You might be well into your working year, or just starting back afresh after summer holidays with the family.
Possibly you might have slid into the end of 2019, a bit burnt out and tired and now that a new year is upon us you might be looking to make some internal changes this year to make your work life more balanced.
One of the things that a lot of us can get caught up in from time to time is sweating the small, somewhat insignificant things in the workplace that we tend to dwell on and overthink. And this year you might be looking to throw away the worry and try and not sweat the small stuff.
But how do we let go of those things and how do we try to find some internal peace so as to not twist ourselves into a pretzel over insignificant things?
The little things are a fact of life
We are all going to have ‘bad’ days; days where we are running late for work, we spill our coffee on our new jacket or when we mess up an important project or presentation.
That’s life, but we can choose how we react to those things when they happen. We can either frame it that nothing is going my way, and I should have stayed in bed. Or we can accept that things happen, it’s not my best day today, but tomorrow is a new day.
If we choose to be positive in the face of a bad day, those days get a lot easier. On the ‘bad’ days try and focus on some of the good things that have happened that day. Even if there is only one, there is always something to be grateful for. This simple mental shift can help reset your day.
Give yourself a time limit
It’s ok to process emotions if your boss yells at you, you mess up a client’s proposal or even if you’ve had a fight with your husband before work but getting stuck in negative emotions and replaying the situation over and over helps no one.
Give yourself a time limit to feel the emotions, be sad, be angry and then try and move on to other things. Set a limit of 30mins and then move on with your day.
Take a break, meditate and just breathe
If you are feeling overwhelmed by a deadline, a colleague annoying you or something else, it might be time to take a break.
Go for a quick walk around the block and look up at the sky, have your lunch outside instead of at your desk or call a friend.
Alternatively, if you meditate or practise mindfulness try and take a little bit of time out to re-centre.
Generally, once we have taken the time to slow it down, that mountain may only be a molehill, that overwhelming task might seem a bit easier, and as we take a breath, we can see these things for what they are.