The Ontario Broker - October 2019 - 55

6FOR MANAGING
TIPS WORKPLACE STRESS
W

ith the hardening market many
brokers have seen their workload
pile up. Not only has the volume of
client calls gone up, they can often
be difficult calls. While addressing client concerns is
paramount, it's also important to take time to focus on
yourself and mitigate stress.

TAKE REAL LUNCH BREAKS

Giving yourself time to eat a quiet lunch, chat with
coworkers and especially going for a walk can make
a real difference. Eating at your desk or working
through lunch might seem like a bonus hour to get
work done, but you're really just stealing productivity
from your afternoon and yourself in the long-term.
Not eating at your computer will also reduce the
number of new lifeforms evolving inside of your
keyboard.

LISTEN TO MUSIC ON YOUR COMMUTE

Studies have shown that music can have a significant
effect on our emotional and mental state. Listening
to music on your commute can help you remain
calm on your way to work so you'll be ready to have a
productive day, rather than showing up agitated from
listening to the news. It can also relieve some of the
stress you'll have built up through the day to listen to
your favourite music on the way home-whether it's
polka, dub step or death metal.

STOP AND BREATHE

If you're feeling overwhelmed, take a moment to take a
few deep breaths. Shut your eyes and breath in through
your nose and out through your mouth. Focus on your
breathing and acknowledge how you're feeling. This is
a simple form of meditation that you can do anywhere.
It'll help separate your thoughts from your body's
natural emotional response. Emotions seldom align
with rational deliberation which explains everything
you've overheard at Service Ontario.

SUBSTITUTE CAFFEINE FOR SLEEP AND
EXERCISE

Caffeine is great, but if overused or consumed too late
in the day it can increase stress levels and affect the
quality of your sleep. Rather than relying on copious
amounts of caffeine, getting seven to eight hours of
sleep and exercising regularly will give you the energy
you need, evenly distributed throughout the day.
This'll also help you manage stress rather than add to
it. You might even end up finding a better use for the
cost of a cup of coffee a day.

ASK FOR HELP

If you don't feel like you're able to manage your
stress levels on your own, you may want to ask a
professional for help. Many employers offer an
employee assistance program as part of their benefits,
or you can always find one on your own. A councillor
can give you new perspective on your issues and
suggest coping mechanisms that are specific to you.
There's no shame in asking for help-it even helped
Tony Soprano.

USE A WRITTEN TO-DO LIST

Trying to hold a to-do list in your mind is a surefire
way to forget to do things. Anything more than two
or three items are at risk of being forgotten as soon
as you get involved in a task. The act of trying to
remember everything can actually cause undue stress

WWW.IBAO.ORG

in and of itself. Once you stop trying to mentally
juggle all the stuff you have to get done, not only
will you realize how much mental and emotional
bandwidth it took to do that, you'll drop fewer balls.

55

OCTOBER 2019
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The Ontario Broker - October 2019

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