In today’s society, mental health issues are prevalent and work can often be a contributing factor towards the way we feel within ourselves. Of course, serious mental health problems cannot be fixed by a few simple changes or habits but being kinder to yourself in the workplace is always something that makes daily life a bit easier. Sometimes we find our jobs repetitive or boring. We may not get on with our co workers or feel unappreciated or not stimulated.

It isn’t easy to walk away from a job nowadays. Often due to financial reasons this is not practical and would make your overall feelings towards life even more negative. A solution is to change the way that we think and behave. The backbone of many problems at work, and with mental health is that we are governed by fear. Fear is a de-motivator. We can fear change, fear failure, fear inferiority, fear our managers and it stops productivity. Fear manifests in many different ways including apathy. Giving up, not caring. Apathy is damaging too. Regardless of your workplace worry is here are just some of the solutions to helping to cure your productivity and find yourself in a happier working state of mind.

I’m Underappreciated

Boost your own morale. Running a business is hard so it could just be that your manager or employer doesn’t actually have the time to sit down and give you praise. This is not the only way to gain a sense of achievement. Work hard for you. Recognise it yourself. This will help to contribute to productivity.

I’m not Stimulated

This is a tough one because you know your abilities extend beyond what you are being tasked. Some jobs are boring sadly. Think differently and find learning in everything you do. Be an opportunist and look for new opportunities to teach yourself even in the most mundane of tasks.

I’m Stressed

Set deadlines for yourself to exercise self control and discipline. Get little tasks done and reward yourself for them in the build up to a bigger deadline. Deadlines measure your productivity and this feedback is key in boosting motivation. Don’t be too tough on yourself, but always push to be the very best that you can in your job. Speak up if your work is just getting on top of you, sometimes a simple conversation can alleviate some of the pressure.

I’m not Seeing Results

You aren’t looking hard enough or setting the wrong targets. Set yourself targets to reach smaller and bigger goals in a certain amount of time. High quality is achieved in small steps. Having smaller reachable targets that contribute to big developments will lead to an increase in enthusiasm.

I’m Isolated

Feeling lonely at work is unpleasant. Encourage your manager to use a team cohesion tool to find ways for staff to work productively together even if unsuitable to work together on projects, just to  discuss and share ideas about your respective job roles and get to know each other better.

I’m Overwhelmed or my Day is Lacking Structure

Make lists. Stick to those lists. Keep them in order and work to it. Make these lists prioritised and see how good it feels when the most important or urgent get ticked off. Motivation will follow. Leave some free time in your day for unpredictability so that if something comes up last minute there won’t be any need for further stress.

Overall, work does not need to be a place of extreme negativity. Whatever is bothering you can be cured by trying the above techniques or speaking to your employer, who should be willing to help you. Regardless of what your job is, it is a part of your life and you owe it to yourself to succeed and be as productive as you know you are capable of. This will leave you feeling increasingly positive about life on the whole.