5 Tactics to Reduce Anxiety at Work - Introvert Whisperer

Introvert Whisperer / 5 Tactics to Reduce Anxiety at Work - Introvert Whisperer 5 Tactics to Reduce Anxiety at Work Feeling anxious at work can bog you down and decrease your productivity. You can spend hours dealing with symptoms of stress, which push back your deadlines, allowing additional work to pile up around you. It is a vicious cycle that many people on the workforce face on a daily basis. What can you do to relieve your anxiety at work? To relieve stress at work, take brisk walks around the office on your break. Limit your caffeine, increase your water intake, and improve your diet. Keep the temperatures cool to increase productivity and reach out for help in meeting your deadlines.   Exercise to Improve Your Mood One of the best ways to reduce stress and anxiety at work is through exercise. Studies have proven that bodies in motion reduce stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline and stimulates endorphins, your body’s natural mood elevators. According to the Mayo clinic, even half an hour of activity 3-5 days per week can make a lasting change to your mood. Take brisk walks on your breaks to clear your head so that you can return to your task with a renewed focus. Even a short walk can improve your mood for several hours. Add moderate exercise to your routine for long-term effects that will not only relieve your anxiety over time but help you gain confidence for success. Be Upfront and Honest About Your Work Deadlines Many who suffer from anxiety aim to please at all costs. They will often agree to tasks and deadlines even if there is little chance of them being completed. The stress from the new work can make things worse, especially if you know you’ll have to apologize when it’s late. If someone asks you for help and gives you a deadline, be upfront with them. Explain what it will take for you to finish the project and negotiate a better timeline. While the deadline might not change, you may be given extra help on a task in order to complete it. Limit Your Caffeine While caffeine can increase your energy levels, letting you stay focused for longer, too much can mimic the symptoms of stress. If you suffer from anxiety, experiencing shaky hands or an upset stomach from your daily coffee may trigger everything that makes you worry. While you don’t have to cut caffeine out completely, understanding your body’s reaction to it and moderating it to healthy levels can help substantially. Waiting an hour before your first cup and reducing your intake to 3-4 cups per day will teach your body to run on its own energy, reducing your cortisol levels. Try to replace the extra coffee with water, which can reduce your stress as your body hydrates. Maintaining a healthy diet will also improve your mood over time. Keep Cool When Working Hard If your job requires a lot of manual labor, Quality Air recommends using ducted air conditioning or fans to help keep areas cool. A study conducted by the University of Chicago has shown that when temperatures rise above 80 ° Fahrenheit (27 ° Celsius), productivity in the workplace goes down by 4% per degree. Many people experience more anxiety when they are hot and uncomfortable. Consider approaching your manager or HR department to see if they can implement areas to cool your workplace to both relieve stress and improve productivity. Explore Mental Health Resources Though it can feel vulnerable to open up and share that you’re experiencing stress at work, the symptoms are more common than you think. Many managers and supervisors have dealt with anxiety either in themselves or with another worker. Be open and honest with them and let them know what you need to decrease your stress. Often, even small adjustments can make a big difference. Many companies offer mental health resources to employees who suffer from an anxiety disorder. They have direct numbers with counselors you can call or set up an appointment with a professional in your community. These are often available free of charge to help you through your stress. Talking face to face with a professional therapist can relieve a lot of worries. While it might not take away your stressors, you’ll learn new methods of handling your anxiety for the future. About the Author: This article is written by Luci Aldrin, a part time blogger and full-time mother to an energetic toddler. She currently Power-Influence-Office Politics: it comes down to your Strategic Relationships and understanding of how you build each one of these elements. I want to help you accelerate your career by connecting you with your Free Instant Access to my video that outlines all of this and meaningful actions you can take today!   Start watching now by clicking here! Brought to you by Dorothy Tannahill-Moran â€" dedicated to unleashing your professional potential. Introvert Whisperer

What is it Like to Attend Baylor University

What is it Like to Attend Baylor University The tutors behind Varsity Tutors are not just here to teach theyre sharing their college experiences as well. Ivorie graduated from Baylor University in 2013 with a Bachelors degree in Psychology. She is a Philadelphia tutor specializing in Algebra tutoring, ISEE prep tutoring, Grammar Mechanics tutoring, and more. See what she had to say about her alma mater: VT: Describe the campus setting and transportation options.How urban or safe is the campus?Are there buses or do you need a car/bike? Ivorie: Everyone refers to Baylor as the Baylor Bubble. It seems like a completely different city from Waco. That being said, campus is very safe. I felt comfortable walking around campus at any time of night. It is well lit and has stations where you can call security if there ever was an emergency. There are also shuttles that take you around campus and to some apartments off campus, but campus is relatively small with the walk from one end to another being around 15 minutes. The shuttles run around every 15 minutes, but a large amount of students do have bikes and cars. Youll need a car if you want to go places off campus (e.g. Walmart). VT:How available are the professors, academic advisers, and teaching assistants? Ivorie: They all have set office hours, but are generally in their offices and available whenever they arent teaching a class. From my experience, the majority of my teachers were very helpful whenever I went for help. Some will even give you their cell phone numbers and invite you to call at 2 a.m. if youre studying really late for a test and need help! VT: How would you describe the dorm life rooms, dining options, location, socialization opportunities with other students? Ivorie: There are many different dorms with different styles to fit each individual. The basic dorm is a single room with 2 people and a community bathroom, but more expensive dorms range from having private bathrooms, to being apartment-style with your own bedroom. There are currently 4 dining halls on campus, with a ton of other options (Chick-fil-A, Moes Burgers, Starbucks, etc.). Baylor also offers a lot of community opportunities starting at the very beginning of the school year to help students make friends and stay connected. One thing that I loved was that organizations could spread the word about upcoming events by writing them with chalk on the sidewalks around campus. Youll also receive emails every week and see flyers in dorms and academic buildings about upcoming events and ways to stay involved. VT: Which majors/programs are best represented and supported?What did you study and why? Did the university do a good job supporting your particular area of study? Ivorie: I think all majors are supported nicely, but most of my friends were either Business or Science majors. They have recently built a new Science building and are working on creating a new Business building (although the current one is already amazing). I majored in Psychology and minored in English, and am currently a graduate student elsewhere. The Psychology staff is great and definitely helped me learn and retain information They were also very supportive in my journey to graduate school. Baylor offers an incredible amount of options for classes to take so that you can really focus on what interests you. VT: How easy or difficult was it for you to meet people and make friends as a freshman? Does Greek life play a significant role in the campus social life? Ivorie: It was not hard for me to meet people at all. People are extremely nice and there are so many social opportunities that it is hard to not meet people. I was not involved in Greek life so it is not a huge deal, but a very large amount of people do join Greek organizations and it does help to collect a smaller but closer circle of friends. VT: How helpful is the Career Centerand other student support services?Do many reputable companies recruit on campus? Ivorie: I never visited the Career Center so I would not know. I did, however, receive a lot of emails about companies coming to campus for job fairs. VT: How are the various study areas such aslibraries, the student union, and dorm lounges? Are they over-crowded, easily available, spacious? Ivorie: The main library (Moody) is incredible; so much so that I never visited the others. It has a Starbucks and 4 floors with different sections designed for different comfort zones, e.g. a quiet zone, a low talking zone, and a talk as much and as loud as you want zone. There are private study rooms, couches, and a large amount of computers. The library is also open 24 hours. The Student Union building has good food options, 4 floors with rooms available to reserve for meetings or studying, a stage, and lots of couches. It is open until midnight on most days. Because there are so many options for people to study, the only time any of these are overcrowded is during finals week. VT: Describe the surrounding town. What kinds of outside establishments / things to do are there that make it fun, boring, or somewhere in between?To what extent do students go to the downtown area of the city versus staying near campus? Ivorie: Waco is not a very exciting town at all. The only thing that people usually go into the town for are groceries, restaurants, the movies, and the mall. Waco is very small so its only about a two-minute drive to downtown from campus. Students typically go downtown on weekends for fun, although there is not a huge selection of things to do. VT: How big or small is the student body? Were you generally pleased or displeased with the typical class sizes? Ivorie: The size was perfect for me: not too big and not too small. My largest class was about 300 students (these classes are very limited, you may only have 1 or 2 classes this large during your entire 4 years) and the smallest was 6 students. Id say the average class size is about 25-30 students. There are around 13,000 students total, I believe. VT: Describe one memorable experience with a professor and/or class. Perhaps one you loved the most or one youregretthe most. Ivorie: One of my most memorable experiences was my Learning and Behavior class. In class, my teacher would bring us donuts and other breakfast items, which we really appreciated. He genuinely cared about us. The lab was my favorite part, though. We each had a rat to train, and although it was scary dealing with a rat at first, I really learned to love mine (and got to train it to do really cool tricks!). Check out Ivories tutoring profile. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Varsity Tutors.