Top 5 Tips For Managing Office Stress

Top 5 Tips For Managing Office Stress

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I can’t get rid of your boss or your not-so-friendly colleagues.  These “external” factors are certainly causes of stress for some people and are somewhat out of your control.

But many causes of your workplace stress are from “internal” factors – factors that you have full control over. Pay closer attention to these and you could turn your workday from one that drains your energy, to one that gives you energy.

Top 5 Tips for Managing Office Stress

1) Find Your Groove: Some of us are morning people and some of us really just can’t get productive until mid-morning. Figure out the time of the day when you’re in your groove and use that time wisely. For example, get to the office before your colleagues so that you have uninterupted time at your desk. Keep working during the regular lunchtime and step out for a bite in the early afternoon when the lunch crowd has disappeared. During your late afternoon food coma, listen to your body and don’t fight it – use this time for mundane tasks such as filling out expense reimbursement forms or clearing your inbox.

2) Socialize:  Make your day more enjoyable by getting to know your colleagues, especially those that work in a different division or different floor of your office. Socialize at lunch and have those proverbial “water cooler conversations.” Aside from learning more about what’s going on in the company, you’ll meet people that you share a common experience with and perhaps with whom you even enjoy spending time outside of the office.

3) Add Fun: Fuzzy slippers, basketball hoops, infographic wall posters, plants on your desk, office DJ’s,…you name it. Take a page out of the old-school Yahoo! book…or ask your Google friends for some workplace fun tips. Making your workplace – or even just your workspace – more fun will add levity to your day and keep you in good spirits during those long hours.

4) Breathe: We all run way to fast, work to hard, and stress out too much. We have tension in our bodies and that happens because we have tension in our minds and our thoughts. Clearing your mind and relaxing your body during the workday can help you thrive, as opposed to just survive a long day at the office. Several times during your day take 1-minute to do some deep breathing exercises. Sit upright in your chair, close your eyes, breathe 3 times deeply and focus on relaxing your high tension areas.

5) Choose Energizing Work: A good friend and mentor of mine recommended to me to find work that “energizes” me…and I have followed his advice with great success for many years. When you are doing things that you enjoy and activities that give you energy, then you will be more productive, more positive and more satisfied. Take a close look at your job and try to replace those energy-draining tasks with energy-generating tasks. If necessary, take a closer look at your job itself.

 

Soul Food

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Introduction

Think for a moment of a food from your past, one that makes you feel great after you eat it for no specific reason. Maybe it is macaroni and cheese, slow-simmered tomato sauce, ice cream cones or potato pancakes. Eating comfort foods (every now and then) can be incredibly healing, even though your rational brain might not consider it highly nutritious.

Soul Food

Food has the power to impact us on a level deeper than just our physical well-being. What we eat can reconnect us to precious memories, like childhood playtimes, first dates, holidays, our grandmother’s cooking or our country of ancestry. Our bodies remember foods from the past on an emotional and cellular level. Eating this food connects us to our roots and has nurturing effects that go far beyond the food’s biochemical make-up.

Acknowledging what different foods mean to us is an important part of cultivating a good relationship with food. This month when we celebrate relationships, it’s important to notice that we each have a relationship with food—and that this relationship is often far from loving. Many of us restrict food, attempting to control our weight. We often abuse food, substituting it for emotional well-being. Others ignore food, swallowing it whole before we’ve even tasted it.

What would your life be like if you treated food and your body as you would treat your beloved. The next time you eat your soul food, do so with awareness and without guilt, and enjoy all the healing and nourishment it brings you. Here are a few tips to help you do that:

1. Pause Before Eating: Focus on “why” you want to eat, instead of “what” and “how much.” This approach, referred to as Mindful Eating, will give you awareness to your true food needs.

2. Eat Slowly: Think about the time and effort that the chef invested to prepare this meal that you’re about to enjoy – it will add more meaning to the meal. Eating slowly is also better for digestion and gives your body time to signal to your brain that you’re “full.”

3. Savour Each Bite:  Don’t think about the calories you’re consuming or the extra 30-minutes on the treadmill tomorrow.  Be in the moment. Enjoy the food with awareness and without guilt.

 

Posture Exercises for Desk Employees

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We’ve all heard that sitting for prolonged periods of time can be bad for our bodies and our minds. But do we really understand what happens to our bodies in the long term when we frequently finish work with a foggy brain, strained neck, and sore back? Thanks to the Washington Post and four health experts we now have a picture of what it all means. Check out the infographic.

But what can we do throughout the day to minimize these problems? Adopting an active mindset in the workplace is a good start. Stand up frequently from your seat while in the office, learn about office yoga, or do simple posture-strengthening exercises and stretches at home.

Here’s a sampling of some simple exercises that you can do to start a new active routine in your workplace.

Posture and Stretching Exercises for Desk Employees

DeskStretches

Thanks to the folks at Sutherland-Chan Centre and Stretching by Bob Anderson.

This post was edited 24 Feb 2014.

 

Top 5 Healthy Room Service Meals

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Introduction

Just got off a long flight, tired, thirsty and craving comfort foods? We’ve all been there and we’ve all been tempted by the pizza or fast food burger that will quickly fill up our empty stomachs. But, eating these unhealthy foods are the easiest way to prolong those feelings of jet lag.

 

Top 5 Healthy Room Service Meals

Here is a sampling of the healthiest items that I’ve seen frequently on room service menus and will help you eat right while on the road.

1) Chicken Caeser Salad: A staple that’s on nearly every room service menu I’ve ever seen. I ask for the dressing on the side to control the amount because some recipes are too creamy using raw eggs or yogurt.

2) Soup/Congee: French Onion soup is often on the menu, but watch out for the excess cheese or salt. A simple tomato soup or chicken-based soup is even better.  For breakfast in Asian hotels, try the congee.

3) Pasta: Spaghetti Bolognese is frequently seen on room service menus and not a bad choice. A simpler marinara sauce is even better. Avoid the cream-based sauces which are typically high in fat and cholesterol.

4) Grilled Chicken Burger: For a hearty meal, try this healthier alternative to the beef burger. It’s a great balance of proteins and carbs and won’t leave you feeling as heavy and sluggish as it’s fatty sibling.

5) Egg-White Omelette: A great way to start the day. Eat it with a side plate of wheat toast and fresh fruit. Wash it down with a fresh fruit juice, herbal tea or water.

As mentioned in my previous article (Top 5 Tips for Healthy Air Travel), minimize the effects of jet lag by drinking lots of water and minimizing your consumption of alcohol and caffeine.

 

3 Words of Inspiration

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A lot of people begin a new year or set a new goal for themselves by making resolutions. We start with great intentions, but then we quickly relapse into old habits. Why is it so hard to stick to those resolutions? Perhaps because we set unrealistic goals for ourselves or because several months later we’ve already forgotten what our resolution was.

As an alternative to a resolution, each of the last 10 years I’ve given myself a personal MANTRA – one very short & memorable phrase that I consider as a way of life as opposed to a goal that I have to achieve.  It’s a little voice that gives me that little supportive push whenever I need it. For example, “Be Active,” “Challenge Yourself,” “Experience New Things.”

Simple tips to make your personal Mantra an effective one:

1) Keep it short. Ideally 2 or 3 words. Anything more than that and you won’t remember it.

2) Start with a verb. Use words that spur you into action (“Seize the Day”) not just a nice sounding phrase like “You Snooze You Lose”

3) Use positive words. Choose a mantra such as “Eat healthy” as opposed to “Stop eating junk food”

4) Make it memorable. Have fun with it and even print it on a t-shirt if you have to.

5) Focus on the Big Rocks. Choose a mantra that addresses your biggest priority.

 

Top 5 Tips for Running Your First Marathon

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Introduction

Running a marathon has been on my bucket list for years. But with a 6km run on my apartment treadmill as the longest distance I’ve ever run, a 42km race on an unknown road course with thousands of other runners seemed like such a daunting task. Inspired by my father who ‘ran’ his first marathon at age 60 and supported by my friend and running coach (Julie Price, CEO of Shinobi Labs), I decided that now is as good a time as any to run my first marathon.

I’m happy to say that I just completed my first official half marathon and my training continues for my first full marathon. Having said that, I thought it would be a good time to stop and share my Top 5 Tips for other non-runners out there with a similar goal of completing a marathon.

Top 5 Tips for First-Time Marathoners

1) Have a Consistent Running Schedule: Consistency is the key to building a solid ‘running’ foundation so that your body slowly gets used to long distance running. Stick to a consistent training schedule which starts off very slowly with short distances and gradually adds distance in each subsequent week. I started training 10 weeks prior to the half marathon having nearly zero running time in the previous 12 months.  The 1st week consisted of four 3km runs. Within only a few weeks, I broke my own distance record every Sunday, eventually reaching 20km ‘training’ runs by week 8.

2) Act Like a Boat, not a Car:  Boats start off very slowly and change speed very slowly. When training, you should think about jogging, not running. After you pass your first or second kilometer, then slowly increase your speed. Unlike any other sporting competitions that I’ve trained for, marathon training is conducted at a much slower place than actual competition day in order to prevent injury and to prepare your body for a very long race day.

3) Find Your Inspiration: Whether it’s running on a nature trail, listening to music or audio books, or just being alone with your thoughts, find whatever inspires you to run.  For me, I enjoy listening to audiobooks because I get lost in the voice of the author and my mind wanders to the point that I forget that I’m even running. On race day, fun and upbeat music is my inspiration of choice. Overall, the key is to have fun!

4) Get Support: Proper marathon training is a long process and the encouraging words from friends, family and colleagues can be the boost that you need to keep you inspired. After every one of my training runs, I exchanged notes online with my running coach and she helped keep me on track. She answered every question I had, provided suggestions to help me improve, and gave me encouraging words to keep me motivated.

5) Run Your Own Race: Don’t worry about how fast someone next to you is running and try not to pay close attention to your average pace. My preference is to run alone and with a heartrate monitor. This enables me to run consistently within my target heart rate range and to very clearly track my progress each week. On race day I started off slowly while hundreds of runners raced past me, but by the 10th kilometer I reached a very comfortable stride and began passing many of these same runners who ran out of fuel all too soon.

 

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