Management tip of the day: Leave your bad day at work

Monday, 6 June 2011 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

(Reuters Life!) - Bad days at the office are many times unavoidable, but there are ways to separate from the troubles without needing to go home and kick the cat, says Harvard Business Review.

The Management Tip of the Day offers quick, practical management tips and ideas from Harvard Business Review and HBR.org (www.hbr.org). Any opinions expressed are not endorsed by Reuters.

"We all have them: those days when nothing goes right. To avoid taking the stress home, try doing three things at the end of a bad day:

1. Clear your mind. Take a few deep breaths. Think about the things that matter to you outside of work. Prepare yourself mentally to walk out the door and leave the day behind.

2. Do something easy. Send off a report, reconcile a balance sheet, or reply to a few straightforward e-mails. Get some things off your to-do list to restore a sense of control.

3. Get up and leave. Once you've completed the task, don't check your email once more or stop by someone's desk. Just leave."

-Today's management tip was adapted from "Guide to Managing Stress."