I have literally had the most brutal week. I recently have become a proud survivor of the flu and to make matters worse it happened to be during market week.. EEKK!! Anyways after all of this I was inspired to research how to find a moment of peace in the work day.. maybe if i had known this earlier I wouldn't have gotten sick, grrr.
State the Obvious
This is a wonderful tip I picked up from Christine Louise Hohlbaum, author of The Power of Slow. It sounds a little silly, but is actually incredibly grounding. When you are sorting through 1,000 new emails or working hard on a PowerPoint, say (either in your head or out loud, depending how much privacy you have), “I am reading an email from Elaine,” “I am creating a new slide for my presentation.” Thich Nhat Hanh says when you are washing the dishes, really wash the dishes. Be present for what you are doing and that task alone. This idea is the same and great for verbal types.
This is a wonderful tip I picked up from Christine Louise Hohlbaum, author of The Power of Slow. It sounds a little silly, but is actually incredibly grounding. When you are sorting through 1,000 new emails or working hard on a PowerPoint, say (either in your head or out loud, depending how much privacy you have), “I am reading an email from Elaine,” “I am creating a new slide for my presentation.” Thich Nhat Hanh says when you are washing the dishes, really wash the dishes. Be present for what you are doing and that task alone. This idea is the same and great for verbal types.
Get Up Every Hour
Go to the bathroom, take a lap around the office, stand up, bend at the waist, and let hang your head over toward your feet. Getting up from your work once an hour prevents you from sliding into that eye-glazing, one-hour-into-the-next time sink that leaves you wondering where the day went.
Go to the bathroom, take a lap around the office, stand up, bend at the waist, and let hang your head over toward your feet. Getting up from your work once an hour prevents you from sliding into that eye-glazing, one-hour-into-the-next time sink that leaves you wondering where the day went.
Focus on One Thing at a Time
I am the world’s worst multi-tasker. The attempt to do more than one thing at a time makes me feel frantic, scatterbrained and stressed. So I try to do only one thing at a time. When I am waiting for a page to load, I fight the urge to open another tab and look something up that has just suddenly occurred to me (“Wonder what the weather is in Austin right now?”) or fiddle with my phone or start making a grocery list. I just do that one thing. Some could argue that this makes me slower or less-efficient, but to me it’s worth it: it makes my mind feel much more quiet.
I am the world’s worst multi-tasker. The attempt to do more than one thing at a time makes me feel frantic, scatterbrained and stressed. So I try to do only one thing at a time. When I am waiting for a page to load, I fight the urge to open another tab and look something up that has just suddenly occurred to me (“Wonder what the weather is in Austin right now?”) or fiddle with my phone or start making a grocery list. I just do that one thing. Some could argue that this makes me slower or less-efficient, but to me it’s worth it: it makes my mind feel much more quiet.
Breathe
Simple but powerful. Whenever my sense of calm starts slipping away––IMs and emails are coming fast and furious, the doorbell rings, I feel myself torn in seven directions at once––I try very hard to stop myself in that moment of frenzy and take a deep breath. Then I exhale, and do it again. Just one or two rounds of this can keep me from heading into a stress tailspin and it takes less than 15 seconds.
Simple but powerful. Whenever my sense of calm starts slipping away––IMs and emails are coming fast and furious, the doorbell rings, I feel myself torn in seven directions at once––I try very hard to stop myself in that moment of frenzy and take a deep breath. Then I exhale, and do it again. Just one or two rounds of this can keep me from heading into a stress tailspin and it takes less than 15 seconds.
Minimize Distractions
I love listening to music while I work, but I found that the radio is too unpredictable––even a short driving, aggressive song can leave me feeling stressed. So I turned off the radio. I close applications I’m not using. I turn off the email notification. I only leave open the tabs on my browser that relate to what I’m doing right now.
I love listening to music while I work, but I found that the radio is too unpredictable––even a short driving, aggressive song can leave me feeling stressed. So I turned off the radio. I close applications I’m not using. I turn off the email notification. I only leave open the tabs on my browser that relate to what I’m doing right now.
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