Stress Busters II: Mini-break solutions recap
Recently, several ES Vancouver staff members attended a workshop on simple ways to introduce mini-breaks and stress reduction strategies into their daily routine.
We began the session by thinking about things in our daily lives that trigger us to feel stressed, angry or tense. We discovered that it is often the small things in our day that bother us the most.
Here are some examples of triggers that we shared:
- Commuting on a crowded bus or in a car during rush hour
- Waiting in long line ups
- Technology issues like a slow computer or no internet signal
- Long lines in the SUB
- Getting ready and out the door on time
- Getting children ready to go in the morning
- Time pressures during evenings and weekends with family
Next we filled out a self-assessment to identify our perceived level of stress. Exercises like this can be done periodically and used as a benchmark to help check in with yourself before and after practicing relaxation and stress reduction techniques.
To identify ways we are already taking mini-breaks, we took a few minutes to think about activities that recharge us. These are the little ways we already use calm down when we are stressed or need a quick break.
Some of the things that recharge the group were:
- Going for a quick walk
- Checking in with a friend or colleague
- Eating lunch away from your desk
- Watching cute animal videos
- Treating yourself (getting nails done, eat a cookie, play a game of Candy Crush, etc.)
- Exercising
In addition to the recharging activities we came up with, the session facilitator, Ronaye Coulson, walked us through a few more ways to us help relax and recharge. Some of these ideas require you to carve out a bit of time from your day, while others can be done during things you already do during your day:
- Morning meditation
- Stretching before getting out of bed and at your desk
- Yoga
- Mindfulness during everyday activities (eating, washing hands, etc.)
- Mindful walking (printable guide)
- Belly breathing
- Playing with (or like) a child
- Take up a hobby
- Do something creative (paint, sew, sing)
- Unplug from technology
- Keep a gratitude journal and write in it every night
- Progressive relaxation (printable guide)
Tips:
- Set a timer on your calendar to prompt you to take a short break: walk around the building, get water, stretch, check in with a colleague
- Find a favourite spot on campus, read a chapter of a book, listen to a podcast, call a family member
- Talk to someone. Whether it is about things that stress you out or not, sharing with others helps us connect with something outside of ourselves. This can be the break we need from whatever is triggering us.
If you are interested in learning more about stress reduction techniques, you may wish to read books written by authors such as Julia James, Herbert Benson and Jon Kabat-Zinn.