical stress.  Limit your intake of caffeine and sugary snacks and you'll feel in a much better position to handle whatever your day throws at you, including annoying co-workers.

3. Develop a mantra that helps you put things in perspective.  A complaining colleague may be annoying at times but can be used to your advantage. 
Instead of getting frustrated at them complaining, reassure yourself that while they're moaning, you can get busy achieving success and pushing your career to new heights.

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Top Wellbeing Tips for September (Part 3)

3) Be honest with yourself

Ask yourself what has prevented you in the past from achieving all the results you say you’d like with your health and wellbeing. It could be time, work, family commitments or a busy social life.

Now come up with three suggestions for working around each of your reasons for not achieving success. If you are really, truly committed to achieving your goals, creating options to work around your barriers and then getting on with doing so should be an easy process.

If you’re struggling to find solutions, you may need to have another think about how much you really want the objectives you say you want.

If your wellbeing objectives aren’t that important to you, make a note to revisit them in 4-weeks. If they are a top priority, start taking action right now.

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Motivation, Accountability & Fantastic Wellness Results

This morning I delivered a presentation to a group I haven't seen for 8-weeks. Since we met last, every single one of them has made positive changes to either their exercise routine, their diet, or their approach to rest, recovery and work-life balance.

And they've had some amazing results including completing a marathon, losing up to 18 pounds, experiencing more energy and feeling calmer and more productive.

They all agreed that knowing we were meeting today focused their mind over the last few weeks and kept them on track with doing the right thing.

So, I'm thinking a lot about motivation and accountability and how to guarantee great results with wellness.

The simplest way to achieve this through your wellness programme is to follow 3 easy steps:

1. Organise a selection of initiatives to raise awareness of successful wellness strategies. These can be health awareness events, presentations, workshops or lunch & learn sessions.

2. Provide the resources necessary for people to act quickly and consistently on their chosen wellness priorities. This includes access to information, experts, healthy food and a supportive business environment

3. Provide time-frames and make it clear when everyone will have the opportunity to report back on the progress they have made. Those taking part will immediately begin thinking about the results they'd like to achieve and the appropriate action to achieve these results will soon follow.

Given a fixed time-frame, individuals will achieve some amazing wellness changes which will boost energy and productivity throughout the business and enhance the reputation of your wellness programme.

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5 tips for increasing staff results with wellness

Yesterday we highlighted the top 5 ways in which any organisation can instantly improve staff engagement with wellness programmes.

Today we list the top 5 behaviour changes that individuals taking part in wellness programmes can make for instant and lasting results with their health, wellbeing and energy. The idea being that, if you're in charge of a wellness programme, these are key strategies and decisions that your initiatives will lead staff towards. Simple, healthy solutions to help staff climb any mountain...

Individual wellness strategies: instant action, lasting results

1. Change your attitude

Your wellbeing success is dependent on how seriously you value yourself. From this moment onwards, your wellbeing needs to be a top priority. Living a healthy life should not be an added bonus in your routine, it should be the bedrock of success in all other areas.

2. Make sure the timing is right

If you sense some hesitation around putting your wellbeing first, ask yourself what's stopping you, and then systematically remove or reframe each of these obstacles. For example, if you think you're too busy to be healthy, consider the long term implications of continuing your current routines. This will provide the motivation for instant action.

3. Make a list of the biggest personal incentives for living a healthy life

If you don't have plenty of good reasons to do the right thing, you'll come up with hundreds of good reasons (i.e. excuses) to do the wrong thing, and then you'll rationalise these behaviours. Be clear on what good wellness will provide you with including energy, focus, personal effectiveness, positive mood, confidence and a sense of achievement. What else can you add to this list? A long list of benefits will overcome any excuses or procrastination.

4. Change your behaviour

Start with the simple things. Get hydrated, eat regularly, watch your portion sized, get active today and protect your down time. One simple step at a time will lead to dramatic results. Simple steps will generate progress which will in turn generate further motivation.

5. Set yourself up for success

Decide on some healthy living objectives and some deadlines to meet these targets. Enter some events, team up with some colleagues to eat healthily, set some parameters around your relaxation time and decide what you'll do with this time. Whatever resources you feel have been lacking for wellness success in the past - gather them around you now and use them to keep you on track.

Remember, whether you're designing programmes that help others with wellbeing, or you're thinking aobut your own health, energy and performance, take action today for great results tomorrow.

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3 Ways to Stop Falling Asleep at Work

How did you sleep last night? Badly, tossing and turning and mulling over the state of your bank balance? Well, according to a new report, 75% of workers aren't getting enough sleep and bringing their tiredness to work with them the next day. They blame it on the Credit Crunch - the most depressing and overused term of the last year or so. But worrying about money (or lack of) and the cost of commuting which is now even more expensive thanks to fuel prices and job security can feel very real at 2 in the morning.

So what can you do to stay awake and alert in the office after a rubbish nights sleep?

Sleep is so important to every organisation whether they acknowledge it or not. Your workforce is only as productive as the quality of their sleep. We work with a few organisations who are on top of this - usually because they have a lot of shift work which disrupts even the best of sleep patterns. We help them by showing their staff how to manage their state of mind and be able to relax when they need to. We spend a lot of time helping them understand how to focus and be effective when they're busy and then also how unwind and still the mind when they need to focus or recharge their batteries. 

Here are 3 key themes we teach:

1) Breathing and stretching techniques to invigorate the body and sharpen the mind for the day ahead.

2) State management strategies to help busy workers move between a variety of daily tasks without losing focus

3) Relaxation techniques to clear and refresh the mind during the day and aid quality sleep at night

What do you do to help yourself focus when you're tired and relax when you need to?

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