Take it Easy.

Stressed-out much? Relax. Nobody can live their life without stress. Stress comes naturally as a mental response to problems we face on a daily basis. With the problems there comes the stress and without them, well, there’s no life. But it is not to imply that you cannot avoid or minimise stress in your life. How else would you make your life happier, healthier and more productive? Modern-day pundits suggest that living in the moment, being present in every moment can help reduce stress, while the realists, boasting of the science behind it all blame its occurrence to the lack of sleep. The reasons of its existence in our lives, therefore, range from being scientific to being spiritual.

In this day and age, with so much information download, even planning to go on a holiday can be a daunting affair. Let us see how we can maintain a balance and unwind on the days when stress seems to be playing its part.

Sleep: Try to sleep for eight hours in a day. Weekend of not, make sure you are getting up at the same time every day. It is important to maintain a consistent sleep-cycle and failing to do so may result in unnecessary touchiness.

Breathe: Breathing right is one thing and focusing on your breaths is quite another. It is one of the most powerful tools there is, to help get yourself in the present moment. You can count your breaths or practice the holding-your-breath exercise that you were taught in school to drive yourself in the present moment. Meditation helps, too, but we will have a separate post on its positives soon.

Give Up: Sometimes, in work and life in general, there comes a moment when nothing goes in your favour. You will be overworked, overstressed and solutions wouldn’t come by that easily. When you encounter such situations, just stop and relax. Let go! Get busy with something unrelated before inspiration finds you and anchors you rightfully.

Accept: Accept yourself the way you are. Don’t curse yourself too much if you cannot handle a situation. If you cannot let go, see if you can change what’s bothering you. For example, if you have a habit of completing your tasks at the last moment and feel stressed-out about it, try to be more determined and finish it in time. If you can cannot, then that’s who you are. And you really cannot change it.

Try these tips to make a difference and lead a stress-free lifestyle. Do you have tips to eliminate stress from your life? Share with us in the comments.

Quit Your Job.

The start of the year is the time when you should look back and contemplate about what lies ahead. Everyone feels bored of monotonous work, to carry out the same set of activities at work robot-like. And then the deadly Monday stories. It strikes back after every six days, and the story continues. Suddenly, Monday seems to be a rut we cannot get out of, and the cycle continues from one Monday to another. Sitting in our offices, we have all logged on to sites such as naukri.com or Linked In to weigh other options as well.

The nagging thought of whether or not you should quit your job can be emotionally exhausting. You can expect a plethora of advice from your colleagues, friends and family, and even HR professionals on the subject. Some would warn you of its implications on your resume, while others would simply suggest you against sticking too long to one company. However, experts do suggest that for any young worker the ideal time is about 2-3 years, but an experienced professional is expected to stick to his/her job for a little more than four years.

Not sure whether to follow the urge to quit your job? These reasons will help you make the right decision. Read on:

You Always Seem to be Unhappy: If you feel anxious about going to office and working, it is a good enough sign that you should move on. Happiness (or the lack of it, in this case) is a suitable ground to look for greener pastures.

Your Health is Getting Affected: When work-related stress gets in way of your physical (and emotional) well-being and health, it sure can tempt you to quit your job. After all, emotional and physical well-being or safety is one of the better reasons behind staying put in a job.

Ethical Issues: When your ethics and morals do not coincide with your company’s way of operating, the time is ripe for you to look beyond.

Pay-off Not Good: You are working doubly hard and spending longer hours at your office. Your scope of work has increased as you have proved to be a good worker, but has your salary shown a rise? If not, it is time to move on. We work just rewards. If your pay-off is not good enough, it is time to take off.

After the realisation dawns upon you and you have decided to move on, take some time to reflect and list your expectations before finding your next job. Continuing with the same career field or exploring other options could be one of the questions to ponder over, too. Whatever the case, do not let your emotions take the better of you, rather be rational and pragmatic while taking the final decision. The options that lay before you are:

A new job in the same career-field as yours;
A new job in a different career-field;
A business of your own.

Quit your job! Explore All Options.