13 Tips To Make Your Job Less Stressful This Year

Here are some changes workers can make to improve their performance and lower their stress in 2023

Just as many people see the start of a new year as a time to start eating healthier, exercising or drinking more water, productivity experts say this is also a good time to redefine the way we work.

The beginning of the new year offers workers a point of reference to be able to assess what went well and what didn't, what they want in the future and draw up a plan to achieve goals, experts say.

For them, it can be just as, if not more, important than setting personal health goals, as most workers spend most of their waking hours at their jobs.

"It's important to take the time to look back on the past year and think about the future," said Jono Luk, vice president of product management for Webex. "It's so easy to get back to the same rhythm [you had before]."

Experts point out that making meaningful changes doesn't have to be overwhelming, difficult, or even overwhelming. Even small tweaks can make a big difference in how someone works.

"I'm a big believer in making small, progressive changes," said Joshua Zerkel, head of global engagement marketing and productivity expert at Asana. "It's never a good idea. to change everything. all at once."

Here are 13 ways workers can set themselves up for success at the start of the year.

Re-Establish Boundaries Between Personal And Professional

The pandemic has blurred the boundaries between work and personal life over the last couple of years, Luk said, so perhaps this is a good time to strengthen them, this could happen in a variety of ways, from ensuring you have a specific space to work, until you understand when something should or shouldn't be done within your working hours.

"Share your goals. and boundaries with others," he said. "Then do something like, 'If you see me online at 7pm. tell me to go away.' They'll hold you accountable. for your actions."

Make Your Goals Clear

One way to reflect on your goals is to remember what you've accomplished and apply that to what you want to do in the future, said Akhila Satish, CEO of Meseekna, a technology company that uses simulations to help assess talent.

Try to make your goals as practical as possible with small deadlines to make them achievable, she said. You may need to get feedback to help you, said Anita Williams Woolley, professor and dean of research at Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business. She also suggests setting aside a little time each day or each week to review your activities and align them with your goals.

"Be intentional and specific. about what you need. to do to progress," she said.

Determine Your Priorities

What's urgent may not always be what's important, Anita said, so make sure you understand your priorities. Once you've done that. you can map out specifically. what you plan to do. and repeat. until you create new habits.

This could mean adding appointments to your calendar to block off times so you can focus on specific tasks. "Focus on the things. that is important," she said. "Don't let them go off the rails. because of urgent and unimportant things."

Inform Your Intentions

Make your commitments and intentions known for the year, experts say. Sharing your thoughts might be helpful to the rest of your team, who might have suggestions or need to adjust their own expectations. "It might reduce the number of things. that could get. in your way," Anita said. "And we're more likely. to deliver on what we've publicly committed to."

Evaluate Your Productivity

Take a look at your calendar and analyze when you were most and least productive, Akhila said. This can give you clues as to when your productivity improves or declines, so you can organize future meetings and work seamlessly between them.

Also check out. which calendar items. are worth keeping, Luk said. That might mean rethinking recurring meetings and shortening, canceling, or turning to emails or other forms of communication, Zerkel said.

"In fact, most people could eliminate 25% of what they do without any impact on productivity," said Harry Kraemer, professor of management and organizations at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. "We do some things just. out of the usual habit."

Find Your Balance

Take into account how you spend the 168 hours you get each week, Kraemer said. Divide the percentage of time you want to dedicate to six areas of your life: career and further education, family and friends, spirituality, health, entertainment, and social responsibility. Then compare that to how much time you're actually putting in and adjust accordingly, he said. "We have this. bizarre concept of multitasking," he said. "But are we confusing activity with productivity?"

Take Advantage Of Digital Tools

Saving time can be as simple as copying and pasting a frequently used email reply from your laptop's notepad, Akhila said. But are there other programs or ways to digitize small tasks to improve your workflow?

Zerkel said it might even need to thin its digital toolset to be more efficient. Instead of working via email, for example, there might be a task management system that makes more sense for teams to use on specific projects they might want to talk about, share resources or set deadlines.

Plan Your Free Time

Start planning your breaks now, even if it's a rough estimate, advised Luk. If you know you want to go to the beach in the summer, pick a few weekends that would be ideal and mark them on your calendar to avoid planning to overwhelm your plans. Then, as the dates approach, you can consolidate your schedule. "If you don't. even put it on paper. you're not going. to do it," he said.

Reconnect With People

The start of a new year is a great time to reconnect with your professional network, Akhila said. So take the time to connect with former mentors and work connections. "It's hard [to keep in touch]. during the year," she said. "But it's very easy. to get back to interacting. with a happy new year message."

Update Your Resume

The turn of the year is a good time to make sure your resume and personal website are up to date, Akhila said. "You never know when you're going to need it."

Adjust Notifications

If you've been working. with the default notification settings on your devices and apps. you're probably getting distractions all the time, Zerkel said. Akhila suggests using the focus and work mode settings on iPhones and Android devices to silence noise when you want to focus on an activity.

It's also possible to set screen time limits for each app with "Screen Time" in iOS, he said. That might mean closing your email or switching your Slack or Teams notifications to "focus mode," Anita said.

Organize And Archive

Not only should you declutter your physical workspace, but your digital one as well, according to experts. That means cleaning up your desktop, moving icons for frequently used applications or documents to convenient locations, archiving projects and organizing your email, Anita said. "Clean up the clutter. so you can get to the things. that matter most," Zerkel said. "It might even make you feel better."

Gain An Early Start Advantage

Start your day or week by spending the first 15 minutes going through your inbox, calendar and other forms of communication and creating a priority list for the important work, Zerkel said.

"You can put yourself. in a position of control by setting aside that little time. at the beginning. of each day," he said. / TRANSLATION OF ROMINA CÁCIA