Do you like to follow the news at work? Be careful what you read: Research has found that consuming negative news has a significant detrimental effect on our mood and emotions, undermining our performance for the rest of the day. Here’s how to keep your performance levels up without tuning out the news altogether:
- Turn off news alerts. Most alerts are negative by default, so shut off email and phone notifications for the news. If something really important happens, you’ll hear about it soon enough.
- Cancel the noise. Turn off the radio for the first five minutes of your commute. When you turn it back on, don’t listen to angry talk radio, and mute commercials when you can.
- Change the ratio. Start your day with stories about solutions and empowering people, not stories that focus only on problems.
Adapted from "Consuming Negative News Can Make You Less Effective at Work," by Shawn Achor and Michelle Gielan