Hey everyone! Clarity Claire here with another update you don’t want to miss!
Have you ever had a week where work (or life in general) just got the best of you? A week so stressful all you wanted to do was walk away? It’s okay–we’ve all been there. In fact, over 70% of people say that stress impacts their physical and mental health on a regular basis.
Oftentimes, the most stressful situations in our lives are the product of chaos and frustration, which makes it hard to get through the week. And while it may not be possible to remove all chaos from your life (as much as I’d love to see it), it’s still possible to take small steps that can champion simplicity and eliminate a lot of the stress you experience in the workplace.
As a dedicated advocate for making the workplace a more “stress-free” space, I put together a list of top tips you can use to practice simplicity and help bring a little simplicity to your workweek. Take a look!
Top Tips to Simplify Your Workweek
- Tip 1: Group Similar Tasks Together
The process of grouping similar tasks together to complete a goal is often called “task batching.” Task batching can help simplify your workweek because it helps you avoid context-switching or mentally jumping back and forth between tasks. Constant shifts in work can quickly lead to employee burnout and low morale.
To implement this tip, start by trying to block out your tasks for the week on your calendar, grouping similar tasks together. See how it works for a week or two, making any adjustments in technique until you find the right workflow.
- Tip 2: Build Time for Mindfulness
Stress is a killer… literally. Around 76% of adults experience adverse health impacts from stress. Practicing mindfulness in the workplace can help reduce stress and add simplicity to your day. Mindfulness has many meanings, but I like to think of it as a gentle way to focus your awareness and be present in the moment.
It can be as simple as taking a walk during lunch, practicing 10 minutes of chair yoga at your desk, or committing to being a more active listener. Hey–just because you’re at work doesn’t mean you can’t improve your personal skills, right?
- Tip 3: Keep Work at Work
We’ve all been there–catching up on emails after hours, answering a work call just before dinner, or working late to ensure all the details are perfect on that report before hitting the final “Submit.” But those extra tasks can really eat into your time for self-care.
As much as you can, try to keep your work at work. When you’re home, consider turning off notifications and encouraging your coworkers to promote their own work-life balance. This will enhance your workplace culture and help simplify your workweek.
- Tip 4: Get the Most Out of Your Benefits
One of the biggest hurdles in employee benefits is making sure you know the resources available to you. Education about benefits is so crucial, considering that over 50% of employees admit that they don’t fully understand the options in their current health benefit plans.
If that sounds like you, reach out to your HR professional. They can help you take advantage of any underused benefits that can help make your life simpler. For example, you can use HSAs and FSAs to pay for OTC medications, Commuter Benefits to make travel to and from work easier and Dependent Care to help pay for elder or childcare.
Why is the Practice of Simplicity Important?
One of my jobs here at Clarity is to champion and celebrate the benefits of simplicity in all aspects of life. I truly believe that simplicity is the key to living well. It has a profound impact on your overall health and can produce the work-life balance you need.
Clarity wants to reach beyond simplifying benefits to help support an abundant personal and professional life with balance, freedom and joy. That’s why, for the second year in a row, we’ll be celebrating National Simplicity Day on July 12, 2023!
Over the next few months, we’ll share more resources, tips and tools that can help bring simplicity to your life at work, at home and anywhere you go! Stay tuned for more updates from me, or visit our National Simplicity Day website to see highlights from last year’s celebration!
Simplicity in Action
At Clarity Benefit Solutions, we aim not only to bring simplicity to the (often complicated) world of employee benefits but to research, implement and share ways you can simplify all aspects of your life. It just takes one simply smarter step at a time!
When it comes to simplifying work, I challenge you to implement just 1 of the tips from this article and see how it impacts your week. In fact, I’m going to schedule some time on my calendar right now for a daily “mindfulness” break!
Be well!
-Clarity Claire
Clarity Claire is a benefits administration expert who exists to help you navigate benefits. She aims to champion simplicity and share insights on Clarity’s mission by bringing a friendly face to the benefits landscape. She’s here to answer questions and guide discussions to help employees celebrate the joys of life at work and home.
Clarity developed Claire as a benefits package connoisseur to help you feel confident in your journey and partnership with Clarity. Claire recognizes that sometimes benefits can be intimidating, stressful and confusing! So she spends her time explaining the latest trends that can help employees make the most informed benefit decisions. Her goal is to make benefits technology more approachable, taking away some of that stress and confusion so you can focus on what’s most important to you and your employees! She’ll share her insights in our Clarity Newsletters, Insights Page, blogs, and more!
