80% of American workers report feeling stressed on the job, and almost half of them want to learn how to manage it. And, that was before the start of the pandemic, which complicated many work environments. So, how can we prevent work stress rather than react to its adverse effects? Resilience is key.

Work-life balance is even more challenging now, so we have to build resilience by learning how to integrate work and life to remain productive and healthy. Here are some ways you can do that:

1. Time Yourself – Give yourself a time limit per task. This will help you understand how long it takes you to complete certain things, so you can create an efficient daily schedule.
2. Use GPS – GPS stands for “Goal, Purpose, Scope.” When tackling a project, start with envisioning what the work will look like when it’s completed. Next, identify the purpose of the project and visually outline all the steps it will take to complete.
3. Try Time Theming – “Time Theming” is a technique that allows you to focus days, weeks or months toward one specific goal, which helps you avoid becoming overwhelmed while trying to decide which tasks to complete. For example, you can theme a certain day of the week, “e-mail Wednesday,” label it as such on your calendar, and reserve that time to address old emails. You can use this technique socially as well – select a “friends day” and a “family day” to hold yourself accountable to staying connected!
4. Create a New Email Strategy – You get an email notification, and all of the sudden you are taken off task and distracted. You have to decide whether to respond immediately or add the email to your to-do list, and by the time you get back to your original task, you have to take a moment to remember where you left off. Click here for tips to help you organize your emails as you receive them, so you can stay on task.
5. Leave Yourself a Note – When you are inevitably distracted or pulled away from your work during the day, write a brief note on where you left off on a task. When you return to your project, you won’t waste any time trying to remember where to pick back up again.

Source: Forbes, “How to Dramatically Improve Work-Life Balance”