KEEP YOUR SUMMER BUZZ HUMMING
Ahh, summer… endless days of doing what you want, when you want. No deadlines, no stress, not a care in the world. And then… work.
If only there was a way to keep that summer buzz humming at the office. Guess what, we reckon there is. In fact, we’ve found a stack of them. Here’s three of our favourites to kick start the year and stretch that summer feeling for longer.
TAKE A NAP
Let’s be honest, we can’t all have a lunchtime nap at work. But everyone can take a five-minute break. And we should. Experts tell us that micro-breaks through the day are just as useful in managing stress as big ones. Just five minutes will do it.
By giving our minds a moment to rest, we give them time to process, file stuff and come up with new solutions. Micro-breaks help build back buzz in the short term and build resilience against burnout in the long run. So make it a point to press pause.
So how do we do it? Dump your phone and take off for a break. In the kitchen, around the park, in the toilet – wherever. Switch gear for five and come back fresh. You can even default your diary to 20 minute meetings, then take five for you.
EAT AN ICE CREAM
Not quite ready for that always-on juggle? Who is? While we all have stacks of projects on, we don’t have to nail them all at once. In fact, psychologists reckon all that task-switching can overwhelm your brain to lower productivity and build stress.
So enter the art of single-tasking. It’s self-help expert, Brooke McAlary’s signature trick for productive mindfulness. Shut out the world, climb into the zone and stay totally focussed on just one thing. It’s like eating an ice cream before it melts. Lick, by lick, yum by yum, nothing else in the world.
So how do you do it? Create an environment fit for focus. Remove distractions, hit mute then set a timer to smash a task the ol’ Pomodoro way. And remember to take regular breaks.
SET YOUR OOO
At the end of every year, we set our OOO and we’re done. We’re checked out, switched off and totally untouchable for days. But back at the day-to-day it isn’t so easy. Or is it? If only we could hit ‘out of office’ at the end of every day?
It’s totally possible. But the challenge isn’t telling your tech to tune out, it’s sending that same message to your brain. This is because of the Zeigarnik effect. It’s a theory that our minds quickly forget finished tasks. But they’re programmed to constantly nag us about unfinished tasks. Sound familiar?
So how do you do it? Shut down your day before you leave. Catch the stuff you’ve done and catch actions for tomorrow. But write it down. Lists, post-its, whatever works. Get your brain noise filed as ‘finished for now’ so your mind can switch off until morning.
BE THE OCEAN, NOT THE SANDCASTLE
We all want to keep the summer buzz humming. That’s why so many of us plan our next holiday in Jan. Luckily, there are ways we can stretch that summer feeling into work – and they’re all in our minds.
Set an OOO for your brain to get more from those long summer evenings. Choose five minutes to dive-in and single-task a project to get that snippet of meditation. And make the most of those micro-breaks – to recharge on the way like a nice little afternoon nap.
And whatever you do, don’t fight the ocean. We’re only building sandcastles - and the sea will clean the beach before tomorrow.