If you were told to return to the office after working remotely for more than two years, it might be jarring news for you.
To help you cope and manage the abrupt changes to your lifestyle, here is some Zen advice on getting acclimated to being back in an office setting.
Since it’s a new start, you must build a beginner’s mindset. This calls for perceiving each new experience without any preconceived notions. Accept the new environment, welcome the changes and embrace the newness of the situation. It may not come easily to you, as you may feel your life has been upended.
The workplace has dramatically changed from the days of the Great Resignation. For hundreds of thousands of people, 2023 hasn’t been too great. Layoffs, hiring freezes, a white-collar “richsession,” a possible economic recession, concerns over inflation and the high costs of everything have stoked Americans’ anxiety and stress levels.
There are real issues to contend with. For those who enjoyed working remotely or in a hybrid fashion, bosses are now telling them to return to the office. Some people relocated to lower-cost locations to purchase more affordable homes with less taxes and good public schools. Now, they’re in a predicament. Do they sell their home, potentially incurring a financial loss, and buy another place with a much higher interest rate to be closer to work, or quit and start searching for a new job?
What Is Zen?
Zen emanates from Mahayana Buddhism in China during the Tang Dynasty and quickly spread throughout Asia. The practice of Zen calls for being in the present moment. This can be achieved by practicing meditation and mindfulness—an awareness of your thoughts in the moment, in harmony with your inner feelings and surrounding environment.
The daily practice of Zen includes focusing on simplicity and attaining a state of calm attentiveness to one’s surroundings. Practitioners of Zen Buddhism seek to achieve a high level of enlightenment through meditation and intuition, as opposed to depending upon conscious efforts. A helpful way to relax and destress with Zen is by doing deep breathing exercises. It entails taking a deep breath through your nostrils to a count of around four beats, holding your breath for a few moments, then slowly releasing. Repeating these steps a number of times will result in a calming effect, and the practice recalibrates your mind to stop wandering and ruminating over negative thoughts.
Adopting A Zen Mindset And Putting It Into Practice
It may be time to try something different if you are feeling agitated, aggravated, angry and unhappy. Instead of eating fattening comfort food, drinking alcohol or taking drugs to disassociate from your daily grind, a Zen mindset will help without needing any harmful habits.
Consider adopting some Zen techniques to help you feel better about being in the office. You’ll still have the commute and need to cope with a micromanaging boss and annoying co-workers, but Zen will provide you with the tools to help you maintain your sanity.
Set an intention of what you want to do and achieve for the day. This will assist you in staying on task and remaining focused and motivated. Reframe your responsibilities to make them feel more purposeful and meaningful. It will make you feel attentive, engaged and happier.
Try beginning your day by thinking positive thoughts. Instead of reaching for your phone when you wake up, meditate and conduct some deep-breathing exercises for a few minutes. The practice will put you in a good mindset.
Take it easy on yourself and set attainable goals. Focus on each piece of work while simultaneously blocking out all extraneous thoughts that only serve as a distraction. Only pay attention to each specific task you’re working on, and avoid allowing yourself to get overwhelmed by the enormity of the large goal your boss laid out for you.
Take Care Of Yourself Mentally, Physically And Emotionally
Schedule microbreaks throughout the day to clear your mind and help your body. Make a habit of getting up out of your uncomfortable chair. Stretch, do some yoga poses, walk around the office, go outside and take in the fresh air and sunlight.
Once you’re commuting back to the office, eating healthy becomes costly and difficult. Try to find ways to eat right while surrounded by a fast-food culture. Stop staying up late at night, binge-watching Netflix or doomscrolling on your phone. You want to get sufficient sleep to feel refreshed in the morning.
Try thinking less and acting more. We all overanalyze things in our minds. It’s easy to fall into a doom-and-gloom pattern of “what ifs,” obsessing over the myriad of bad things that can happen. You then become stressed out, leading to being unfocused, irritated and surly.
The mood affects people around you. The negative actions reap unwanted results. When this occurs—and it will no matter how much you meditate—accept what happened, stop the downward slide and start anew.
Small incremental changes can positively alter your mood. It will also help to uplift the people around you. Bring in plants to the office, spruce up your workspace with warm colors or angle for a space near natural lighting. Stay attuned to your biorhythms, as people thrive at working at different times. Listen to music that makes you happy and feel good. Once you’re in the office, make the best of it by making new friends and acquaintances.
Sources: Forbes
