Carrying the burden of others’ problems can be exhausting. As an IT professional, most days are spent helping others and solving their problems. Your role might be to be supportive and keep hopes high while aiding customers who are in the middle of an IT crisis. Or perhaps it’s to keep infrastructure up and running and secure at your own office.
It is easy to put the needs of your customers first, find yourself in stressful situations, and work overtime to ensure business success. Of all the tasks placed on IT professionals, one of the most important (and most often neglected) is positioning yourself for minimal stress.
We’ve compiled 10 tips to help relieve the stresses of being an IT professional, so you don’t have to suffer while saving the day.
Complete the Small Tasks First
When there is a lot on your plate, it is normal to feel swamped. Start with a small task that is easy. You’ll feel accomplished and in the mindset of “I can do anything!”
Set Realistic Expectations with Others
Define with your managers, supervisors, and stakeholders the realistic outcomes of IT disasters. Having a plan will relieve stress when you are in the middle of a chaotic situation. Make sure you have established expectations for recovery as well; you don’t want to be managing a disaster with unrealistic expectations from your superiors.
Learn to Say ‘No’
Constantly saying ‘yes’ and taking on more work leads to more stress and burning out. “You can’t pour from an empty cup.”
Ask for Help
Asking for help can be extremely beneficial, especially in circumstances where someone else might be the expert. Why dwell on a problem for hours when someone else can answer it in minutes? Don’t be afraid to ask for help; just make sure you repay the favor!
Communicate the “Little Things.”
Set aside time to communicate with your staff and managers about some of the “little things.” Having candid conversations about small things along the way will be less stressful than having a tough conversation about an unexpected outage. Internalizing “little things” will only add to your stress.
Make Connections
Even better than walking alone, grab a co-worker to walk with. Making connections with your co-workers improves your feelings toward work. This will also provide space to communicate some of those “little things” and encourage camaraderie in other areas of work. This is one of the things we do best at Nagios!
Fine-Tune Communication Methods
Too much information coming from multiple channels at once can result in anxiety and fatigue. It is important to narrow down how information gets to you, when it gets to you, and where you house that information. When this happens, the data becomes less chaotic and more manageable.
Take Advantage of Your Employer’s Benefits
Are you aware of everything that your company has to offer? Make sure to use the PTO you are allotted and check to see what types of benefits are offered through your health insurance.
Test Regularly
Carving out time to test backups and disaster recovery methods will not only ease the burden at work but also help you sleep better at night knowing you have a foolproof plan in place.
Get an Ergonomic Work Space
See if there are work spaces around your office that aren’t being used. Even taking your laptop to a couch or using a standing desk can help shift your mood!
We recommend all of these because they are all connected. Better sleep = better social interactions = making more connections = easier to ask those connections for help = improved quality of life all around!
To those of you working in the IT industry, thinking about working in the IT industry, or who interact with IT professionals, we hope that these tips serve as a reminder that all IT professionals are solving big problems. Take a break, or give your IT professionals the break they need.
Bonus Tip: Use Nagios! Nagios helps relieve stress by centralizing your alerts in one location. With Nagios, you keep your peace of mind.
Here are some helpful resources:
Steps to Take When You’re Starting to Feel Burned Out
We’d love to hear how you relieve stress at your job! Email us at marketing@nagios.com.
