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There’s nothing more soul-sucking than a bad day at work, and figuring out how to recover from that bad day at work can be even more exhausting.
Maybe you got the news today that your department may soon be facing lay-offs.
Or maybe you received some harsh feedback from your colleague or boss.
Or maybe you bombed a presentation that you had been working on for weeks.
Or maybe just about everything went wrong today, and you’re still reeling from the aftermath.
Whatever the reason for your bad day, there’s just no sugar-coating it: it sucked.
It’s important to keep your perspective on days like today. It can be all too easy to get sucked into that negative steam of thoughts and let its effects carry over into your personal life.
So if you’re wondering how to recover from a bad day at work and need a little help in lifting your spirits, look no further than these 7 tips.
How to Recover From a Bad Day at Work
1. Shake off that negative energy. Get moving and let those feel-good endorphins start flowing. There’s no better way to rid yourself of any negative emotions or energy than to exercise. Go on a walk, a light jog, or even do an at-home workout on YouTube. You’ll find that once you get moving, it’s a lot easier to actively clear your head and place yourself in a better, healthier frame of mind.
2. Leave work and whatever happened back at the office. Often when you’re trying to figure out how to recover from a bad day at work, it can feel like your mind is still at work. Whether your boss yelled at you today, or you messed up your big presentation, or had to deal with stupid office politics, leave it all at work when you clock out for the day. If you’re someone that tends to beat yourself up long after the fact, try managing your expectations a little differently. Accept the fact that no matter what you do, you simply cannot and will not please everyone. Once you’ve accepted this, it becomes MUCH easier to handle their disappointment and not take it so personally. This way when you head home for the day, the aftermath of the day won’t seep into your evening.
3. Remind yourself of what the purpose of this job is. When you have a bad day at work, it’s all too easy to lose sight of the bigger picture and become enmeshed in the details. Rather than going through every detail of the day that went wrong, remind yourself of the purpose of this job. It may be that this job is far from your dream, and a mere stepping stone in your career. Or maybe this job is just to support you for now while you transform your side hustle into a full-time gig. Or perhaps you love where you’re at now and feel fulfilled in your job (most of the time), but have just had an awful day. Whatever the reason you do what you do, remind yourself of your purpose now, and forget everything else.
4. Focus on your strengths. For now, forget about your areas for improvements or your perceived weaknesses, and instead focus on where you excel. Are you exceptionally detail oriented and organized? Do you know how to hook an audience when you start a presentation? Think of these areas that you’re strong in, rather than focusing on your perceived shortcomings. By tweaking your thinking from negative to positive, you can essentially change your perception about your bad day.
5. Listen to the feedback, but don’t internalize it. If your bad day is in part due to feedback you received at work, it’s important to filter through it. In this way, you can compartmentalize your professional life from your personal life. While you should always listen to feedback (especially if it helps you to address any areas for improvement), don’t internalize it and take it so personally that it damages your self-esteem. When delivered correctly, be it from your boss or a colleague, feedback should be helpful and directed towards improvement, not critical of you or your character. Sift through the feedback and pick out the useful, insightful parts that will help you to do your job better, and ditch the rest.
6. Meet up with your squad. One of the best ways to cheer yourself up after a bad day is to just hang out with your friends. Besides being a healthy distraction from your bad day at work, they may also have some solid advice to lend you, or maybe they’ll help you to find the comic relief in the day’s events. Your friends are your greatest support system, and they’re there for you to lean on.
7. And remember: your work does not define you. There’s a reason people distinguish between their professional and personal lives when talking about themselves. Your work life doesn’t necessarily define your personal life, and vice versa. You are so much more than the job you do, but sometimes it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that your work is everything in your life. Think about what defines you as a person. Do you love to be outdoors connecting with nature? Do you live for travel? Do you have a loving, supportive family that’s always there for you? These are the things that matter in life, not your job.
Read this for more tips on how to recover from a bad day at work.
