Say Bye-Bye to Work Blues

Stress levels at work lately have been skyrocketing all around—and at least for me, stress comes with work blues. By the time Friday hits, I’m ready to run out and never return, and when bedtime arrives on Sunday, I’m never quite ready to finish up the weekend.

This is how I want to feel ALL the time: happy, relaxed, content.
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Don’t get me wrong—I like my job quite a bit. I am constantly learning and there is always something to do. I work with some really awesome people, and I’m happier in this career than I have ever been before. But some mornings, I wake up and wish I could just roll over and forget about work.

Unfortunately, work’s not going to go away—and that means I’ve got to come up with a way to deal with these dang work blues when they come around. I don’t have a perfect solution to workweek blues, but I do have a few suggestions that have helped me in the past:

Resisting the urge to stay up late on Sunday night. As much as I want to get a few more hours of weekend in, it’s usually not a good idea to stay up late and not get enough sleep for Monday. My ideal sleep time is 9 hours, so getting only 6 is a recipe for disaster. Try getting at least 7 hours of sleep on work nights—you’ll be surprised at how much it helps!

Cutting down on binge TV-watching and video games. Don’t get me wrong, I’d LOVE to sit down and watch four episodes of House of Cards in a row, but honestly it’s not worth it. Whenever I use up my entire evening playing video games or watching TV, the time slips by too quickly and I often end up staying up too late. I limit myself to one hour per night.

Make plans during the week. This one is hard for me. The last thing I want to do during the week is add more to my plate, but it really does help give me something to look forward to. It can be a solitary activity (like going to exercise classes or club meetings) or it can be dinner with friends—you choose.

Slow down. As much as I want to get to work, get done, and come home as early as possible, those mornings when I rush myself out of the house and don’t let myself enjoy a good lunch are the worst. Allow yourself even a 15 minute lunch break—away from your workstation—and you’ll be rewarded with less stress and a refreshed mind and body.

What do you do to kick work blues to the curb? I’d love to hear some of your suggestions, tips, and tricks!