While some amount of stress is normal, excessive stress can lead to many health and psychological problems, which may adversely affect your personal life as well. It may also hold you back from making use of your professional skills and abilities to their fullest. Considering all the adverse effects of this modern-day malaise, companies are conducting various awareness programs on stress management. Finding ways to reduce it need not be about making major changes to your routine. With some simple techniques, it is possible to lessen the amount of stress, without impacting your productivity or business performance. Laughter and Fun Time Having a hearty laugh and a fun time is probably the best stress-buster at the office. It lightens the mood and helps to take on challenges. If you have been working for hours continuously, it is fine to use a few minutes for informally talking with your colleagues or team members. You can share some jokes or a funny experience that you had the day before. Just make sure that you do not spend too much time on this activity, or else it could adversely impact your deliverables. Keep Your Body Moving Regular exercise is a powerful stress reliever. If you are working for a substantial amount of time, sitting in the same place for hours, it is certain that you are going to experience physical strain. The answer to this problem is to keep your body moving. Stretch your arms, legs, and neck at regular intervals, or just take a quick walk around the office. This improves your heart rate and lifts your mood. At least 30 minutes of exercise daily can do wonders to your overall well-being. Healthy Food and Lifestyle Less diet can make you irritable and anxious, whereas overeating, especially junk food, can make you lethargic. Ensure that you have small but frequent meals, which keeps your metabolism going, and most importantly, the food should be healthy. Moreover, you also need to cut down on bad habits such as smoking, drinking, etc., which actually increase anxiety as its effect wears off. Get Enough Sleep Lack of adequate sleep can leave you vulnerable to even more stress. When you're well-rested, it's much easier to keep your emotional balance, and remain energetic and fresh through the day. Try to keep a consistent schedule and aim for 7 - 8 hours of sleep every night. Time Management Avoid a pile up of work by planning your day in advance. Sort out your daily tasks according to their priority, and allot a particular time for each one of them. Also, make sure not to over-commit to tasks or responsibilities that are not likely to be finished in the day's schedule. Time management will effectively lessen stress and increase your productivity. Work in a Team and Try to Acquire Knowledge It is a proven fact that working in a team really makes it far easier for employees to work smarter. It allows you to divide the work as per the skills of each individual and get it done. Moreover, you will also be able to develop your skills and capabilities on the job. Another good method of reducing stress is to acquire knowledge in your interest area. The Internet is the best way to obtain knowledge. For example, if you are interested in written communication, you can always search online for tips and guidelines on enhancing that skill. You can then put the acquired skill into use in your everyday job. It is important to note that stress management at the workplace can only be effective when both, the employees and the leadership, take steps to identify and address its factors or causes and eliminate them as much as possible.