Do you spend more time at work than you do at home?
Stress Management
Pressures at work or home can increase your stress level and lead to muscle tension and tightness, which can impact your effectiveness at work and your quality of life
Techniques for reducing muscle tension due to stress
Squinting eyes, hunched shoulders, tight jaw and back pain, can all be symptoms of stress. Here is some expert advice on how you can relieve the tension:
Technique #1: Clenched jaw or grinding teeth
Open your mouth as wide as you can, stretching your jaw muscles, pause, and close. Repeat 3 times, and then relax your jaw towards the ground
Technique #2: Squinting eyes
Focus on an object in the distance for 10 seconds while relaxing all facial muscles.
Technique #3: Hunched shoulders
Raise your shoulders toward your ears, pause, and then roll your shoulders back and down towards the ground. Repeat 3 times.
Technique #4: Furrowed forehead
Relax all facial muscles, close your eyes, and imagine your face melting towards the ground
Expert advice for maintaining the balance between work and home
Advice #1: Protect your day off
Try to schedule some of your routine chores on workdays so that your days off are more relaxing. For example: doing one load of laundry a day, rather than saving it all up for your day off, gives you more time to do the things you enjoy on your day off
Advice #2: Keep a log
Track everything you do for one week, including work-related and non-work related activities. After you see your patterns, decide where to make adjustments, such as cutting or delegating activities you don't enjoy, or which aren't priorities.
Advice #3: Communicate clearly
Eliminate time-consuming and frustrating misunderstandings by communicating clearly. Ask questions, take notes, write lists, etc., to keep yourself organized. It will save you time in the long-run.
Advice #4: Nurture yourself
Set aside some time each day for an activity you enjoy, such as reading, listening to music, or practicing a favourite sport or hobby. This will help you to relax after a hectic day.
Advice #5: Get enough sleep
There's nothing as stressful and potentially dangerous as working when you are sleep deprived. Not only is your productivity affected, but you can also make costly mistakes. You may then have to work even more hours to make up for these mistakes.
