SO DONE WITH WORK?

Ahmed Wafi

You’re not alone. Being overworked is something we all go through. Here’s how to deal.

Lingering deadlines, annoying colleagues and difficult clients are all part and parcel of your work life but it can get too much and have you wishing you could flip a table and go home, especially if you feel like all you’ve been doing lately is just work, work, work and more work.

Flipped table aside, overworking is known to cause a variety of health problems including anxiety, depression, insomnia and forgetfulness among many others. On top of that, it’s also counterproductive as studies show that it decreases productivity – no big surprise there!

So what do you do if you’re overworked? First, relax your shoulders and take a deep breath. Then read this on how to cope.

BEFORE WORK
#1 Set a cut-off time. Make it a point to leave work at a certain time every day. It doesn’t have to be fixed but should vary depending on the urgency of your workload.

#2 Know what you’re going to do before you do it. Prepare your to-do-list before you start checking your emails and make sure to tick them off once you’re done with them.

DURING WORK
#1 Taking breaks. We can’t stress this enough. Try out the pomodoro method to systematically track when you’ll need to take 5.

#2 Use the N word. There are times when you’ll need to say no to requests that are out of your immediate job scope. Especially if the pressure of work is already getting to you. Read about it here.

AFTER WORK
#1 Plan leisure time. Find activities you enjoy doing to help take your mind off things. Tennis, yoga, painting, reading are some examples on how you can destress. In fact, make them part of your daily routine!

#2 USE YOUR HOLIDAYS. You’re given X amount of days off from work in a year so why not use them? They are given to you for a reason – to take a break, unwind and come back recharged.

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