When at work or school, what is your favorite stress-reduction technique?

My personal favorite, which I have been trying to do all day today is to quit and get another job. Unfortunately, everyone who could conceivably be considered my boss has been dodging me all day, so I can't officially give my notice.

Listen to music, go outdoors for a walk, call friends. I don't always do these, but they are effective when I do. lisashea: After reading your comment: "been there, done that." I installed a piece of software last month, and we tried to run it, and it looked for some obscure files that weren't there. After working frantically on it until about 15 minutes after the latest time I figured I could leave and still catch my plane home, I gave up and went home (yes, I caught the plane) and had my RA work on it some more. I had to do another trip and reinstall it last week. Now it works fine. Was any harm done? No... We gave 'em great customer service and everything is hunky-dory. But in the short term, I recommend loud music, and sunshine if you can get it.

I go through bits of almost all of the above. .. mostly internalizing until I explode... I figure I'll have a heart attack and die due to extreme annoyance with human stupidity.. it'll probably happen soon...

chocolate, masturbation, probably not at the same time

I break things

I imagine that I'll ask for two weeks of vacation & as soon as it is approved, I'll turn in my resignation & then I dream about the resulting chaos because there is no one I can train for my job & we are already so shorthanded. There have been a few times when I blew up, literally, at the boss & told him what was bothering me (it's always something he has done that sets me off) & he IMMEDIATELY corrected the problem & I never saw it happen again. It really is quite amazing that he can control himself when he wants to.

if really stressed, I'll walk around the office giving shoulder massages
its more productive than squeezing one of those toys..

Well, considering that I just quit my job I don't have a lot of work stress right now.

Usually I internalize the stress. I end up with uncontroled muscle twitching in my face. I also complain very often to my co-workers, though I don't usually complain to anyone who has any control over the situation. I usually figure that is a waste of time, and in the job I have now that is true.

Jen: is that shredder the one used for hopes and dreams?

I try to do relaxing things (listen to music on headphones while working, take a walk or a break), try to figure out what (if anything) I can do about the stress, what the eventual outcomes of the stressful situation may be, and share my troubles with coworkers when it seems appropriate.

jen, you work in a razor blade factory, that must be one hell of a shredder.

combinations... relax, take a break, stay calm (i would add "laugh" to this list)... *then* I focus on the task at hand, since getting the job done is the best stress-reduction technique I know. I also engage in stress-related activities (plucking at my beard, primarily) so I checked that, but I don't think of this as a stress-reduction technique but rather as a symptom... it does not reduce my stress level in any way.

I go for a walk outside, or just walk over to a common area and sit on the couch. I go "make the rounds" at other co-worker friends offices - often I don't talk about "the problem". I usually don't associate stress with a problem, I think of it more as free-floating. It makes everything seem like a problem, but the stress comes from inside me - on some level I am choosing to be stressed out - so, I try to adjust that.

I'm being sent to Duluth, MN tomorrow to train people on my software product. This thing has NOT WORKED yet, in that I don't have the other people's code to load and unload data from my system yet. I have no idea if, once they finish that code (i.e. tomorrow night) if my system will work with the data they give me. I'm trying to remain focused but I'm finding I'm allowing myself to get distracted rather than contemplate the certain disaster that awaits me :)

Update! The Duluth people were far wiser than my project manager and asked us to delay until we were really ready for training! I will go out in 2 weeks when the product is *really done*. Happy happy :)

I must be doing something wrong. I may be the least stressed person I know. Stressed at work? Why would I be doing it if it made me stressed? Is it *really* so important I have to get high blood pressure over it? Like, what me worry? Its just a life. The only time I get stressed at work is when my boss suddenly announces that he isn't going to Duluth with his girlfriend after all... oh.

Seriously, I'm only doing this for fun. If work starts to stress me, I'll get another job.

always smoke and/or drink something. It's the only way.

I put on some music and stretch on the floor. Fortunately I work in a place where this is possible.

If I'm at work, I leave and go for a walk, somewhere away from work. Or I surf the net, and try to ignore it. At home, I crank up the music and sing as loud as I can.

Standing up and shouting the numbers "one" through "ten" in German:
EIN! TZWEI! DREI! FIER! FUNF! SECHS! SIEBEN! ACHT! NEUN! TZEHN!
(thank you, the Onion)

Meditation. It works anywhere, anytime, any place.

Repress! Repress! Repress! OK?

With the new project I'm on, word has gotten out that I sing when I'm stressed. Now, if I even start to hum, my work partner asks me what's wrong!