Last week, on 10 October, was World Mental Health Day. Like many of us, we may have stopped and reflected on what this means to us and the people around us. As a leadership coach and leader within the NHS General Practice system, my mind was diverted to managing stress. This is crucial for maintaining my high productivity at work, my coaching business, and my wellbeing. My staff members must also manage and work within a busy GP practice, managing their stress levels and those of our patients.

My aim is to provide you with robust frameworks for effectively coping with stress at work or outside of work. When we can cope with different stress levels, we can promptly deliver on projects at work, work efficiently within a team setting, and achieve collaborative goals. We boost what we can accomplish and maintain and nurture our wellbeing.

Coping with Stress at Work Using Three  Frameworks 

Here are three frameworks that may help you cope better with stress and enhance your mental health. You do not have to use all three together but must recognise the one that suits you and your needs. As usual, I will provide my GEMs 💎 to help you strive ahead.

The Four A's Framework

This framework is essential when searching for the practical steps required for high-stress levels. It has four distinctive approaches: Avoid, Alter, Adapt, and Accept.

AVOID:
💎 Plan Ahead: Take proactive steps to minimise stress by organising your schedule and prioritising tasks. You have all heard of a "To-Do" list, but have you ever implemented a "To-Do-Today" or TTT list?   A TTT list is made up only of the essential items that you need to get through today. 
💎 Rearrange Your Surroundings: Create a work environment that reduces distractions and enhances focus. The clutter around you forms the clutter in your mind, so maintain a clean working environment or desk space.
💎 Delegate or Postpone Tasks: Identify tasks that are not urgent and can be delegated or delayed to prevent overload. 

ALTER:
💎 Communicate Openly: Express your concerns and needs to colleagues and supervisors to address stressors directly. None would be the wiser if we didn't talk about our concerns.
💎 Manage Your Time: Use time management techniques like the Pomodoro Technique to break work into manageable chunks. This timer is essential for me whilst writing my weekly blog. 
💎 Be Willing to Compromise: Flexibility can reduce tension and lead to more effective solutions.

ADAPT:
💎 Reframe Problems: Change your perspective by viewing challenges as opportunities for growth. Taking a step back can make you appreciate the unseen benefit of a challenge.
💎 Adjust Your Standards: Perfectionism can be a significant source of stress. It is better to aim for excellence rather than perfection. Be kind to yourself.
💎 Focus on Positivity: Concentrate on the positive aspects of your job to boost morale and reduce stress. Appreciate the nuances and what they have provided at each step of your growth.

ACCEPT:
💎 Embrace Change: Recognise that some stressors are beyond your control and focus on what you can manage. Only tackling what is within your control will increase the possibilities of what you can accomplish.
💎 Share Your Feelings: Talking about your stress with trusted colleagues or a support network can provide relief. Sharing is caring. When we are open to discussing our difficulties, we can provide the space, platform and environment for others to do the same. 
💎 Practice Forgiveness: Let go of grudges and negative feelings that can contribute to stress. Be grateful in your daily life by adopting a gratitude journal. Negative feelings will start to dissipate.

The Stress Management Pyramid

This second framework allows you to adopt a holistic approach to stress reduction, starting with physical health and progressing to work management.

Base Layer - Physical Health:
💎 Nutrition: Maintain a balanced diet to support your body's ability to handle stress. Antioxidants are essential for vitality.
💎 Exercise: Regular physical activity can reduce stress hormones and improve mood. The release of endorphins is beneficial for health and wellbeing. Make a calendar entry to commit and display its importance.
💎 Sleep: Ensure adequate rest to restore your body and mind. Find out what your body needs and ensure that you maintain this requirement.

Middle Layer - Emotional Wellbeing:
💎 Mindfulness: Practice mindfulness techniques and meditation to stay present and reduce anxiety. Nurture from within to create that environment of calmness, free from distraction.
💎 Positive Attitude: Cultivate a positive outlook to counteract stress. When you start using techniques such as gratitude journaling, you can help yourself adopt a different level of positivity.
💎 Social Support: Engage with friends, family, and colleagues for emotional support and encouragement. Do not forget to support others and ask for support from your family and friends.

Top Layer - Work Management:
💎 Time Management: Use tools like calendars and to-do lists to organise tasks and deadlines. This helps get the item onto your calendar and gets it out of your head.
💎 Prioritisation: Focus on high-impact tasks and delegate lower-priority items when possible. Once again, this is the "To-Do-Today" or TTT list.
💎 Regular Breaks: Take short breaks to rest and recharge throughout the day. Sitting at the desk for long periods is not healthy or productive for anyone. Take a short walk, stretch your legs or perform a meditation.

 The PERMA Model

Many of you are familiar with the last model. The renowned American psychologist Martin Seligman developed the PERMA Model, which focuses on five elements that contribute to wellbeing and can help reduce work-related stress.

P - Positive Emotion:
💎 Engage in Enjoyable Activities: Find time for hobbies or activities that bring joy and relaxation.
💎 Foster Optimism: Practice gratitude and positive thinking to maintain a hopeful outlook.

E - Engagement:
💎 Find Flow: Engage in tasks that fully absorb your attention and create a sense of flow.
💎 Use Strengths: Identify and leverage your strengths in your work to enhance satisfaction and performance. Use your strength to your advantage, as this is vital for your growth

R - Relationships:
💎 Build Supportive Networks: Develop strong relationships with colleagues to create a supportive work environment.
💎 Collaborate and Connect: Foster teamwork and open communication to reduce isolation and stress. Remember that collaboration supersedes competition.

M - Meaning:
💎 Identify Purpose: Understand the broader impact of your work and how it contributes to your goals and values.
💎 Align Work with Values: Seek tasks and projects that resonate with your values and beliefs. When we live and breathe by our values, we can achieve and deliver on our outcomes effectively.

A - Accomplishment:
💎 Set Achievable Goals: Break down large tasks into smaller, manageable goals to build a sense of achievement.
💎 Celebrate Successes: Recognise and reward yourself for your accomplishments to maintain motivation and reduce stress. Have you considered a celebratory date in your diary? This future date can create colossal successes by ensuring your work is committed to your goals.

Each framework offers unique insights and practical steps that, when combined, can help you maintain a balanced, productive, and fulfilling professional life. There is a visible level of similarity in these frameworks—the Four A's, the Stress Management Pyramid, and the PERMA Model. All frameworks work well and provide a fulfilling strategy to help you manage and reduce stress at work and in all you do.

Regularly using one of these models will help you cope with emerging stress levels. It will also help you manage your workload more effectively. Positivity and happiness will start to seep through. Achievements will be seen, and your growth will be more fulfilling. The framework is there to recognise what is deficient in your everyday approach. By increasing your awareness, I hope you can put the necessary steps in place to optimise your mental health.  

If you would like to embrace Journaling and learn more, then please join me next week on Tuesday, 22 October, at 7:30 PM (BST) for a FREE workshop: