Managing stress can make you better at your job and even prevent potential risk from being over-worked or under-prepared. Here are a few tips on how to manage stress and finally balance those scales for both yourself and, potentially, your employees.

Explore Company Culture

While you can’t go back and do this once employed, it is a good thing to keep in mind in your current job and any possible future employment. Being intentional about understanding job expectations and realities before you accept a position can be a big preventative step for stress management. What does over-time look like? Does your employer have policies in place for work-life boundaries? Communicating with your employer, and in turn to any of your employees, about what is required and expected of them will help everything run smoother. This can be done within your current job as well. Learning more about your company culture may open opportunities to adjust. You only want to be at a place that fits your needs and abilities. Employers want the same.
Know Yourself

Use Technology to Your Advantage

Technology has made the separation between work and life nearly impossible, but there are a few ways it can be helpful. Maximize your productivity with apps like Evernote or Slack and know what is for work and what if for personal. If you get more done during the day, you will be less stressed about the growing to-do list. Also create email productivity protocols. Defining when your check your email can stop your day from getting bogged down by replies. For both on-site and office work, technology can make your day easier and more manageable.

Prioritize, Prioritize, Prioritize

Stress management is about choices and knowing yourself. When you get to the office or on-site and the emails have piled up or the job list is getting long, you must be able to decide how your day is going to look. Know when you are the most productive and save the most difficult or creative tasks for that time. Don’t let incoming problems change your priority list unless it is an emergency or urgent. Not following a plan can lead to overwhelming build-up of responsibilities. There will always be something come in over the walkie-talkie but knowing where it fits in your schedule or who you can delegate it to can make it much more manageable.

Sources: Cynthia Mills, Owner and Founder of The Leader’s Haven