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How to Manage Work-Life Stress

Manage Your Mornings

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Our mornings play a critical role in how we set the tone for the day. But too often, we sabotage our mornings before we even get out of bed because the first thing we do when we open our eyes is turn off our alarm and start scrolling on social media. With this routine, we set ourselves up for failure because our brain is immediately trying to process information without a proper transition, which can naturally cause us stress. Reading about a devastating world event, seeing a picture of an ex, or focusing on a hateful comment left on a post can immediately cause us stress and alter our morning before our day even begins.
 
One positive way to start your morning is to wake up and find a quiet place where you can sit still and meditate for 10 minutes. This time will allow you to be present with yourself and disconnect before you give yourself to the world. Meditation has been proven to help reduce stress, and there’s no wrong way to meditate, you can simply sit still in a quiet place or play soft music while you speak affirmations to yourself.
 
The goal is to ease your way into the day without jumping straight into work emails or social media that will naturally get your full attention throughout the day anyway. How you start your morning plays a key role in your stress levels throughout the day, so try switching things around to get the most from your mornings.
 
 

Filter Information

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Thanks to TV, podcasts, and social media, we all know that information travels at the speed of light! Every breaking news update is one alert away for us to discover. It’s a great thing to be in the know because we can use this information to be aware of and avoid certain places or situations, but we also need to know that this can cause us stress!
 
This situation has been a challenge for me because I love to be updated on what’s going on, however, I don’t want to be stressed out because I’m getting every news alert every 15 minutes. So, now instead of subscribing to the seven podcasts where I get my information, I’ve narrowed it down to two. Instead of browsing different social media platforms for updates from friends and family I’ve narrowed it down to just one.
 
Not only have I started filtering where I get my news and how I stay up to date with friends, I’ve also started giving myself predetermined times to check these things so that I’m not mindlessly scrolling throughout the day. This has limited how much information I receive without giving me the overwhelming feeling of being stressed from alerts and notifications. This has been the toughest challenge yet, and I frequently fail, but when I do stay the course, I can say it has helped my stress tremendously!
 
 

Socialize with friends and colleagues

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Humans are social beings, but COVID has disrupted that social aspect as we were all in isolation. At first, being in isolation for some felt good, especially if they were overbooked and overworked. But after a while, being in isolation can cause stress, because we’re no longer social in the way we once were. Living in a pandemic is stressful enough, but not being able to be social is vitally important because having conversations and interactions can help us relieve stress naturally.
 
When we have conversations with friends and family, we’re able to say out loud what we’re feeling in a safe space, we have the ability to process our own feelings in real-time. When we keep those feelings and micro-aggressions to ourselves, they will naturally manifest in our minds and cause stress on the job, at home, or in our relationships. Being social will look different for everybody, and like meditation, there’s no wrong way to do it. With some States rolling back Covid regulations, some people may feel comfortable meeting and talking at a coffee shop, while others may prefer Zoom or FaceTime. No matter how you do it, having conversations that can help identify stressors so that you can manage them in a healthy way is key.
 
 
I hope these tips will give you some options on how to manage your stress. Remember stress is unavoidable, and it’s part of life. But how we deal with it matters.
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Why Cowork Instead of Working from Home?

Thanks to technology, working from home has never been easier. In fact, we’ve become accustomed to simply falling out of bed, hitting the espresso machine, walking to our desk across the room and clocking in. It sounds like the dream life until you feel the productivity being slowly sucked out of you from being at home, which puts you in a weird predicament. How can we work somewhere comfortable without going back to a dull and boring office?
 
The solution is simple, join a Co-Working Space! A Co-Working space is the best middle ground for many reasons, but mainly because it forces you to step out of the house and truly focus on work. If you’re not convinced, take a sip of that espresso as we break down a few reasons why you should consider working at a Co-Working space.
 

FEWER DISTRACTIONS AND MORE ACTION

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We all like the thought of being productive, especially in the comforts of our homes, but the truth is, that’s not always reality. With every doorbell distraction, dishwasher buzzer and Amazon delivery notification, we have way too much going on to even be slightly productive. It’s hard to make work the focus when your attention is everywhere. However, a Co-Working Space gives you the opportunity to step away from the many distractions at home while providing a relaxed atmosphere.
 
Many Co-Working spaces have private rooms and conference rooms that you can book to work in a distraction-free environment. Also, if you’re fortunate enough to be a member of a Co-Working space that’s open 24 hours, you can easily take advantage of the early mornings and late nights when it’s not as busy. This allows you a nice cram session to finalize that proposal or polish that final presentation in peace. It’s money well spent to have a Co-Work where you can not only work in peace, but feel at peace.
 

A ONE-STOP SHOP FOR YOUR WORKDAY

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If you’re anything like me, you are constantly looking for a stapler, or trying to find a permanent marker or a pack of sticky notes. And whatever you can’t find, you end up buying, creating a vicious cycle that never stops!
 
Back when we were all working in an office, we never second guessed if there was enough ink and toner to print sales sheets. We never doubted that inside the conference room there were a few pens that we could steal for the day (we are all guilty of this). But with a Co-Working space, your Co-Work is literally your personal office with supplies and amenities at your fingertips.
 
Every Co-Work is unique in its offerings, but a lot of them provide the essential supplies and resources to help you stay productive. From 3-D printers on site, to private telephone booths and community pantries. The attraction of a Co-Work is that it is a one-stop shop for freelancers and business owners.
 

COMMUNITY AND UNITY

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One of the most important benefits of being a member of a Co-Work is the ability to network and connect with other people who are members. You can network with people from all different industries and backgrounds that can possibly benefit your business or side-hustle. You could argue that this is all possible while working from home, and you would be half right. You can absolutely network with anyone online, but building relationships and friendships happens a lot more easily and naturally when in person.
 
Working from a Co-Working space, you can arrange lunch meetings or a quick coffee chat to run an idea past a member in person, without the hassle of sending a hundred emails back and forth to set up a Zoom call. You may think that you’re only paying for membership of a Co-work space, but what you’re really paying for is a community that’s unique to you!
 
For the last two years, many of us have been working from home, so we all know being productive at home is possible. And while some are still hesitant to go back to the traditional office, I believe working from a Co-Working space is the perfect option to get the taste of an office while working with a community of like-minded people.