Unpopular Opinion: Work Doesn’t Have to Be Stressful

We spend so much time at our jobs (whether we work from home or not), it’s worth evaluating our experience with work stress from time to time. In general I’ve been learning about how stress manifests in the body as part of my personal self-care journey. Stress is the real deal. It can contribute to chronic pain and illness, in addition to intensifying mental health challenges like anxiety and depression. I’ve dealt with a lot of stress over the years—I don’t know anyone who hasn’t—and it’s astonishing to learn about we react internally to what’s going on around us.

Stress is the body reacting to a threat (whether “real” or perceived). This sets off a whole network of mental and physical reactions—but you’ve probably heard enough on fight, flight, or freeze by now. What’s even more fascinating (and a bit scary) is that over time, our body gets used to sounding the alarm. The stress becomes chronic.

When you’re faced with the same stressors day after day, such as in your job, it’s hard for your body not to get used to expending all of its resources in an effort to protect you. I think we’ve all been in situations where we’re just so familiar with stress, we downplay or even stop noticing the effects it has on us—those headaches and stomach aches, the tension, the bad moods, the fatigue, and lack of motivation—they start to feel like they’re simply part of life.

But while work can be stressful, it doesn’t have to be, and that’s something more of us need to wake up to.

We all know being stressed sucks, but that doesn’t mean we have to accept it as the norm. It truly should be the exception. The idea that work has to be mentally draining or physically harmful is something that’s been drilled into all of us for generations now (one of America’s many charms!) and it’s evidenced by the billions of dollars corporations spend on keeping that status quo.

Many of us are privileged enough to be in positions where we can actually break free from a lot of this stress, though—without having to quit our jobs or switch industries. We just have to train our minds and bodies to stop perceiving work as a threat (much as it feels like it is at times!). And we do that with proper self-care. No, it won’t solve all of the problems we face in our careers—it’s not going to make a terrible boss or crappy pay better—but it will help keep our bodies from entering the cycle of chronic stress.

Here’s what I’ve learned so far about dealing with work stress.

Get committed to your morning routine

Whether you spend your mornings at home and then leave the house, or simply head across the room to your desk, setting yourself—and your nervous system—up for a positive day is essential. The right morning routine for you will likely look different than anyone else’s, while you can totally take inspiration from Pinterest or TikTok, you want to commit to do things that actually bring you calm.

Personally, I prefer journaling and a walk. My mom recently started working out before she heads to the office—something she dreaded the thought of even a year ago—and it has totally transformed her mindset and energy levels. You can also simply take the time to prepare and eat breakfast, something so many of us don’t do! There are so many options, just make sure to commit.

Prioritize

One major reason for work stress? Lack of prioritization. It’s easy to get caught up into the mindset that everything is urgent, and everything has to be done right now. But that is literally impossible. You simply can’t get everything done right now. You can get one thing done right now, and one thing done after.

This gets so difficult when clients or coworkers making nonstop requests, and let’s be honest, we tend to always view our own problems as the most important. At times even our clients or bosses will tell us they are… but that doesn’t change the fact that you cannot do everything right now.

How to prioritize

1. Number your to do list in order of priorities. Even if the first 5 all seem like they should be labeled #1, only 1 item can be #1. Work backwards from least to most urgent, if you need to.
2. Commit to following it in order. Do not move to #2 until #1 is complete (and sometimes that means complete enough, such as if you’re waiting on a colleague for more direction).
3. How much time will you work today? Look at your list, and only plan to do the ones you can reasonably manage in that timeframe. As for the rest, well, you’ve already planned out tomorrow!

We may think we know how to prioritize, but it takes a dedicated effort and consistency before the weight of experiencing everything as urgent will begin to lift.

Establish boundaries

If someone you work with/for isn’t respecting the fact that you can only do one thing at a time, and that not everything can be the most urgent, you may need to set and maintain boundaries. I’ve noticed that most people will respect things you say with confidence, though there will always be someone with unrealistic demands. Try these tips to get more comfortable setting boundaries, and it will reduce work stress in the long run.

There are so many reasons to stress… If I have the power to keep work from being one of them, I’m so much better off, you know?