How to Deal with “One of Those Days”

Have you ever had ‘one of those days?’ You know, the ones where the day starts out not on a good note and goes downhill from there?  It seems that no matter how positive and calm you remain, nothing seems to work to feel better? And the more you try to overcome, the more irritated you become – the boss or a coworker irritates you; you can’t seem to focus to get your work done; or you just want to start the day over.

I have to admit that today is one of those days for me. I somehow overlooked the fact that my alarm clock was still set to weekend time, so I woke up later than I anticipated, not getting some tasks done before I went into my office. Then, I had a plumbing problem, so I left the floor wet, to later feel very irritated that I rushed only to have a scheduled client having to reschedule. My computer is running slower than I’d like, only adding to my frustrations; I just feel really edgy, which is not a good feeling when more clients are ahead and I need to be open to them.

If you’ve had one of those days, and not sure how to resolve or feel better, here are some tips I use that may help you as well – the more you use them, the better you will feel:

• Breathe – this is one of the fastest ways that helps me feel calmer immediately as it allows oxygen to get into your system and helps the stress chemical Cortisol to move throughout the body and do the job it’s meant to do, which is to relax
• Visualization – while I’m breathing, I allow my visual field to ‘see’ happy pictures, which may be colors or my dog, or even a beach scene; sometimes I use the visuals to create the calming scene I envision. This may or may not work for everyone at first but with practice can
• Write – this really helps to release any negative feelings and see things from a different perspective. Getting any negative or racing thoughts out will not allow them to stay in the head, which is a great way to let things go as well as both challenging thoughts and coming up with strategies/solutions to those bad situations that led me to feel poorly (note to self: make sure to check the clock on Sunday night)
• Go Outside – I find this also to be an immediate relaxer, particularly standing in fresh air and in sunlight. We take in both the rays from the sun, which helps with Vitamin D levels and taking in oxygen, both which are natural calmers
• Gratitude – taking the focus off of negative situations and placing them on to positive thoughts and perhaps lessons learned from the negatives, helps to see that I do have a good life in spite of setbacks. It makes me realize that I’ve been through adversity before and not only survived, but thrived, and will today. I always feel positive after this practice, which has now become a daily habit for me

If you’d like help to increase your workplace performance and job satisfaction, while decreasing your stress level, contact us today for your Complementary Discovery Session: http://www.cyscoaching.com.