HO HO HO Hold on….. It’s the time of the year that life seems to speed up and our schedules at home and work get filled to overflowing. If you are starting to notice yourself speaking faster, eating lunch at your desk and burning the candle at both ends, consider this a gentle reminder to tend to your own wellbeing in practice.
Here are some ideas –
GET OUTSIDE – eat your lunch in the park, walk around the block, even go outside to make your cellphone calls.
REMEMBER – Christmas can be stressful for our clients – I know it seems obvious, but allow some leeway in your calendar and in your mindset for clients arriving late, behaving unpredictably or spilling their anxiety around. I’m not saying you need to accept people being rude, but sometimes remembering that it their baggage, not ours, helps keep things in perspective.
BREATHE! – deep breaths remind your body to shift from the “flight or fight” mode and can reduce your stress hormone levels over the day.
PAUSE – before agreeing to more – sometimes our colleagues manage their stress by attempting to delegate it. One helpful strategy is to have some pre-prepared phrases such as “I’ll check my diary and get back to you,” or “I’m sorry, I’d love to help but I don’t feel I could do that (extra task) justice at the moment”.
CHECK – time frames – sometimes someone else’s “URGENT” is code for “important to them”. If you are taking on other people’s work be clear about when something is expected.
PLAN – I know, you’ve heard it before, but when you don’t have to rely on your memory you are less anxious and less likely to wake in the night thinking about work. Block similar tasks together – for instance keep a list of all the emails you need to reply to, then sit down and do them all at once. Blocking tasks where you can results in increased time efficiency and focus.
PRIORITISE – brainstorm everything you need to do onto a piece of paper and then either schedule the task or put it onto a list. When you prioritise make sure you don’t trade your self care activities.
SLEEP – where possible try to keep your sleep patterns regular – you will be more productive if you are alert.
EXERCISE – even incidental activity such as taking the stairs or parking away adds to your wellbeing quota for the day.
EAT WELL – pre-prepare some healthy lunches or snacks so you aren’t tempted to skip meals or eat poorly. The Healthy Food guide has some great ideas for work lunches.
NOW……. choose one or more of these ideas and commit to trying it.
This will be my last Emerging Insight blog for 2015. Thank you so much for reading my musings this year.
Wishing you and yours a safe and relaxed festive season.
Jill
