One of the hardest things in life is to keep focus during troubled times, to keep doing quality work, to keep giving your best when we are under pressure, full of problems, when we feel like our entire world is about to collapse. Trying to put feelings and thoughts of a personal nature aside to prioritize your professional ethics and leave your productivity intact.

We’ve all been through these downturns. And it’s not always because of a tragedy. It is totally normal to go through periods of stress, self-doubt, self-criticism, or anxiety throughout adult life. But it should also be normal to have tools at hand to try to regain control of our emotions and our lives.

And as natural as it is to experience such episodes, it is not healthy to stay in the hole for too long. We cannot let them take over our lives. We must recognize these feelings, respect our times, but also know how and when to get out of them.

In addition, if it is all about continuing to work, there are several strategies we can apply to keep us on our feet, organize our thoughts and fulfill our responsibilities. Among them, we have:

1. Recognize the importance of your work

As much as you may feel like doing nothing, you can’t ignore the fact that this is not a long-term solution. It’s understandable that you need some time to get your head back in the right place with tools like the ones we’ll give below. However, the empathy of those who work with you won’t last long. Everyone has the need to move on, even you.

Focus on how what you do is important to the company you work for, even more if it is yours; on the people who depend on your work, both financially, like your family, as well as at work. Focus on the activities you do, and stay connected with your co-workers. Keep focus, what you do matters.

2. Be flexible

If you really need some time to clear your head, then take it. There is no point in staying in the office and walking around in zombie mode, working by inertia, producing but with errors. You need to be well to work well. And only you know what you need to do to get back on your feet. Be honest with yourself, go away for a while, and come back refreshed.

3. Express your feelings

When you have accumulated tensions, they end up coming out in some way and most of the time, they damage our environment and hurt those around us. The best thing to do is to get all our worries out periodically and in a healthy way.

If you feel lost, stressed, hurt, share those feelings with someone you trust. Talking about how you feel will help you feel much better, as well as less alone or isolated. You will find that you can always get good advice or help from people close to you.

It also helps a lot to write a journal with your emotions. It is a way to get the problem out of your head to the outside world and also take the burden off of you because you will be able to see it from another perspective and find solutions. You can engage in writing for at least 10 minutes a day religiously.

Don’t be ashamed to go to a professional, no matter how small or insignificant your problem may seem to you, because it may not be the case. Let yourself be helped.

4. Face your problems

It is somewhat related to the previous point. If you are overwhelmed by one or more problems, simply list them. Take it easy and with a cool head, think of solutions, as many as you can. Keep those that seem possible and put together a plan or list of tasks to carry out the most reasonable one.

5. Schedule your day to keep focus

When you don’t know what to do or where you are going, we allow more room for anxiety. Instead, if you take 5 minutes at the end of the day to think and list what you have to do the next day, everything becomes an advantage. You will feel like you have a purpose for getting out of bed, the fulfillment of knowing that you are needed in your environment. You will stay focused on your tasks and not on the bad thoughts that sabotage your productivity. Every little task accomplished will fill you with satisfaction.

It is important to emphasize that it is not about working like a machine tirelessly. The best thing to do is to set realistic goals that you can meet in the time set. If you put too much on your plate, you will end up more stressed than at the beginning. And don’t forget to allow time for breaks, meals, breaks, and even setbacks.

6. Treat yourself

That’s right, only you can count and celebrate every battle you win. As part of your planning, don’t forget to take time to reward yourself for achieving what you set out to do. Whether it’s a cocktail at the end of the week, a dessert, a walk, or even a Sunday of total disconnection. Whatever helps motivate you to stick to your plan and keep focus, and also serves to recharge your batteries to keep going.

7. Strive to stay positive

The most obvious solutions are sometimes the ones that work best. We have to work on staying positive during adversity. It’s not about pretending to be fine, but focusing on the good things, taking a deep breath, not losing our sanity and thinking logically about the best solution to our problem.

It is not to undervalue what you feel, nor ignore it. But recognizing the miracles and wonders in our lives gives us the strength to look for solutions and overcome any situation. It is also very helpful to find a positive, meaningful phrase that you can use when you are upset to try to bring you back to calm and sanity. Choose your mantra and repeat it in your mind as many times as you need.

We must always try to give a positive spin to any bad thing that happens around us. We have the ability to transform deep sadness into great inspiration; anger into the physical drive to move forward; anxiety into productivity and order. Any emotion can be used to justify hard work. I’m still slowly learning to manage mine, and I hope I can help you manage yours better too.

---

Connect with Nico Pengin

Facebook: NicoPengin

Twitter: @NicoPengin1

YouTube Channel

Author page on Amazon

All my links

---