Stressed about GDPR? (or another task) Here are four ideas to help.

​This week is Mental Health Awareness week and this year's theme is stress. You might have heard figures like: 11 million days are lost each year due to work related stress. At Office Om, our theory is that we all get stressed sometimes, but there is so much we can do that can help. Read about four ideas below.

​In case you haven’t heard of GDPR, it’s the General Data Protection Regulation about to come into force on 25th May 2018. Although this has been around for a long time, many businesses are still ticking off their checklist to get everything in order by the deadline.  You may feel like you’ve nailed this already, or that you’re drowning in things to do, or maybe you’re thinking ‘GDPR, what GDPR?’. Or maybe you’re feeling stressed about something totally different? Whatever stage you’re at, some of the following ideas may help:
 
Good Intentions– remember, somewhere behind most things we are stressed about there is a good intention. For example, behind wanting to get a bit of work done by a deadline, there is an intention to do well and not let people down. The GDPR is there to help protect people’s personal information. Sometimes when we are stressed, we forget this, and we start thinking about the massive burden the stress is having on us. We may wish we didn’t have to do it. Or think about what would happen if we stuck our head in the sand and ignored it all. However, noticing what we are doing, and focussing instead on the good intention behind the task can be a good way to begin to shift the stress. What is the good intention behind the thing you’re stressed about?

Detailed planning– how often when we think about a big job like the GDPR does it seem like a huge mountain to overcome? For so long, I had ‘GDPR’ written on my to do list, like I could just tick it off and it would be done. I knew I needed to break this down, and once I had, it was like a weight had shifted. Breaking the task down into stages with different deadlines made it feel so much more manageable. If GDPR, or something else, feels really stressful right now, can you break it down into bite-sized easy to complete chunks? Doing these one by one can help motivation by making you feel like you are getting somewhere.

​Progress not procrastination– think yoga is all about stretching and lying on the floor? Think again.  Well, ok, it can be about that, but a huge part of ancient yoga theory is Karma yoga, the yoga of action. Yoga is about getting stuff done? Yes, exactly. It really is. Although, it’s amazing how when we turn to action we can end up procrastinating. (Who would have thought that tidying up the accounts is more fun than learning about the intricacies of third party data transfers in GDPR? Apparently so!) A good question: Is this activity getting me towards where I want to be? If not, time to take a breath, step away from the distraction, and reconnect with the action that needs to be taken.

Relaxation - It’s so important when we get our bodies and minds into a state of stress that we find time to relax. So, this can be the lying around breathing bit, if you want it to be. Although it doesn’t have to be. There are so many ways we can relax. We all get stressed sometimes, and this can be ok, as long as we counterbalance it with periods of relaxation. If GDPR or anything else is getting too much, make sure you exercise some self care and look after yourself. You might find then you make more progress when you get back to it in a better frame of mind. It can really help to list your favourite ways to relax as a reminder to do these.
 
How are you finding dealing with the GDPR legislation?
 
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At Office Om, we love helping people and organisations decrease their stress levels and increase their wellbeing. Find out how we can help you or your business by emailing info@officeom.com.