Whether you’re running your own business or working for someone else, tiredness can be a problem. A work load that’s too big, emails and messages to attend to out of office hours or a long commute can all lead to stress and tiredness. So what steps can you take to make life better?
These tips are all pretty obvious but by reminding you of them, I hope you’ll be able to adjust your lifestyle a little and make life easier for yourself.
- Try to get enough sleep. You can’t expect to feel alert at work if you’re up till 2.00am – whether it’s socialising or writing reports that you didn’t manage to get done in the office. No two people need the same amount of sleep so try to decide what works for you and then aim to get this on a regular basis. Try to get into a routine and also avoid checking your phone, tablet or any other electronic device in the hour running up to when you want to sleep. Many people find a hot bath relaxing – personally, I find half an hour reading a good book (fiction or non-fiction) is the best way to calm down and drift off to sleep.
- Eat a healthy diet – plenty of nuts, vegetables, pulses, oily fish and eggs. Avoid having a big, carb-rich lunch as this makes most people feel drowsy. If you love coffee, don’t deprive yourself completely. But avoid being hooked on caffeine as a way of staying awake. You need to be hydrated if your brain is to function properly so drink lots (and I mean lots) of water.
- Make sure you get enough exercise. I know that if you feel tired and overwhelmed with work, the last thing on your mind is taking time out and using energy to exercise. But it really does help. Going to the gym or jogging may not be your cup of tea but simply getting up from your desk and going for a brisk 10-minute stroll at lunchtime can work wonders and make you feel far more ready to get on with the afternoon’s work.
- If you feel overwhelmed by the amount of work you’ve got to get through then merely thinking about this can make you tired. So, plan your time better. Are you doing jobs you don’t really need to do – could you delegate them? Is your desk messy? Are you wasting time trying to find things under piles of paper? By working more effectively, could you fit more into your day, but with less stress? If you think this might be the case, then why not consider our Effective Time Management Course? It’s really practical and everyone I know who has studied it says that they found it really useful.
- Another thing that will make you feel tired and stressed is if you don’t quite feel on top of some of the jobs you need to do. If you work in an office, you might not be confident about writing reports or letters to clients. If you work for yourself, you might be unsure about organising the marketing of your products or services. If this is the case, make sure that you get the training you need. It may add a little to your burden now, but in the long run it will make your work less time consuming and you’ll find it easier to tackle everything that you need to do.
I hope you find these tips useful. They’re not going to solve your problem overnight, but if you take them on board and try to incorporate some of them into your working life then I’m pretty sure you’ll feel more relaxed and less stressed in a few months’ time.
Author: Diana Nadin
