Pervin Malhotra, a career counsellor with 25 years of experience, offers valuable insights into maintaining a work-life stress free balance. Her views:
Work stress these days is extremely common. We have heard many stories in the media and on social media platforms about many bright employees giving up on their career due to burnouts. Many of them opt out midway into their promising career graph because they are unable to cope with the pressure.
Well, if there is a problem, there must also be a solution. If there is work-related pressure, then there is a combination of strategies which can help mitigate, and even eliminate, this niggling problem. To start with, when you are given some project or targets in office, learn to prioritise it. Make a list of how to go about it. Try and complete the 20 percent work first and then tackle the rest of it. Be constantly aware that you should not be pulled up for deliverables. The primary tasks need to be finished first and delivered.
Then, hierarchy matters. You must know that delegating work will distribute it in the right manner and will also make it to the deadline. Distribute work to those it can be assigned to. Hand key tasks first. Prioritise them.
Time management is important. Breakdown tasks into slots. Finish all heavy work like research etc first and then get into the nitty gritty of the remaining work. This is called batch processing.
Use the Pareto principle. It applies where lot of tasks are seeking your attention at the same time. Here, the 80/20 rule is significant to determine what action will deliver the best benefits. It is a creative way of looking at your course of action and helps you organize your thoughts.
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The Pomodoro Technique is mandatory. It is a method to manage your time where you take a five-minute break after focussed 25-minute work. But you have to be careful to not take a longer break than five minutes because then it will affect your chain of thoughts that might break or be lost. In those five minutes there is a lot you can do – have water, listen to music, get refreshed, chit-chat, say hello to colleagues, use the washroom, have a quick bite. It is a great way to improve your focus, cut out the distractions and prevent burnout.
These days lot of people work from home and end up working endlessly. Their time boundaries go for a toss. You need to create clearly defined boundaries in such a scenario especially with relation to time. Have set work timings, eat on time, be mindful of working from home. Just because you are working from home doesn’t mean you can keep working day and night and not have time for yourself, family or anything else.
Do breathing exercises. These eliminate stress in a big way. Do chair yoga. Stretch. Do pranayama. Keep it simple but move.
If it gets too toxic at your workplace, speak. Talk to your boss. Your colleagues. Communicate. Put forth your problem. Know your capability and say you can’t cope. It’s not the end of the world. Know that life is tough. Challenge yourself but don’t push beyond endurance. Each of us has a different physical and mental tolerance threshold. Physical exercise is a must. Try on the spot jogging. Your metabolism needs to be strong. Be careful of your diet.
Stay organised. Your desk must not be cluttered. Clear it at the end of each work day. Helps to keep your mind clear too. Clear your inbox. Declutter. If stress at work becomes overwhelming, seek help. Talk to parents, friends, therapists. Seek help from Helplines.
Stay positive. Learn to say NO. Leverage technology. And celebrate. Celebrate every small completed task, every deadline reached. In a large organisation, try and have a mentor. Get informal advice. He has been there longer than you. You will learn to tackle work and people from such a person.
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As told to Deepa Gupta