8 hacks to make it through the workday.

I know how hard it its to make it through a work day, struggling at times to just survive the 8 hour shift. The worst thing for me was the “slump” which for me typically came after lunch and I know by 2:00 pm I had hit a wall. For all of us, we have families, health issues, money worries, and more, to contend with and so carry this into the workplace daily makes it hard to survive a full day at work. Luckily, there are ways to make it work! Not only that but to make the best out of your day. Here are my “hacks” to do just that.

1. Start your day off by detoxing every morning. – “Really?” I can just hear you all saying this. Yes really. Toxins build up in your body and come to the surface in the mornings. Make sure you flush them away or they will build up and toxins bring you down, slow your system, and eventually make you sick. So, Drink your glass of warm lemon water before reaching for your cup of java. Wash your eyes, rinse your nose, and shower every morning if you can.
2. Eat a nourishing breakfast – May sound “cliche” but it’s true. Personally, I would eat a breakfast that is warm or room temperature, not frozen or cold like cold smoothies…your body prefers warm, cold congests your body. Chia/Oatmeal cups that you can take out of the fridge in the morning when you wake and will be room temp before you leave. Or a Protein shake with spinach and adding to it Maca or Ashwagandha to increase focus and energy.
3. Set an alarm to go off every hour – Set an alarm on your phone so that every hour you get up from your desk and stretch, walk to the water machine or fridge. Sitting at a desk all day long is a slow and tortuous thing to do. So, you can do some quick exercises at your station, in your office which will increase blood flow, circulation and increase your heart rate a little so that it keeps you rejuvenated.
4. Drink Water – I often had to set an alarm every hour to get up, stretch and get a drink of water. It’s easy in a day when you are super busy and working to not remember to drink and stay hydrated. This is a no-brainer, but we do often forget.
5. Go outside – Every chance you get, go outside! I love being outside and having to be inside all day can be really hard. If it’s in the summer, go to a spot where you can take your shoes off and walk in bare feet. This is grounding and recharging as you connect with the earth. Just lifting your face up to the sun, closing your eyes and breathing is very powerful and replenishing! I got my Sister and my daughter into doing this!
6. After lunch, if you can’t go outside, take a few moments and lay on your back with your feet up on the wall. This pose makes you feel lighter therefore you won’t have the heavy feeling. Also, you can learn to do a breathing exercise called “Pranayama” it helps to oxygenate your organs, increases blood flow, and helps to re-energize. Again, it brings me back to how the workforce should rethink their hours of work as well as giving their staff an hour, aside from lunch, where they meditate or exercise as this would help with productivity. So to summarize this point, take a moment or two to breath, meditate….just close your eyes….connect with your breath, and breathe. This will help you to make it over the “slump” part of the afternoon.
7. Don’t eat carbs – This may be a difficult one, but if you can leave your carbs for dinner, you won’t have the sugar crash. Instead, try to put some “energy balls” into your afternoon. Energy balls are typically made with oatmeal, nut butter, and some natural sweeteners, and maybe some superfoods or adaptogens. This way, you are not reaching for caffeine, which will overload the circuits so to speak because the afternoon according to Ayurveda is what we call “Vata” time and it’s a time of flow. It’s a time when our bodies are picking up the pace, we have a bit more energy once you get over that after-lunch slump. So if you reach for caffeine, then you will put your system out of balance and you will crash! So, have a herbal tea, go for a quick walk or do some jumping jacks in place.
8. Shift your mindset – This one takes time and takes some getting used to. If you are in a job that you don’t enjoy or you don’t feel valued or you are simply here for the money, you may have a hard time. Think about “the big picture”. What purpose or role does your job fulfill in the big picture? If you can shift your mind into a place of Service, this can help because you feel you are helping and doing something for a bigger purpose. These days this shouldn’t be too hard to do as you should feel lucky to have a job, to be able to bring in an income consistently as there are so many that are not working or not able to work. So every day shifting your mindset from crying about your job or complaining to Gratitude and feelings of being blessed to have a job will greatly affect your energy levels and how you feel about being in your job.

I hope you enjoy some of these ideas! It was a real eye-opener for me when I was searching google to get an idea of some of the things people look up and saw in the top 5 searches a search for “How to make it through the day with a job you hate”. There is just so much to say there but I don’t want to go off on a tangent. So, I will leave you here. Thanks again for having a read and always supporting me by sharing my blogs and following me. BE safe and be well.