To be most productive in your work, you need to be at your best physically, mentally, and emotionally. Your body needs to function at optimum levels for you to deliver.
However, our bodies are always in a constant fight to remain productive. That’s because the mind and body are constantly navigating through the pressures at the workplace and in our personal lives.
Stress and anxiety are normal body responses to everyday situations. Stress is how you respond to a situation while anxiety is the body’s way of preparing for a stressful situation.
These responses are normal for your body to function well. For instance, it is normal to feel anxious when facing an interview or evaluation at work. It’s also normal to feel a measure of stress when there is a difficult task to be accomplished with a looming deadline.
There are however abnormal levels of stress and anxiety that you shouldn’t have to deal with. When your mind is always in a stressed or anxious state, you can’t do much let alone do it well.
Today we’ll see how you can tell when you’re doing too much and when you need to stop and evaluate how much you are taking on and if it’s healthy to keep doing so.
Are You Doing Too Much?
When stress and anxiety control your life, you know you are doing too much.
You can tell if you are stressed by looking out for these symptoms:
- Headaches/Migraine
- Rapid heartbeat
- Stomach upsets
- Tense muscles accompanied by aches and pains
- Change in sleeping habits (insomnia or always feeling sleepy)
- Low energy levels
When you are dealing with anxiety, you will experience almost similar symptoms as mentioned above. You will also notice that:
- You are unduly worried about non-existent threats
- You continue to worry and think about problems even after they’re resolved.
Most times the stress and anxiety you’re dealing with are caused by pressures related to work.
With the symptoms mentioned above, no one can perform to the best of their ability at the workplace. That’s why you need to be able to tell when you are handling too much.
Do You Need Help?
If you notice that you have symptoms of chronic stress or anxiety, you need help.
Your first stop should be at your doctor’s. Your doctor needs to figure out what exactly your problem is. This is important because if you misdiagnose your condition, you may be treating the wrong condition.
Based on what the doctor tells you, you may need therapy or medication to deal with your situation and to get you back to your productive self. This is important.
Some of the time however the doctor may suggest that you reduce how much work you’re taking on or that you take a break from work. That can help you reset.
If the doctor suggests that you need to reduce work or to take a break, are you doomed to failure? Not at all. It is better to take the needed break rather than keep hurting yourself.
Can You Delegate?
You may discover that you need to lighten your load a little. If that’s the case, find a way to delegate work that doesn’t have to be done by you. Focus only on what you can handle and you’ll see your productivity go up.
If you are a sole entrepreneur, you may be wondering if it’s still possible to delegate. The answer is yes, it is. You can easily find freelancers to delegate to.
People like J Infinite Notions offer business assistance services at affordable prices. You can contact them for help with your recurring office tasks or one-time task.
What If You Need a Break?
What if a break from work is what you need to reset?
It is difficult to work productively when dealing with chronic stress, anxiety, or fatigue. You’ll find yourself procrastinating or delivering poor-quality services. This is dangerous for your business.
If you need a break, take the break. It’s possible to reduce your responsibilities to a minimum and then have virtual assistants take care of what can’t be put on hold.
You are wise to take the break—which doesn’t have to be too long —then pay for it with the loss of clients due to poor services. You can use the time off for self-care and rejuvenation.
Get Organized
Most of the time we lead ourselves down the path of stress and anxiety because we have no idea what we are doing. We have set goals we want to reach but we have no clear plan on how to achieve these goals.
At such times, you may need the help of a professional coach to clear things up. Sabrena Sharonne offers inspirational coaching to help you unleash your personal power and achieve your dreams.
Get Your Life Back
Don’t let stress and anxiety hold you back from being the best version of yourself. Now you can discover the symptoms early and get the help you need
If you need to talk to a personal coach, ask Sabrena to help you. You’ll be glad you did as you see your productivity go up and up.
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