Unless your job consists of testing the potency of medical marijuana, work stress probably plays a factor in your life from time to time.
Here are five quick-fix ways to get rid of stress that won’t cost a dime:
- Organize your workspace. When work starts piling up around you, it can literally affect your ability to get anything done. Quick fix: Catalogue the clutter around you by cleaning your physical work area, organizing old messages and memos, creating folders for various projects, getting rid of junk, etc. Once your area looks neater, you’ll be surprised at how fast you feel in control — and less stressed.
- Chair exercises (seriously). While it may sound silly, chair exercises have been proven to increase blood flow and lower stress levels. There’s no need to roll out a yoga mat, simple leg raises or neck rolls will do the trick.
Added bonus: Wrist exercises will not only combat stress, they can also help prevent carpal tunnel problems. - Five-minute at-your-desk breaks. Can’t seem to focus on work no matter what you do? Take a quick break — around five minutes — to play a computer game like solitaire or hearts. The mindless clicking can actually help to sooth and relax frazzled nerves, so you can think more clearly afterward.
- Pray/Meditate. We’re not suggesting the facing East or down-on-the-knees supplication that the term “pray” conjures up. But there’s plenty of research that suggests short, silent prayers by the spiritually inclined greatly reduces stress.
For everyone else? Meditation and deep-breathing produces many of the same effects as prayer. - Chocolate. You read that right. Small amounts of this delectable treat actually release feel-good chemicals in the brain. Keeping a small stash of your favorite chocolate can help during high-stress moments.
Caveat: Like everything else the key to this stress reliever is moderation. Too much chocolate can cause huge spikes in sugar levels — leaving you even more irritable than before the fix.
