Stress is usually caused by the desperate feeling of things getting out of control, a situation quite common in the rapidly and constantly advancing VoIP industry.
Whether you are a VoIP engineer or business developer, sales or technical support representative, stress can catch up with you in any position or situation. Pressure to meet a deadline or complete a challenging task, or to always be on your peak performance level can lead to unbearable tension. According to the American Institute of Stress, 8 out of 10 Americans experience stress at work, and 1 out of 5 workers have even quit their jobs due to workplace stress.
While small doses of stress can help achieve breakthroughs, accelerate personal and company growth, and even increase motivation, excess stress can affect one’s ability to concentrate, diminish confidence and cause fatigue. In addition, stress can manifest itself in physical symptoms, such as headaches, increased blood pressure, chest pains and may even lead to drug and alcohol abuse, anxiety and depression.
The key is to learn manage your stress, so that it does not become overwhelming. Easier said than done? Well, voip.reveiw is here to provide some tips that should help to minimize and even relieve stress.
Scheduling
There are few things more helpful than referencing a “to do” list to start your busy day at work. As a VoIP professional, you probably have quite a few projects or tasks on your mind and, unless you are well organized, this can be overwhelming. Scheduling your day helps maintain efficiency and accomplish more goals. And having a plan will make you feel secure and relatively stress free.
A few things to remember when planning for your day:
- Do not forget to include breaks. A number of studies have shown that productivity drops drastically and stress levels increase if you do not take a break after an hour of intensive brain work. After all, we aren’t robots.
- Prioritize your tasks. Identify the tasks with top priority, and list items that can be tackled later on and work that can be delegated. Take on important matters first thing in the morning, and leave the meetings, calls, emails and other less demanding tasks for the afternoon.
- Set boundaries between work and play. Working late after business hours can become a bad habit that drains your productivity and has negative effect on your personal life. Similarly, taking too many breaks and engaging in excessive social chat at work can weaken your performance.
- Allow some time in your schedule for distractions and for handling unexpected priorities. These events are often out of our control, and can be serious stressors. You will feel better and safer if you reserve some of your time for “just in case” situations. If you are lucky to avoid these “emergencies”, you will even have some time to spare.
- In the end, if everything does not go according to your schedule, do not worry. We all have bad days, but it is important to remember that you should start the next day with a positive attitude.
Eating healthy
A healthy diet and exercise can be the answer to many issues negatively affecting your well-being. In stressful situations, we often turn to unhealthy foods for comfort, due to the release of the hormone cortisol. This hormone causes us to crave salty or sweet food that is full or carbs. Consuming these foods makes us feel better, albeit temporarily. If you know that you are a “stress eater”, make sure to have healthy snacks at hand for when you need to feel better, such as fruits, berries, nuts or dark chocolate. Also, select healthier options during lunch – get your complex carbs from whole wheat products, fiber from vegetables and fruits, and lean proteins from chicken or fish.
Staying active
Most VoIP professionals have desk jobs and rarely do any physical work during their day. That is why exercising is one of the top bits of advice that most health specialist provide when these employees complain about tension or even low-level depression.
During exercise, your brain releases the mood-raising hormone endorphine, which takes your mind off stressful situations. Regular exercise may reduce anxiety and stress, can have a positive impact on your physical well-being, and boost your energy levels. Even if you are not keen on spending time in the gym or joining active cardio sessions with aerobic-type exercise, try walking instead of driving to and from work, and explore other sports activities that might turn into a hobby, like swimming, tennis or even dancing.
Sleeping enough
A good night’s sleep can help you to see things in different and often positive perspectives. The things you were stressing about all evening after work might even become meaningless or easily solvable when you wake up in the morning. If you are not getting enough rest at night, your body and brain does not have time to rejuvenate, and you will start your day at a low point that can only lead to more tension and inefficiency.
While the required sleeping time varies from person to person, on average a healthy adult needs 8 hours of sleep every night to be alert and productive the next day. It might seem difficult to fit this much sleep into your busy timetable, but try sticking to a strict schedule, don’t disrupt your routine by sleeping too much on weekends, and avoid looking at bright screens at least 1 hour before sleep if you want to fall asleep easily.
Breathing deeply
While often underrated, breathing deeply can be a powerful tool to alleviate stress. Try closing your eyes, breathing in deeply, and then slowly exhaling all the air. You should feel an instant, relaxing change in your body.
Including breathing exercises in your daily routine can have positive effects on your mood and performance. More specifically, while in an already stressful situation, this discipline can help clear your head and therefore find solutions to the problems at hand. There are a variety of breathing techniques to choose from, depending on the required result. These include breathing that will help you fall asleep, as well as techniques that can boost your energy levels, even replacing your coffee fix. In this modern day and age, people can even download breathing apps onto their mobile devices to help keep up this routine and explore different ways of breathing.
Forming positive relationships
Remember how easy it was to run to your parents whenever something bad happened to you as a kid? Forming positive relationships with your colleagues and finding people you can trust may just be what you need in order to get all of those stressful thoughts off your chest. You will be surprised how often a solution can be found when sharing a problem with a person who understands your workplace situation. And if your colleagues are unable to help, seek support from your family and friends outside work. Often, these people can view things from a different perspective and are able to provide useful advice. Sometimes, just finding someone who can just listen to you voice your concerns and issues can help alleviate stress.
Identifying stressors
In order to eliminate stress from your work day, you must first identify the source of all this tension. Try to track and monitor the situations that cause you the most stress, and take careful notice of how you react to these problems. You might find a better way to deal with difficult situations, such as taking a walk instead of shouting at someone, or performing a breathing exercise instead of depending on a cigarette. Or you might find a way to eliminate some stressors altogether. For example, if you notice that constant interruptions cause you stress, let your colleagues know when you are busy and when you are available for conversations. In this way, you will be the one to control and minimize the potential stress-causing situation.
Maintaining a positive attitude
A positive attitude is critical in conquering your day in a successful manner. Finding at least one positive thing about a highly negative and stressful situation can help you get through that hardship and move on. Remember not to be overly critical of yourself, especially when it comes to the little things and setbacks that are insignificant in the grand scheme of life.
If you make positive thinking a habit, you will notice how much more you can achieve every day, you will build your confidence, and will be more successful in future endeavors. Moreover, your positivity will very likely spread to others in the workplace, and your colleagues will benefit from your attitude, making a significant contribution to the atmosphere and success of the enterprise.
While it might not be possible to eliminate work stress completely, it is important that you make a concerted attempt to reduce that stress to a healthy and manageable minimal level.
We hope that these voip.review guidelines for taking control over stress help you to become the efficient, productive, determined and stress-free VoIP professional that you have the potential to be.
