As a marketing professional, stress almost feels like second nature. With the constant changes to campaigns or client goals, it feels almost impossible to not become stressed trying to keep up with it all. There is a healthy amount of stress you can feel that helps you stay motivated and on your toes, but it can very quickly add up and become overwhelming. When the stress becomes too much you may find yourself severely unsatisfied with your job and the career you chose. So how can you combat that stress? What can you do to feel less stressed as a marketer? 

To better understand the stress you feel, it is important to document the things that stress you out the most. Is it a client that asks for things outside the scope of their contract, is it your own procrastination habits that have you feeling flustered? Figuring out the things that cause you the most stress can help you create boundaries and set limits to what you do and when you do it. Understanding if it is an internal or external barrier that you are coming up against is only half the battle. From there, you should create goals for yourself to overcome these stressors. Here are a few tips to help reduce stress in your work as a marketer.

As a marketer, your free time can seem almost nonexistent. Just because marketing campaigns never sleep, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t either! Creating boundaries and a healthy work-life balance will allow you to reduce the stress you feel from work. Whether you are working for a larger marketing company or managing your own smaller marketing firm, it is important to manage your workload appropriately. 

If you are a part of a larger team and you feel swamped by the deliverables you have to achieve, try reaching out for support from other team members. This will help align your company and the client with what they are expecting and how many team members they will need to allocate to assure the campaign’s success. This can be especially important when clients begin to ask for deliverables outside of the scope of their contract—adding team members from your firm can increase the price of the contract and bring in more business for your company. 

On the flip side, if you are an entrepreneur feeling inundated with client deliverables and find yourself working on customer campaigns while eating dinner, spending time with your family, or even while you should be sleeping, it may be time to adjust the expectations between yourself and the client. As a small business owner you want to make sure a client is not taking advantage of your services without the proper compensation. Adjusting the contracted work volume based on price can help you find income for outside assistance. Bringing in help like an intern will give you some much-needed breathing room while also giving an intern some valuable experience learning and using their skills in real-time. 

Marketers find themselves on-call for any client crisis. This can be very toxic and it can foster some unhealthy relationships between you and your clients. Having set working hours will help create boundaries between you and your clients. Not communicating during evening hours or even on the weekends will give you the opportunity to unwind from your work life and enjoy your personal life more fully. Finding a work-life balance will allow you to reignite the spark you have for your work and limit the amount of stress you feel over a busy schedule.

Organization is a skill every marketer should rely on. Between running campaigns, creating content, and having meetings with current and potential clients, it can feel frustrating to not feel organized. Making a system that works well for you and how you work will differ from person to person. When working with a larger marketing company they may have their own tools at your disposal whereas when you are running your own marketing business you are picking and choosing your tools based on how you like them and the services they provide. 

As a marketer you may need access to creative tools to create campaign images and designs. Utilizing free or subscription-based design tools will be up to you to choose between as there are many pros and cons to each of them. Using ones that have both desktop and mobile applications may be beneficial if you find yourself toggling between your desktop and a tablet for work. 

Using things like the G-Suite will allow you to access your files from the cloud. That immediate access is a great thing when you are away from the office or out on the road pitching to clients. Staying organized will also help you visualize when you are reaching your threshold of how much work you can take on at one time. 

Having a written schedule of your day-to-day as well as your upcoming projects and client goals can help you determine if you are able to take on any new clients or even make adjustments to campaigns you are running. Making sure your schedule is manageable and knowing when to say no is an incredibly important part of alleviating any mounting stress.

Making time to take a break is key to reducing stress for anyone, but especially marketers.

When you have a day filled with back to back meetings, fatigue can set in quickly. Shortening your meeting by 10 minutes can give you time for yourself to take a quick break and unwind from each conversation. Coming into each meeting with a fresh mind will help make conversations and ideas flow easier.

Unplugging is also incredibly important when trying to reduce stress levels. Much like creating boundaries between you and your clients during off-hours, unplugging from your devices and from work is important to reducing stress. Refraining from using your devices for a certain amount of time each day will help you unwind from the digital world around you. Reducing your screen time even slightly can uplift your mood and provide a bit of stress relief. 

In times where you cannot reduce your screen time, finding ways to reduce the effects of staring at your screen can be helpful to lowering your stress levels. Many studies have shown that increased digital screen usage has increased feelings of stress and irritability. As marketers often rely on technology to complete their work, it makes sense they should find ways to limit the effects screen time has on them. One thing you can do is limit your exposure to blue light, which is the type of light emitted from digital screens. Wearing glasses that protect against blue light can help alleviate the effects of blue light on your eyes. Preventing overexposure to blue light can help combat things like eye strain, headaches, and fatigue, which will in turn make you feel refreshed and energized for the days you’re staring into zoom screens or working on deck slides.

While prioritizing your clients and their work is important, you must prioritize yourself above all else. That means, when you feel overwhelmed, you need to listen to your mind and body and figure out how to manage that feeling. You should always make time for you and your health. Having a poor diet contributes to additional stress in your life, so while eating a bag of chips or ordering fast food is relatively convenient, overindulging in those things will negatively impact your life in the long run.Fresh and healthy foods can increase your energy levels and actually boost your mood. Creating and maintaining a healthy diet will help put you in the right mindset each day. 

Setting aside time for you to take time off is important, regardless of if you work at a larger firm or you are running a small business by yourself. It doesn’t matter if you plan a vacation or you stay home and unwind, taking time away from your day to day tasks is a great way to lower your stress levels. Stepping away from the hustle and bustle of your schedule can help clear your mind and bring you back to work with a fresh set of eyes and newfound excitement.

Stress is something everyone struggles with overcoming. It takes time and dedication to create a healthy work-life balance to reduce stress levels and its effect on all aspects of your life. Taking the first step of identifying what stresses you out the most is the best way to tackle the issue head on.