Blog #10: Stress
So, I was talking to another one of my friends this week. He's recent high school graduate, but he won't be going to college til next year at the earliest. He was a little distraught about finding a job or internship in the meantime. Without much work or job hunting experience, he was somewhat worried about how to go about finding a job. Like the person from my previous blog post, he too was somewhat desperate to do more than just sit at home all day. And it started making me think about stress. How we deal with stress is a pretty big factor in the working world. How we deal with strict schedules, limit manpower, and possibly even failure.
If I had to guess, most companies don't want you to think directly about these sort of things. It not only shows that you may have been part of a sinking ship, but that the company wants someone that can handle a sinking ship. But, being able to handle stress is an important part of the job. In high tension situations you need someone who's gonna be able to whether a storm and not someone who loses it at the first sign of trouble. After all, a team is only as strong as its weakest link.
So, how do you deal with stress? Surprisingly there are many ways to deal with stress, especially while on the job. However, it's important to know how you're dealing with stress.
Music
For most people, music is a great way to relax and stay focused. Certain genres of music can get you amped up for a job, while others may simply just help take the edge off. In some studies, listening to music has actually been proven to help you study. Just be very careful. In some studies, instrumental music as been seen as pretty effective, however songs with lots of lyrics can be seen as distracting. Causing the listener to remember lyrics instead of whatever they need for work.
Power Naps
Sometimes, the best way to get a break from it all is to just take a nap. Certain cultures believe that to be more productive, taking a short rest during work is key. It helps keep you relaxed, rested, and able to better do whatever work the company needs you to do. It's also been shown to help cut back on the need for coffee. However, this too has a downside. Power Naps are only effective through REM sleep. So a nap should last for around 90 minutes, which would be hard to convince your boss to let you sleep for that long. And trying to wake up too early could have you feeling groggy and stressed out instead.
Remember the goal of a stress reliever is to help make yourself feel better. So, at the end of the day relieve your stress however you see fit. So, long as you make sure it's not something that'll get you fired for doing it at work.









