Stay Professional and Productive When Bad Mood Kicks In

Being stuck in a traffic jam during a morning commute is aggravating already. Not to mention, it makes you come late to work and your boss stares at you with his killer eyes as he awaits the task you should have submitted early in the morning. All these occurrences are enough to ruin your morning mood. Then your mother calls, saying that your father is very ill and she needs considerable amount of money to bring him to hospital while actually you are struggling to live by yourself in a big city. You expect someone to cheer you up but unfortunately, none of your coworkers says a word.

Your day can’t get any worse, can it?

The show must go on, afterall. Despite having a really bad mood, you realise that you still have work to do. However, after taking some time to take a deep breath and manage your emotions, you cannot help the grumpy and nagging feeling in your heart. What else can you do rather than crying in the toilet and mourning your day long?

Well, it doesn’t have to be like that; because a new study shows that it is possible to stay productive and professional while you have a bad mood. The new study by McAuley finds that “being in a bad mood can help some people’s executive functioning, such as their ability to focus attention, manage time and prioritize tasks.” Below, we share some useful tips of what you should do when experiencing such bad days and want to stay professional and productive at work:

• Stay calm and do not rush things

First thing you should do is to stay calm. This could be difficult to do as you have so many things floating in your mind right now but you should try to breathe in and organise your mind. Despite arriving late, you should not rush into getting into your task hastily because working in such state will only make everything worse as you are unable to focus and concentrate well. Instead, you can sit down, breathe in and breathe out, close your eyes for awhile, and calm your mind. Only then, you can open your laptop and finish your responsibility.

• Have a silent time

Dedicating some moment for a silent time will help you achieve and improve an inner peace. You can do it by starting your day with no internet and no social media. Instead, you can start your day by counting the blessing that you have, being grateful for what you do and have, and/or meditating.

• Stretch up and take a walk

Simple exercise such as taking a walk around the office and getting some warm morning sunlight will not only improve your physical health, but also fix your mood in the morning. It will also make you more active and alerted as the smell of fresh air will calm and improve your brain capacity. So, grab your coffee and walk around or just simply walk to cafeteria but take a different farther way as it will make you move longer.

• Keep smile

Smiling is a simple thing that might not be easy to do when you have a terrible day. However, research has shown that even if you don’t feel like it, faking a smile will still improve your mood. In this case, this will help you stay productive and professional in handling your customer, coworkers, and boss. So why don’t say CHEESE and snap a selfie if it can lighten up your mood?

Next read: Are You On the Verge of Burnout? Tell-tale Signs That You Should Take a Day Off