The Burnout Gamble #15: The Many Ways to Build Resilient

How can you boost resilience at work? According to a survey by Accountemps, 58% of Canadian workers find themselves stressed on a daily basis. Stress can impact productivity, emotions, sleep quality, and so much more. Therefore, implement tactics to help you be more resilient in the workplace. Here are a few ideas to get started: 

Self-Awareness

This is the foundation of resilience as well as the basis for emotional intelligence. Be aware of how you respond based on your impulses, feelings, desires, and thinking patterns. This will assist you in learning how to control your reactions. For instance, if your thoughts and emotions run rampant (without your awareness), then they are controlling you. Not vice versa. Therefore, if you want to be in control, pause before making decisions or taking action. Consider why you are feeling or thinking a certain way, and then continue.

Focus

We receive a tremendous amount of information on any given day, and how we process all of that information can affect our level of focus. Multitasking, for instance, lowers productivity levels and quality of attention. Additionally, switching from task to task opens the door for more distractions, making it difficult to ignore new items that pop up on our to-do list. This impacts our current attention. 

When our focus is lost, the mind switches to past regrets or future concerns, leading to an increase in stress and anxiety. So, how can you focus on one thing at a time? We train and develop this skill by learning how to simply be in the moment. Consider compartmentalizing your workload and schedule times for specific work tasks, nothing else. This should help keep you on track. 

Detachment Breaks

Determine your hourly rhythms throughout each workday. These would be the surges and dips in energy and productivity levels that you experience; mental focus and clarity cycles typically last between 90 to 120 minutes at a time. Therefore, when you find your attention and energy dropping, step away from the laptop. Even a few minutes can provide the necessary time it takes to reset. 

Tension Release

Actively let go of your muscle tension and take calming breaths to reduce restlessness. If this isn’t enough, do something active. Exercise can alleviate brewing stress and anxiety while also providing a much-needed energy boost to your day. So, take the stairs instead of the elevator. Utilize your break to take a ten-minute walk. It’s been proven that physical activity lowers stress levels, which can help you to be more resilient. 

Compassion and Positivity 

Lastly, try to cultivate self-compassion as well as compassion for others because the practice can decrease stress and increase a general feeling of happiness. This can create positive work relationships, strengthen collaboration, and increase positive feelings. Positivity is not easily accomplished if you’re on the road to job burnout. However, when you stop feeding into your negativity, positivity naturally gains more control. So, you don’t need to focus on getting rid of those bad feelings—just stop giving them your full attention.

Want to know more? Read The Importance of Resilience.