Julie Bartkus

A Director recently told me that when she walks through the doors to get in to work in the morning she doesn't even have the opportunity to take her bag off of her shoulder when her staff approaches her with 50 problems, the phone is ringing and a kid just got sick all over her shoes. That's stress…

Listed below are some great stress reducers:

Count to 10 when you feel real stressed

Listen to uplifting music

Take a small break and let others help -- don't get caught up in the "I can handle everything myself" mode

Take some time off

Practice deep breathing exercises

Get organized

Sing

Exercise -- such as a brisk walk or yoga

Create a peaceful place where you and your staff can go to relax (a room with comfortable chairs and relaxing music)

There is another strategy that has helped many people overcome very stressful situations and one that you can implement immediately. This strategy is humor…yes...finding the humor in stressful situations helps us focus on what we can do to help make the situation better.

One child care professional shared with me that in order to not feel so stressed out leaving her job -- at the end of the day she focuses on the one funniest moment that happened during the day. She leaves feeling in a good mood and has a funny story to share with her family in the evening.

How can you and your team focus on the humorous moments of the day and leave work with smiles on your faces?

Explain to your staff (at your next staff meeting or in a letter) the benefits of humor and that in an effort to make their jobs more fun you would like them to keep track of all the funny stories or humorous incidents that happen with their kids throughout the month.

Let them know you'll create a box for them to deposit their stories in.

Decorate the box with comic strips or funny pictures. Place it in an area where your staff will see it often so they can deposit their funny stories.

At your next staff meeting read through the stories in the box.

You can continuously collect stories and incorporate them into a newsletter or a scrapbook with pictures.