people say “ I ’ m a perfectionist ” like it ’ s a badge of honour or something . I no longer consider it a badge of honour but a burden on one ’ s mental health to remain a perfectionist . Unlearning perfectionism has greatly contributed to my peace of mind and happiness . I ’ m leaning more towards progress over perfection now ... because it means I don ’ t procrastinate sharing a first draft awaiting it ’ s perfection . I move . Perfection can be crippling and causes delays in projects that would have otherwise moved along faster than expected .
Fourth Prioritize . Then re-prioritize your priorities . Make peace with not striking everything off your to do list . Re-negotiate timelines if you must . Manage your expectations and those of others . As long as your must dos for the day are done , show yourself grace and carry forward what you didn ’ t accomplish to tomorrow . In the same vein , also learn to say no . Speak up when your plate is too full to take on a new task . Use delegation to divide and conquer tasks . Bring people along to help so that you aren ’ t dying by yourself with that workload . As a team lead its great use of leadership skills to give others an opportunity to collaborate on group tasks , as this enhances synergy and team spirit . It ’ s a win-win situation as nobody ends up overwhelmed or resentful for the excessive workload .
Fifth . Be okay with losing some battles . I concluded that even when I know in my heart of hearts that my stance on an issue is right , not everyone will agree with me . Also , the dynamics in the corporate world are so complex and layered that sometimes losing an argument while gaining your peace of mind , makes more sense than
“
Be okay with losing some battles . The dynamics in the corporate world are so complex and layered that sometimes losing an argument while gaining your peace of mind , makes more sense than trying hard to prove a point .
“
Prioritize . Then re-prioritize your priorities . Make peace with not striking everything off your to do list . Re-negotiate timelines if you must . Manage your expectations and those of others . As long as your must dos for the day are done , show yourself grace and carry forward what you didn ’ t accomplish to tomorrow .
trying hard to prove a point . Accepting this reality lowered my levels of anxiety , stress , headaches and helped me let go of issues faster and accept differences without demanding closure .
Sixth . Keep a keen eye on symptoms of deteriorating mental health . It ’ s expected that some seasons at work will tap out your energy as they are busier than others . However , if you notice that it ’ s taking longer than usual for you to bounce back from unexplained mental and physical exhaustion , unending anxiety , unending season of sadness with no major cause , terrible insomnia for weeks on end , forgetfulness , heightened and continued irritability , being recluse when this isn ’ t who you are , struggling to get out of bed and do basic things , feeling extremely overwhelmed with everything such that you can ’ t even put it in words , constantly venting about the same thing to your friends or colleagues day in day out ... then it ’ s time to see a shrink .
It ’ s well and good that one can lean on pals for support briefly but , it ’ s not sustainable . Also , they are not therapists and would not be equipped to deal with the constant emotional dumping from you . Book a session with a counsellor and get the professional help you need . Here , you will find healthy coping mechanisms and perspective into what is really happening . A lot of us are not very literate on mental health , so we may assume that the symptoms are just mild signs of stress or overwhelm . Allow a professional to properly diagnose you .
Seventh . Learn about mental health disorders , key among them , narcissistic personality disorder . The workplace can be rife with Narcissistic tendencies and arming yourself with knowledge and coping strategies to manage such people will go a long way in helping you keep sane . You will not be reeled into their mess . You will keep a safe distance and you will learn not to internalise or take personally , any negative interactions . This hack has greatly helped me in the last 2 years of my work life . Tik Tok and YouTube are great resources with bite-size videos to educate you . Follow licensed psychologists giving tips on how to manage narcs at work .
Lastly , I would say improve on your selfcare . Be very intentional and conscious of balancing work and selfcare . Review your needs and meet them effectively in these buckets : Mentally , spiritually , physically , financially , and socially . Take a break . Rest . Reset . Reflect . Re-strategize . And repeat . This is a continual process that should never ever end . It helps keep you grounded and never too far gone in your mental health maintenance .
In honour of this last point , I took two vacations abroad this year alone . I realised I wasn ’ t doing too well in this department and made a change to schedule rest and me-time as advised by my therapist . It ’ s done wonders for my brain and my soul . Peace . Freshness . Creativity . Imagination . These have all been regained .
In conclusion , I would like to leave you with this quote by Henry David Thoreau : ‘ Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves .’
It took me getting a diagnosis of situational depression early this year to experience , learn from and share everything I have penned here . I hope this helps someone who needs it .
Maureen Jagona Okore is a 4-time award winning brand management and marketing professional with 10 years of industry experience in agencies . She ’ s currently an account Director at Squad Digital , a company of Wpp-Scangroup . You can commune with her via email at : Jagon2k @ gmail . com .