Let’s face it, life is stressful. Sometimes the stress we experience is good for us. It makes us react better, it gives us a real adrenaline rush when we are getting ready for something exciting and it can help us enjoy ourselves.

You’ll also find though, that stress, when experienced over an extended period of time, can make us tired, cranky and much more inclined to be unhealthy, and one of the leading causes of stress that we might experience is through our jobs.

You will find that if your work is making you feel stressed out that you are taking it home with you, and as a result, you’ll quickly realize that your after-work, family interactions are suffering. Take a look at some of the following tips for leaving your work stress at work, where it belongs!

1. Come up with a finishing-work ritual

Don’t leave your work place in a hurry. You’ll find that just by taking an extra five minutes to organize your workstation and to put things away will let you begin a similar process in your own head. This can be instrumental towards leaving your stress where it belongs, so take the time to do it. Don’t flee your office, just leave it!

2. Don’t talk about work after work

You’ll find that if you talk too much about work after the fact, you’ll never really leave. While a brief chat with a friend or a spouse to decompress afterwards is a good idea, you’ll find that doing this too much will go a long way towards making you feel like you are always talking about work. If you have friends who are co-workers, make a rule about how much shop you can talk and make a real effort to keep the shop talk to a minimum

3. Decompress From Work

When you are leaving work, think about heading someplace to relax before you get home. You might want to go to a gym, or you might want to think about heading to a park just to feed ducks. You’ll find that having a few quiet moments to yourself can do a lot for your home life. This will help you avoid associating your home with stress from work. You’d be surprised by how much people are creatures of habit, so take the time to really consider having a bit of a buffer zone.

4. Ask for help

If you feel that stress is taking over your life, you’ll find that sometimes, you need something more powerful or substantial than just hitting the gym a few nights a week. Remember that constantly feeling stressed out isn’t natural, and you’ll find that if you are doing so that something is wrong. Take the time to consider getting professional help before it gets out of control.