How 5 Women Living With Depression Stay Motivated At Work

Some of their strategies may be beneficial to your daily routine, too.

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Depression can make getting out of bed in the morning difficult and powering through a work day feel near-impossible. Symptoms of depression—fatigue, persistent anxiety and sadness, and feelings of worthlessness, to name a few—can make dealing with sassy emails from co-workers and crazy deadlines feel like a daily battle.

Here, five women share how they stay motivated at work while living with depression. If you also have depression, you're not alone—and there's a good chance that you may find a few of these tips applicable to your own day-to-day life at work.

Be honest about your depression.

Each time Tiffany Yannetta has started a new job or met a new boss, she tells them about her depression. "For me, being open and upfront about it from the beginning makes it feel less polarizing," she says.

Yannetta is also transparent about her treatment for depression and how that may play into the work day. "I let [my boss] know when I may need to leave for therapy, and what I might need to do if I'm struggling that day, like step outside and take a walk around the block." This allows her to take that time to collect herself if need be, without feeling guilty.

Set deadlines for yourself.

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To keep herself on track and help herself stay motivated with tasks at work, Brooke Jones* designates her own deadlines and then tells someone else, so that she feels she's held accountable. "Just by telling it to someone else and knowing that they know—sometimes it gets me to get started on things," she says.

The person you disclose your personal deadlines to doesn't necessarily have to be your manager or boss at work, though—it could be another coworker or family member. "You have someone who knows and cares about you to see how you're doing," she says.

Meditate on your commute.

For Ali OHara, taking time to center herself before she even arrives to work has had a hugely positive impact on her overall mood. "If I allow the city and subway to get to me, that sets a bad tone for the day," she says. "So, I turn off my headphones and do some mantras in my head, focusing on my breathe and posture." You can apply this to your own morning regardless of what your commute looks like, whether you're walking, driving, or riding public transportation.

Not sure where to start? Consider downloading a meditation app that will guide you. Insight Timer is a popular choice (and it's free!) that has a tracker which allows you to chart your progress as you go.

Get moving on your lunch break.

One tip that helps several of the women we spoke to? Getting some form of exercise in during the day. (It doesn't have to be your lunch break if you can squeeze it in elsewhere)! When it's nice out, OHara makes an effort to get out in the sun during her lunch break and walk around the block. "In the winter months, I have to rely on yoga to keep my energy up," she says.

Sarah Riley* finds that hitting the gym helps boost her mood. "When I feel my mood down spinning overtime, I spend longer in the gym lifting and doing more cardio, which normally brings my mood back up overtime."

Start the day with a to-do list.

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"The mornings are usually the most difficult part of my day mentally, but I've found that jumping into a to-do list with a few simple tasks right up top helps me get going," Yannetta says. When she's able to accomplish one or two things at the beginning of the day, it helps her feel motivated. Crossing something off the list almost always boosts her mood, she says.

When you get to work in the morning, try to knock out a few small tasks first—maybe it's as simple as sending an email you've been putting off or setting up a meeting.

Practice grounding techniques.

When Jessie Holmes* feels that her anxiety is starting to trigger her depression at work, she does grounding techniques she learned from her therapist. For example, she may step away briefly and grab something that has a texture to it (such as a pillow or chair) and rub her hand against it to feel grounded in where she is. "I am here, I am safe, I'm okay. That always helps me a lot," she says.

In situations when she can't physically step away—like in the middle of a meeting—she relies on her other senses to help ground her. "Ground yourself by listening to the vents—just breathe," she says. "Just give yourself that moment while there's so much craziness going on."

Focus on others.

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As a manager, much of Yannetta's role entails listening to others talk, so it's important that she's always actively listening during meetings or one-on-one conversations. "Not only does it provide support for my team and ensures I'm staying on task, but it also gets me out of my own head and allows me to put others first."

Similarly, Jones finds that her productivity at work is enhanced when she surrounds herself with hardworking people. "I definitely get motivated and want to match their pace," she says.

Take challenges head-on.

Holmes finds that stress at work builds her anxiety, which feeds her depression, leading to a spiral of negative self-talk and feeling unworthy of her role and the tasks at hand. During those times, she feels that she can't win—but even at the low points, what helps her most is to persevere and keep working through tough things.

"Then I can actively have something to look back on and be like, 'Remember when you felt like a piece of sh*t then and you thought you couldn't do it? Well, you did it, so ignore the depression telling you that you don't want to get out of bed and you're not worth it or any of that."

She also keeps in mind that even if something doesn't go as well as she'd expected (which does happen—we're all human!), that's okay, too. "You lived through it," she says.

*Names have been changed.

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