5 Fun Stress-Relieving Tools to Do at Your Desk Right Now!

Stress. It doesn’t have to be your BFF every single day.

Let’s be honest. The work-life-balance juggling act is a challenge for many of us these days. Between work and our personal lives, it’s not surprising if we drop the ball once in a while. Heck, all three of those juggling balls can fall out of our hands and roll away. And the stress creeps in.

The long-term benefits of consistent exercise routines, getting enough sleep, eating well, and striving for that work-life balance are great. But day-to-day techniques go a long way to help, too. Below, Forbes magazine has outlined some stress relievers to do right at your cube:

5 Fun Stress Relievers

1. Relax those muscles! Start with your toes by squeezing and releasing. Then work up through each muscle group by making the muscles tense, then relax. Loosening up tight muscles can help remove chronic tension.

2. Visualize It! When in need of a relax-reboot, visualizing your “happy place” for a few minutes can help you reset. Close your eyes and picture the place that you’d love to be in, a place that makes you feel most peaceful. Engage the 5 senses and ask yourself what you’d see, hear, smell, taste, and touch when you’re there.

3. Take a Few Deep Breaths. Just do it. You’ll add oxygen to your brain and calm the nerves.

4. Engage Your Senses. This one is fun to figure out what works best for you. Of the 5 senses, what helps you ease your mind the most? Music? Scrolling through some photos of family for a few minutes? Maybe a scented lotion on your hands helps. Or a little chocolate? Maybe it’s time to invest in a little stress-ball to squeeze!

5. Laugh! Laughing stimulates circulation and soothes tension. To help facilitate a chuckle, keep some things in your desk drawer like funny cartoons or photos. Or you can pull aside a co-worker who shares your sense of humor to share a funny story. Reminding yourself to not take life to seriously and have a good laugh is essential.

Determining your stress level:
• Do you have major demands at work but minimal decision-making latitude and little control? Hello, stress!
• Do you have particular complaints about your role or a colleague that haven’t been addressed? That can be stressful.
• What about job security and overall finances? Double stress.

According to the American Institute of Stress, 46% of our stress comes from work. 28% comes from “people issues” AKA those ever-so-challenging interpersonal communications; and 20% of stress comes from juggling personal issues and work.

The real-life consequences of stress present itself as increased risk of heart attack, hypertension, and other issues, like back pain, headaches, and fatigue. The downside for employers? Poor productivity, less concentration and creativity, increased client complaints, and lack of job morale.

Need more reasons to institute some more self-care? Here’s a final one: It feels good. Period. So go on and start relaxing those muscles!