It should come as no surprise that poor mental health can negatively impact workplace productivity. Anxiety and depression can make the simplest of tasks feel insurmountable to accomplish, just as toxic productivity—the need to be productive at all times—can itself become a mental health issue. Here, the experts at Joy Organics share five tips to help manage your mental health and increase productivity both in and out of the workplace.
1. Take a Break
It’s important to step away from your work every few hours to give your brain a break. Only 11 out of 50 states mandate some type of rest break for workers. If your employer allows a break, you should take it and make sure it is uninterrupted.
Enjoying a break allows your brain to reset itself from any stressful situations. Research from the association of psychological science suggests that a 10-minute break for every hour you work is a good balance to maintain productivity.
2. Set Small Objectives
Looking at your work as a whole can be daunting. Those feelings of dread can feed into depression and anxiety. Instead, divide up your work into manageable chunks to make things less overwhelming.
A simple way to do this is by using Stephen Covey’s four quadrants of time management approach. This method uses four categories:
- Urgent and important – unforeseen events and urgent matters
- Not urgent but important – smaller tasks that won’t affect your deadlines
- Urgent but not important – meetings and phone calls
- Not urgent and not important – checking social media
Compartmentalizing can also help those with ADHD, as it allows the brain to tick off small steps along the way.
3. Communicate
Looking at the situation from another perspective can be useful for lowering your stress levels. Talking to your team or a manager not only gives you a break from staring at a screen, but it also helps to solve problems faster. Instead of struggling with a project alone, ask for a quick meeting or an informal chat to get another set of eyes on it.
4. Don’t Take on Too Much
Hustle culture has become all too common in workplaces over the past few years. It can be near impossible to keep up as managers continue to pile on the work. Excessive work can contribute to stress and depression, especially when it seems like there is no end in sight. You have a finite number of hours at work, so don’t take on a week’s worth hoping to get it done in a day. Set boundaries, and know when to ask for help.
5. Get a Good Night’s Sleep
When you’re tired and low on energy, it becomes harder to concentrate. Getting at least eight hours of sleep each night will allow your brain to rest and better equip you to deal with whatever the workplace throws at you. Before going to bed, you should do something relaxing that does not involve staring at a phone screen or catching up on work. This helps to signal that it’s time to sleep.
“According to a study by stress.org, more than 50 percent of workers are not as productive at work due to stress, and 39 percent claim workload is the main cause,” says a spokesperson for Joy Organics. “It’s important that companies work towards creating more inclusive workplaces that have a healthy work-life balance and manage employee stress by being transparent.”
