Last week I ran a virtual workshop on #resilience with a leadership team, all of whom are working from home. Like most of us, they had experienced some good days and some bad ones – sometimes feeling energised, other times feeling stressed or burnt out. We shared experiences and discussed what helped them to renew their energy and build up their resilience.
Here is some of their practical wisdom:
- Make time to do things you enjoy
- Get outside into nature
- Physically move around every hour – don’t sit in the same place all day
- Declutter your working space
- Arrange to meet some people face to face if you can do so safely
- Do small acts of kindness for other people
- Recognise the signs that you are moving into stress
- Learn a new skill as a way to de-stress
- Practise reflection to get in touch with your emotions
- Focus on what you have achieved and the positives
- Recognise that it might take longer to get things done
- Ask for help and support when you need it
- Talk to others about how you and they are feeling
As Prof Cary Cooper says, we experience stress “when pressure exceeds the ability to cope”. We can’t change the pandemic, but we can build up our resources – physical, emotional, mental – to deal with this highly challenging situation. And most of all, we can ask for and offer support to our colleagues.
Where is your resilience point? Do your resources meet or exceed the challenges you face? For easy to action tips, see my SPICE quiz.