8 Ways to Rejuvenate at Work

Have you come across a moment at work when you got stressed out? Something happened, like a stressful meeting or a project setback that kept on lingering in your mind for days? Due to which you introspected what went wrong? And thinking through, did the setback damage your credibility that you built so painstakingly? Then how to get things back in order again? Which also means how to make up for lost ground? Or as extreme as this job sucks? Sounds familiar? Well, as they say, life is not a cakewalk, and we all have our struggles. And our pitfalls from where we bounce back again, stronger and better. Again, sounds familiar? So in this post I will share 8 ways to rejuvenate at work.

“Sometimes the most important thing in an entire day is the rest we take between two deep breaths, or the turning inwards in prayer for five short minutes.”

– Etty Hillesum

Before we jump into how to rejuvenate ourselves from the stresses at work, let’s first walk through the major reasons of why we get stressed at work and then why do we bring them back home?

Reasons for Stress at Work

Dealing with Setbacks

We all have our setbacks at work and in life. Then how do we deal with it? Dealing with setbacks often comes with stress. It usually warrants a root cause analysis and then coming up with a corrective and preventive action plan. Then it also triggers a deeper introspection. For example, what we could have done better to prevent a situation like this? Then what went wrong? Why didn’t we get feedback or triggers earlier? So in a nutshell, this is usually what we go through and this causes stress.

Managing Perceptions

What do we mean by perceptions? Well, in a workplace, we build our reputation and how others perceive us. Which also means it takes a lot of time and effort to build a good perception about ourselves. This perception also translates into how others can depend on us. So if there is a setback, because of any reason, that may affect our credibility and perception. Then how do we manage the perceptions others build about us? It might sound start from zero again? As a result, this pressure on us to rebuild our credibility and how others perceive us could start building stress at work.

Pressure of Getting Back on Track

There we go. Now, to add on to the pile, we need to get back on track again. Which could mean multifold efforts? At work, many times, it’s a race against time. And the pressure doesn’t help the stress situation.

Meeting or Surpassing Expectations

This a more general statement, at work we are always chasing deadlines. So there is always the expectation to meet or surpass the expectations. But unrealistic expectations set by ourselves or others stress us out. Sounds familiar?

Why We Bring Back Stress at Home?

Then the subsequent question is, why do we bring back stress at home? Aren’t we supposed to keep work and life separate? Shouldn’t we be having a life outside of work? Do we have a bigger picture of our life and its purpose, which can help us take a step back and ponder? So let’s evaluate.

Inability to Separate Work from Life

It is often easier said than done, inability to separate work from life. Again, do you agree? Our work and life are much more integrated in this information age led by technology. So it often difficult to separate them, and many times we it also appreciated that we have work-life integration. Because some consider we need it in today’s world. This is something that may need another discussion at some point.

Not Having a Life Outside Work

Then why don’t we have a life outside work many a time? For many of us, work transcends into our personal lives and becomes an integral part of our lives. As a result, we think maybe this is all life is about. Sounds familiar? So let’s take a step back and try to answer some questions. Is the work that we do the purpose of our life? When we die someday, can we go back and justify what we spent our lives working on is truly the purpose of our life? If yes, then work could be our life. And if not, then this is something to think about.

Not Having a Bigger Purpose in Life

Do we have a purpose in life? Then do you have passion in life? Many times we are at a crossroad and try to introspect what is the purpose of our life? The purpose of our lives is often bigger than the work we do for a living. Ideally, it could be the same, but most of the times it is not. And the journey to finding fulfillment in life is to find your purpose in life and take actions.

8 Ways to Rejuvenate at Work

So let’s think through how can we rejuvenate at work? We spend almost more that half of our lives at work. Therefore, to give in our 200% at work, we need to rejuvenate or recharge from time to time. Let’s see how we can rejuvenate ourselves at work.

Take Time Off

First, sometimes we just need to take sometime off. It is imperative that we can spend time with ourselves, depending on what works best for us. It also provides the much needed rest and time for reflection. After a break, we find ourselves in a much better situation to take control of the situation, be more thoughtful and mature in our responses.

Move On

Second, depending on the situation, we may need to move on. It could entail forgetting any situation or forgiving any person who may have been part of the setback. Sometimes it’s difficult to let go reminiscences of situation, or forsake words which, when not used thoughtfully, can cause turmoil in our minds for long. It might be prudent to let go and then move on.

Find a Passion in Life

Third, genuine passion can be an incredible stress relieving and rejuvenating agent. It can help us transcend to another world, helping ease the stress. It can help us distract our thoughts from the stressful event and immerse our mind and soul in something we really enjoy. So it is worthwhile to find a passion in your life.

Pursue Your Passion

Fourth, just finding a passion in life might not be enough. We need to pursue it as well. Passion is like a seed and then a plant that needs to be nurturing and growing. We need to find the time to pursue our passion. And this time can help us rejuvenate and bounce back from our lows.

Manage Expectations from Work and Life

Fifth, we need to calibrate from time to time our expectations of life, work and life. There is always a fine balance. Sometimes it might be worthwhile to ask what is it we expect from our work? And what is it we expect from our life? Is work only a means to earn a livelihood? And whether our life has any purpose? We may need to moderate our expectations from both work and life so that we can live more meaningful lives. It could also entail assessing our strengths and whether we are leveraging our strengths to find fulfillment at work.

Declutter and Lead a Simple Life

Sixth, declutter and lead a simple life. Confucius states “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” Does this sound familiar? Could we declutter our lives and lead a minimalist life? There is a sense of simplicity. Because it gives us the opportunity to uncomplicated things, forego the unnecessary things in the life and really focus on what matters for us. The more the complicated our life is, the more it brings stress and unwanted anxiety. Only as if we don’t have enough of it from work! So leading a simple life can rejuvenate us from the stresses of day to day work.

Foster Relationships

Seventh, foster relationships. Relationship is one of the 8 drivers for finding fulfillment in life. Robert Waldinger, director of a 75-year-extensive study of adult development, concluded that the most critical contributor to living a fulfilled life is strong relationships.

So relationships are something we can always fall back onto, whether at work or at home. Nurturing relationship is like investing our time for the rainy day.

Give Back

Eight, give back. Last but not the least, we can always rejuvenate from giving back to our communities. Giving is a selfless act that drives the ultimate happiness and can always pep us up. There are so many people in this world who are much less fortunate than what we are. So our stress or pain is nothing in front of the less fortunate. Therefore, the sense of gratitude can ease any situation of stress and rejuvenate us for another day!

Conclusion

In a nutshell, these 8 ways to rejuvenate at work are mere guidelines. You may reflect and decide for yourself what rejuvenates you after a stressful day’s work. Please share your thoughts in the comments.