When your personal life gets complicated it can be difficult to keep your issues from affecting the way you feel about your work too.  Here are some tips to help you stay sane when your life feels crazy.

1. Keep in mind that no one’s life is ever 100% problem free. Just as it’s important to leave your work-life behind so that you can enjoy your home-life, you need to leave your personal worries at home so that you can focus on your job. When your life feels like a hot mess, look at your time at work as a chance to step away from your troubles for a few hours.
2. Rally the troops. Surround yourself with friends/co-workers that you have things in common with and can confide in. When you can share your feelings with someone else, it can really help keep your stress in check.
3. Keep organized. Instead of trying to create a distraction by burying yourself under a giant pile of work, create a workload you can easily handle.  Feeling overwhelmed will only cause you to feel more unhappy. Taking charge of your schedule will give you a sense of achievement which will help you feel like you are at least in control of this one thing.
4. Focus on the positive.  You create your own mind-set, so focus on the 112 things that are going right rather than the 1, 2 or 10 things that are not.  Make “WHAT I THINK ABOUT – I BRING ABOUT’ your mantra.
5. Take a few deep breaths. When you feel tense your whole body reacts. Your breathing becomes shallow, your muscles feel tight, and you feel anxious. Takings some slow deep breaths will send your brain the oxygen it needs to clear the uneasy feelings from your body and will help you think more clearly.
6. Eat healthy and drink lots of water. When you’re feeling down, it’s easy to turn to comfort food, fast food or other gut-busting habits, none of which will make your feel better. However, maintaining (or beginning) healthful eating habits and staying hydrated can make a big difference in your attitude and energy level says Shirley Weiss, a holistic health and nutritional counselor.
7. Reward yourself. Indulge yourself with a non-work related reward. Dinner or a movie with friends, a walk around the lake or a small purchase can be a real mood-booster.  Just as home-life stress can affect you at work, the feel-good things that you choose to do can sway your mood on the job too.