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Once in the middle of busy season in Public Accounting, I went to work wearing two different shoes. It’s not even that I could have gotten confused because they looked alike, or had the same shape, or I had any alcoholic beverage before going to work (which by the way is a serious no-no). The explanation was simple, I was exhausted, stressed, and on the brink of losing my sanity.
Staying sane at work is important. Work will drive you crazy at times, maybe even most of the time, what with unfair office politics, competitive co-workers, rude colleagues and general professional annoyances on the daily. And you may very well be caught wearing different shoes, or applying make-up on just half of your face, unless you consciously decide not to lose, and leave, your mind at work:
1. Keep your cool! The average person faces at least 30 crisis a day, most of them occurring in their workplace. That should give you enough perspective to keep your cool. Crisis is part of work, and the first rule to address it is to stay calm. So take a bathroom break, inhale deeply, close your eyes, do whatever you need to keep calm in the face of stressful situations at work!
2. Get out of your head! I’m a creative person, so I’m really good at making up stuff in my head. When stressful situations come up, I already have a demonic plot filled with imaginary scapegoats and traps all ready in my busy brain. The result: more stress, an increased bad mood, and the inevitable chocolate day-long binge. My advice: get out of your head, and look at the facts straight in the eye instead of worsening it all in your head. And oh, lay off the chocolate too…
3. Tune the drama out! My husband has this mental tuning-out technique he applies whenever I start going into “freaking out” mode. It’s so effective I don’t even realize he doesn’t hear a word of my ranting, and comes out of the whole episode totally unscathed and sane. Create your own mental tuning-out technique at work. Whether it’s the latest earphones, a no-fail excuse every time your gossiping co-worker starts talking, or the perfect response to your insulting colleague, keep doing whatever you can to tune out the drama.
4. Laugh it off! Nothing like a good, hearty laugh to lighten up the mood. Watch an episode of The Office, picture your manager with two heads and bulging eyes, whatever you need to do, but just have a giggle!
5. Leave work…at work! Do your best to solve issues and remediate unsolved differences at work while you’re…at work! Don’t trail any negative professional baggage home. Scientists agree picturing a closed door when you leave the office helps you find closure at the end of the day. So close that door, let it go, life goes on…
How do you preserve your sanity at work?
The Corporate Sis.
