7 tricks to keep a stressful job from taking over your life
Flickr/Yuya Tamai
Holding down a demanding job these days can sometimes make you feel like your back is against the wall.
But when that feeling follows you home and makes you want to punch the wall, that’s a problem.
Work stress has invaded your downtime, threatening to mess with your personal life so you never score that breather everyone needs from the 9-to-5 pressure cooker.
Science backs up the way job anxiety chips away at your well being.
Chronic stress at work that you’re bringing home regularly “does damage — it causes a rise in blood pressure, GI issues and brain cell death over the long haul,” says Gail Saltz, M.D., associate professor of psychiatry at The New York Presbyterian Hospital Weill-Cornell Medical College.
If that doesn’t put job stress in perspective, listen to this: A 2015 Harvard and Stanford study even found that stress related to work is as bad as secondhand smoke exposure, insidiously seeping into your life like bus exhaust. Yikes.
Thinking about due dates and competitive coworkers when you should be chilling out and indulging in activities you love? It’s not what you’ve worked so hard for in your career. These strategies will help you create boundaries so the office can’t invade your brain after hours.
1. Diffuse during your commute
Once you step away from the office, you’re on your own time. And even if your trip home is short, think of it as a transitional period when you don’t panic about deadlines or furiously answer emails that can wait until tomorrow. The expectation in today’s world is to always be available, Saltz says, so you need to create a barrier and ease out of work mode as you’re heading home.
To do this, lose yourself in activities you enjoy that you can do during your commute. Listen to the latest Serial podcast or Beyonce’s Lemonade; catch up on "Inside Amy Schumer" or John Oliver. Or do nada and quietly enjoy the time between your worlds. By the time you pull into your driveway, tomorrow’s meeting will be worlds away.
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2. Sweat it out
SoulCycle, Zumba Step, barre workouts ... whatever exercise you’re into, doing it right after the workday helps you relieve tension accumulated for the last eight hours by prompting the release of calming neurotransmitters and stress-busting endorphins.
Can’t make it to the gym after 5? Don’t sweat it: Regular workouts at any time of the day still have stress-busting powers. That’s because the more fit you are, the better your body is at processing tension and anxiety.
Even 10-to-15-minute bursts of activity randomly during the day are beneficial, says nutritionist Elisa Zied, R.D., author of “Younger Next Week.”
3. Change your scene
“Our physical environment profoundly impacts our psyche,” says Paul Hokemeyer, Ph.D., psychologist and family therapist. Sounds a little woo-woo, but he’s onto something. To erase work stress, “you want to clearly differentiate your various work and home environments,” so home doesn’t look or feel like work and instead is all about relaxation.
Consider this the best reason ever to throw off your work clothes and change into comfy jeans or yoga pants as soon as you walk in the front door. Cook (or heat up) comfort foods like mac and cheese or roast chicken, so the delicious smell redirects your senses. Even lighting a candle with a scent you’ll never sniff in your office, like vanilla or citrus, can make a big difference.
The key is to create an inviting home environment that is nothing like work to help you shift gears, he says.
Related: 9 Realistic Ways to Curb Procrastination, Stress Less and Get More Done
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