The wall — I am hitting it.
The good news: I started a new routine this morning by getting up extra-early to work on a project related to my grad-school studies.
The bad news: It’s only half past noon? Seriously? I feel like I’m walking through molasses.
This will get better in a few days, once I get accustomed to the new schedule. But I’ve also had about as much caffeine as I can stand for one day. So, please help me out:
What do you do (legally!) to motor through a day when you’re really dragging?
Looking forward to your comments.
~
(Brick wall photo by arthurcoddington.)
Category: The working life
If you liked this post, please consider subscribing to the RSS feed so you can receive future articles delivered to your feed reader.
8 Comments so far
Leave A Comment
Very short walks. Sometimes just to another floor of the building and back. Sometimes out and around the building. Just enough to get away from the office/cube/desk/what-have-you for a few minutes.
Get up and take a short walk outside. Fresh air does wonders and it gets your blood flowing again!
Also, peppermints are supposed to stimulate brain cells….we use them during those long TAKS testing sessions! :)
I reach into my pockets and pull hairs out of my legs. Try it!
Linda & Marnie — Short walks DO work wonders. I should also stock up on peppermints, although we usually keep bite-sized chocolates around the office here.
Jason — Leave it to you to think outside the box, sir!
Listen to music for a while. Get refreshed and then get back to work.
I have a refreshing chat with a cube neighbor
General RofT - take any kind of break. Three specific breaks:
1) Take your mind off your work - sit in your chair, concentrate on your breathing w/o thinking about your work…try counting 10. Don’t fall asleep - focus, focus, focus
2) Do some light callisthenics or stretching exercises - a few pushups, or if you’re acquainted with Pilates, a few 100’s.
#2 can precede #1 with benefit
3) do something else - almost anything else; e.g. clean up something, move furniture, go talk a walk
Consider using #1 as a work break between shifts,i.e. when you’re changing tasks don’t try to swing ’round abruptly, you’ll loose your balance. Stop and reset your mind; also consider doing it regularly in any case, e.g. at 1, 2 or more hr intervels
If all else fails 4) stop thinking about how tired you are or how high the molasseses is climbing up your thighs (no there’s an image) - focus your thinking strictly on the work; use the breathing exercise as a starter.
Good luck - let us know. I’ve always wondered how these work.
Ayesha — Good advice. And in fact I’ve got various iTunes playlists set up for this purpose. Often classical will do it, but I also have a playlist filled with big, loud guitar songs to break through the crust of fatigue.
dlbwyo — Lots of good pointers. I’m pretty good about taking sretch breaks, and when I’m really feeling tired, I extend them with more deep breathing, etc.
Russ — That’s very good advice, but then, you have an unusual advantage on the rest of us in this regard. ;)
[Context for the rest of the world: I'm Russ's cube neighbor.]