Author: Heather Matthews
One of the biggest complaints people have today is that they are always tired. Busy jobs, busy families, busy communities, “busy everything”. We are trying to squeeze more into each part of our day including our workday. How many of us hit the ground running with a list of things to do that we know is going to be almost impossible to complete even if everything goes right.
There are things we can do to help us make the best of the time we have in the day to keep the energy up level thought the workday.
Sleep
To ensure you get the best out of your day, in large part depends on the sleep you had the night before. Getting a good night’s sleep is priceless when to comes to being able to face the day and the long list of things to do.
Developing good sleep habits is the best investment in your day:
- Have a bed time routine
- Make sure you do something relaxing before bed
- Turn off all lights and other distractions such as TV, laptops, tablets and cell phones
- Take a minute to reflect on all the good things you did today
All of this sounds easy enough to do. We all try to do the right thing but somehow life gets in the way. You now have a new list. Just pick one thing that you think you can change and keep doing it once you have mastered that choose another one.
Plan the Day
Try to keep the agenda for the day realistic. Most of us are tried just at the anticipation of everything we have to get done in the next 8 hours if we are lucky.
Plan your activities for the day so the things that require the largest amount of concentration are done in the morning when you are the most refreshed. In the afternoon, try to plan meetings or tasks that require less concentration. It is also a good idea to plan work activities that involve group of people in the afternoon.
Healthy Eating
It goes without saying that balanced healthy meals thought-out the day is best for keep you energy level up. This is especially important for the lunch meal during your work day. If you have a large meal for lunch it leads to a very sluggish afternoon. You body is expending a lot of energy digesting the large lunch which many times leads to the afternoon slump.
Things that can help get you thought the afternoon slump:
- Drink two glasses of water-one of the signs of dehydration is fatigue
- Add citrus to your water – adds flavor and is refreshing
- Healthy snack made up of whole grains and fresh fruit- allows for slower digestion as well as keeps your sugar more balanced
- Take a short 10 minute walk
Tell us what has worked for you and post your ideas and comments below!
About The Author:
Heather Matthews is AWARE-NS’s Occupational Health & Safety Specialist. She received her Bachelor’s degree, majoring in Housing and Facility Management from Mount Saint Vincent University (1989). In 2010, she completed her Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety from Ryerson University. Most recently was the Corporate Health and Safety Manager for Ocean Nutrition Canada a Global Bio Science company where she was responsible for the development and implementation of the Health and Safety program. Developing a strong safety culture though leadership, training and education has been the primary focus in her most recent role.
