Workplace stress is a real thing. This may be why so many adults lie awake at night plagued by the stressful events of the day. Dealing with stress in the workplace isn’t about making big life changes or rethinking career goals, but instead it’s about remembering that there is always one aspect of your life which you are always able to control; yourself.

These are 5 easy tips to make your work day a little less stressful.

Organise your day

Most Australian’s will dive head-first into their work day with a “lets motor through it” approach thinking they’ll get more done. In actual fact, however, productivity goes down, stress levels go up and they stay up even when you get home in the evening. Scheduling your day and allocating times for meetings, deadlines, tasks and even breaks is a great way to ensure that your work day is efficient, productive and less stressful.

Eliminate Interruptions

In the technologically advanced world we live in, distractions in the workplace are a very common occurrence. Emails, phone calls, text messages, Facebook notifications, Tweets and instant messaging, bundled together with pop ins, chatty colleagues and sudden deadlines make todays worker more distracted than they have ever been before. There are simple solution which can be implemented to minimise interruptions. Set specific times to respond to emails, close the door when you need to focus, turn your phone on silent, leave your social media until your lunch break or on the commute home.

Lunch break

Whether you pre-pack your lunch, are going out for a team lunch or even just going for a walk outside of the office, make sure you do take a lunch break at some point in the day. Some time outside of the office will help you to clear your head and relieve the build up of stress, which will increase productivity for the rest of the day. When making lunch choices, where possible, choose a healthier option that will keep you sustained for the remainder of the work day and removes the added stress of asking yourself “should I have eaten that?”.

Take some time for yourself

It happens to the best of us. You’ve just had a meeting and you’ve either realised that you’re really behind on your work or you’ve got so much to do, and the stress kicks in instantly. Maybe you’ve had a bit of a run-in with your boss, colleague or client. There are many situations that can happen in the workplace which will increase stress. A simple and effective way to deal with this is to step outside of the office and spend some time on your own to relax. Go outside, go for a walk, grab a coffee, call a loved one and be away from the office for a moment.

Breathe

If you’re feeling overwhelmed or you're coming out of a tense meeting and need to clear your head, take a a few minutes of deep breathing to restore balance. Simply inhale for five seconds, hold and exhale in equal counts through the nose. It’s like getting the calm and focus of a 90-minute yoga class in three minutes or less at your desk.