As part of your job in the IT industry, there will no doubt be times that you will get annoyed and stressed. Learn how to keep calm at work with some tips in this article.
1. Take a Deep Breath
When I’m not feeling calm at work, the first thing I do is stop and take a big, deep breath. It makes me stop what I’m doing for a few seconds and focus just on the breath that I’m taking.
It always makes me feel better, especially when I’m annoyed about something.
So, next time you’re feeling stressed, annoyed, or irritated about something at work, try this.
- Stop what you’re dong.
- Take one big deep breath in.
- Breathe it all out.
- Resume what you were doing.
That whole process only takes about ten seconds. But, it allows you to re-focus on what you’re doing and can have a calming effect on you.
2. Remember the Bigger Picture
Another tip that I can suggest to keep calm at work is to remember the bigger picture of why you’re there.
If you’re getting annoyed at someone else or having a disagreement with them over the way a certain feature should be developed for your project, for example, then one thing you can do is to try think of the bigger picture.
What’s the overall plan for what you’re doing? What are you both trying to achieve?
If you have different ideas on how something should be done, for example, you could be disagreeing over how it’s being done. Think about why you’re both there, on the project.
Are you trying to add a new feature to make the customers’ lives easier? Are you trying to improve an internal system? Make a new system from scratch?
If you can see what you’re both trying to do at a high level, and see things from the other person’s point of view, it can help you keep calm at work.
3. Get Away From Your Desk
Another tip I can suggest is to get away form your desk if you want to calm down.
You can try go for a walk outside. Get out of the office and get some fresh air. Walk around the block, down to th ecar park, to the coffee shop – anything to get outside and get some fresh air.
The exercise, the fresh air, and taking a break from your work all contribute to helping you keep calm at work. It can also give you more energy.
If you can’t walk outside for whatever reason, if it’s pouring with rain for example, then take a walk to the kitchen or somewhere else inside.
You can go get a coffee or a glass of water or something. This can help you feel better at work and also gets you away from the desk.
In any case, when you return to what you were doing, you should feel a little calmer and a little better.
4. Vent To A Friend
We can do all of the breathing and walking outside that we want, but sometimes, it just isn’t enough.
I mean, most of the time it works for me, but there’s been a few times over the years where I’ve felt really annoyed.
If you feel the same way, then speak to a friend of yours about it and tell them the story.
You can speak to your partner, a friend outside work, a family member, or someone in your team, depending on the issue.
Sometimes it can really help if you just get it off your shoulders and just express the way you’re feeling to someone.
It’s not something I suggest doing all of the time, but it can help sometimes if you really just can’t focus on your work and whatever the issue is has really thrown you off your game.