How to reduce stress while working from home – 9 helpful tips

There are a many ways to reduce stress while working from home. This post focuses on 9 of them.

Stress is not a bad thing, it’s only a signal that you have been working really hard.

Sometimes, when your body experiences several form of stress, it becomes stronger. In this way, the body can easily adapt to any situation. It’s called pain and gain. It’s key to survival.

However, experiencing too much stress can be dangerous for your health. Even though it is inevitable, there are ways we could reduce it to the barest minimum.

How working from home promotes stress

For many people, working from home is a dream come true. No more commuting, no more office politics, and no more working in a cubicle.

But while working from home certainly has its perks, it can also be a source of stress. Here are a few ways it promotes stress:

There are fewer boundaries between work and home

When you work in an office, you can leave your work at the office when you clock out for the day. But when you work from home, it can be harder to shut off work mode. This can lead to working longer hours and feeling like you’re always on the clock. 

You may feel like you’re not doing your best work

When you’re in an office, there’s someone else to bounce ideas off of and collaborate with. But when you’re working from home, you may feel like you’re in a vacuum. This can lead to doubting your abilities and feeling like you’re not doing your best work.

There’s a greater temptation to procrastinate

When you’re in an office, there are more distractions, but there are also more people around to keep you accountable.

When you’re working from home, it’s easy to put off work in favor of things like watching TV or taking a nap. This can lead to feeling guilty and stressed about not being productive.

How to reduce stress while working from home

Below are a few things you could do to keep yourself sane and reduce stress while working from home.

Breathe!

It’s a simple exercise but it’s very helpful to reduce stress while working from home. You can also do this while you’re at your workspace, couch, office or in the middle of something that’s bringing a lot of pressure. Do this to maintain a calm composure and also lower your levels of anxiety. 

There are different ways you could do this. You can try deep breathing or you could try breathing with focus- have an image in mind while you breathe. However, this should be done in a comfortable position. The sooner you start doing this the more relaxed you’d become.

Take a stroll

No matter how simple it looks, please don’t disregard this exercise. It’s one of the best ways to relieve stress while working from home.

All you need to do is go out, pay attention to the simple things in life, and smell the roses or whatever beautiful flower you come across, or simply enjoy the beauty of nature’s breathe.

It’s a great way to rejuvenate your mind. Just to make it easier, you can walk around your workspace, room, office, or you can simply walk outside your building. In essence, stay away from your stressful environment for a while.

Get some good loving!

One way to reduce stress while working from home is to get some good loving. Affection is one of the best ways to get over stress quickly.

Even though it doesn’t look like it, getting a hug from someone you love will help you heal quickly. That simple act has a role to play when you’re trying to reduce your stress level. 

It releases a certain amount of oxytocin that helps you relax. Oxytocin always helps in the reduction of stress hormones. So get a free hug today. You won’t regret it!

Eat Healthily

You’ve heard this before, “you are what you eat”. Your diet will determine if your body will be able to handle stress or not. If you’re an entrepreneur or an employee, you may choose to disregard this fact because you may feel that there’s so much to do.

If you decide that you’re not going to have a balanced diet, it will tell on your performance. It will take a lot of time before you complete your tasks for the day. Hence, you’re choosing to let your body undergo unwanted stress. If you don’t want to break down due to work overload, then you have to start eating right.

Aromatherapy works!

Aromatherapy has existed for a long time. Before medical doctors were established, the locals believed that we could use essential oils to improve our health or mood.

One of the best ways you can do this is by inhalation. Using a diffuser will make it easier for you to do. You can also add essential oils to your bath or body lotion/cream.

Relax your muscles

As you carry out your activities, you may notice some feeling of tightness within you. Most times these feelings make you wish that you can disassemble and fix yourself back together. Well, there’s a realistic way to achieve your imaginations.

First, start by tightening your muscles while taking deep breaths. Try to release your breath and muscles at the same time. Begin this practice from your forehead, then down to the rest of your body. You would notice the feeling of relief after this exercise.

Meditation helps too

Let’s look at this from another angle, shall we? During meditation, you don’t have to focus on one thing. Sometimes emptying your mind works better. At that moment, you are ‘thoughtless’ and free from any distraction.

There are a lot of benefits to gain from this. One noticeable feature is your composure – you’re calmer and will speak with more clarity. If you can practice the state of mindfulness every day, you would be able to handle the pressures of your workplace.

Reduce your stress through Guided Imagery

Don’t be blown away with the big grammar. Simply put, with the help of your imaginations, you can reduce your stress quickly. Guided imagery helps in putting your body in a relaxed state with little or no effort involved. 

You can do this alone or choose to be guided by an instructor. Make sure you’re in a relaxed position before doing this.

How to reduce stress while working from home with guided imagery

First, start by taking deep breaths. During this process, please try not to raise your shoulders. It breeds tension. Just let your belly do the work.

For the next step, this is where your imagination comes to play. Imagine yourself being in a comfortable environment. For some, having a drink with friends is pretty cool. You may choose to go shopping with the girls or… Just imagine anything that would make you happy.

As you continue, pay attention to the details. What type of drinks did the waiter serve, what’s the weather like? What type of music did you listen to? Who’s the funniest in the group? There are a lot of things that can help bring back that feeling of happiness.

Try to relive this time in your mind and embrace the euphoria of the moment. Sometimes, you could use certain sounds or cool music to help you on your journey. Sometimes, you may fall asleep so it’s best if you keep an alarm clock with you.

Excercise

Exercises helps us to relieve stress greatly. Apart from building your muscles and helping your body get physically balanced, exercising can also help you reduce stress. Doing workout activities helps to relax the muscles which then work on your heart rate and mental well-being.

Conclusion

Our world is changing. Because of our pressing concerns and with the zeal to survive, we may choose to live our lives in the fast lane. Of course, it’s okay. It would help you to achieve a lot. However, at that point, we may choose to ignore our stress levels and this can be overly dangerous.

While you try to make the best out of your life, you need to keep your mental health in check. Make sure that the activities you participate in, keep you sane, and not promote a stressful performance.

I hope this blog post helped you discover how to reduce stress while working from home. Do your best from what you’ve learned. Cheers!