Top 5

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

Top 5 Tips for Healthy Air Travel

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Introduction

No matter how healthy you are we’ve all experienced the negative effects of jetlag, from trouble sleeping to pounding headaches.  In most cases, air travelers experience milder effects of jetlag such as dehydration and lack of energy.

Small changes to your flight habits can have a significant positive impact on preventing jetlag.  Here are our top 5 tips for healthy and comfortable air travel.

Top 5 Tips for Healthy Air Travel

1) Hydrate:  Keeping yourself hydrated in the dry airplane cabin is the easiest way to mitigate the impact of jetlag. Avoid alcohol during, before or immediately after the flight and drink water throughout the flight by keeping a bottle at your seat. If necessary, bring your own empty bottle and have the flight attendants fill it up as soon as you board.

2) Block the Noise:  The high decibel constant buzz of the airplane is a big cause of jetlag and the poor quality earphones in cattle class seats are the fastest way to send a headache straight to your head. Instead, bring your own pair of noise cancellation headsets or wear ear plugs when sleeping or reading.

3) Maintain Blood Flow: How many people actually sit in their office in one chair for an entire 10 hours? Probably none of us. Then why sit in a plane seat for that long? Instead, sit in the aisle seat, stand up frequently and walk around, or at the very least shake your legs out and do simple upper body stretches in your seat.

4) Reduce stress: Give yourself plenty of time before your flight to reduce stress of unpredictable queues for security or immigration. If you want to remain productive, then schedule a phone call right before your flight or bring along 30 minutes of work to do after you’re sitting comfortably in the frequent flyer lounge or at your gate.

5) Treat Your Body Well:  Sitting in a small seat or carrying a heavy messenger bag is the perfect way to get your body twisted like a pretzel. We suggest that you use luggage carts for your heavy luggage and even for your carry-on when wandering around the departure hall. If you can spare the time, get yourself a massage when you land to relax your muscles and get your spine back in-line.

 

Top 5 Snacks for the Office

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Introduction

With busy schedules, back-to-back meetings, and tight deadlines it’s no surprise that busy executives eat at odd times or forget to eat at all.  It’s also no surprise that the need for quick energy drives most people in this situation to grab the fast-burning simple sugars at the local fast food joint or convenience store.

The better alternative is to keep a stash of low GI (glycemic index) snacks at your desk which you can eat throughout the day between proper meals. Low GI foods burn slowly and will greatly reduce the desire to binge on simple sugars or caffeine.

Top 5 Snacks for the Office

1) Fruit: Bananas are a great source of carbohydrates and are easy on the stomach to digest. Other whole fruits or vegetables such as grapes, carrots and apples are also easy to eat and will provide you energy as it digests slowly throughout the day.

2) Whole Grains: Make yourself a mix of nuts, granola, or dried fruit. Keeping a box of breakfast muesli in your desk works just as well.

3) Popcorn or Pretzels: Ditch the Pringles and grab a bag of whole wheat pretzels. It gives you the same crunch but is a much healthier option. Plain popcorn is one of the healthiest snacks as long as you avoid the excess salt and butter.

4) Leftover dinner: If you had a well-balanced dinner of brown rice, leafy green vegetables and protein, save yourself an extra portion for the next workday and eat it in the late afternoon.

5) Water:  When you experience ‘hunger’ pains in your stomach, sometimes what your body is telling you is that you’re dehydrated.  Before grabbing the solid snacks, have a full glass of water and see if the hunger persists.

 

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