Transform Your Working Day

The Chinese philosopher Confucius is supposed to have said: “Choose a job you love, and you will never work a day in your life”
Whether he said it or not, very few of us go on to achieve our dream job, be it as an astronaut, pop star or a movie actor.
Nevertheless, it’s safe to say most people are generally content with their role, and if they were asked “do you enjoy your job?” they’d perhaps, somewhat assuredly, admit they do.
But even budding astronauts, pop stars or movie actors have the occasional “bad day at the office”.
You may have woken up on the wrong side of the bed, nothing going the way it was meant to: you feel fed up with the world and would rather crawl back between the sheets and sleep for a week.  Perhaps you’ve had to make a tough decision, had a disagreement with a colleague or a member of your team, or even lost a cherished customer or client.

Whether we realise it or not, these daily negativities can have a profound impact on our personal lives. Most will admit to having sleepless nights, stress indigestion or even a panic attack – all potential consequences of workplace anxiety.

That’s why it’s so important to wind down properly at the end of a day and start the next in just the right way – your mental health and stability rely on it.

So, here are some great tips for beginning – and ending – your 9 to 5, to keep the stress levels to a minimum, and help you feel like you never truly work a day in your life.

1. Tidy desk, tidy mind. Unless you’re already a neat freak, start clearing and tidying your desk. We don’t want to hear excuses about an “organised mess”, make it an “organised tidy” instead.  It helps you feel in control and makes your life hassle free: those pesky documents – or whatever it is that you’re always losing – won’t be impossible to find any more!  Starting and ending the day with a presentable, decluttered desk will seriously make you feel calmer and decrease those stress levels considerably, even if you’re accustomed to a disorganised workspace.  Whether working from home or the office, this is essential first step in your daily work routine.
2. Invest in your happiness. Like so many things in life, happiness isn’t necessarily handed to you on a silver platter – you have to strive for it.
   This doesn’t mean splashing out on a holiday, taking time off work or avoiding all your problems until they all pile up on your desk (in reality, that never works). It simply means taking some time out of your day – every day – to relieve yourself from the daily grind of work.
   Additionally, finding that 30 or so minutes of peace will increase your productivity as good levels of serotonin (the chemical responsible for happiness) makes us more efficient.

   There are many ways to do this, but here are a few suggestions to making your day more enjoyable:

•     End your day with 30 minutes of yoga, Pilates or meditation. It can help to distance your mind from work so you can shut off stressful

•     Schedule a phone call or Facetime with a loved-one or friend you haven’t seen in a while or who is shielding from COVID-19

•     Plan to meet up with a friend or colleague to give yourself something to look forward to at the end of the week. Go for lunch, to the cinema or take a walk in the autumn         sunshine

•     Take the time to cook yourself a healthy and delicious lunch. It can help to break up the day (if you are working from home that is).

•     Book a massage to help relieve the tensions in your back and neck from sitting at a desk all day.

3.  Prepare in order to succeed. Before you end your working day, be sure to write out a to-do list tomorrow so you don’t forget what you need to accomplish. That way, the next morning, you won’t at a loss as to what you need to be doing, ensuring that you start your day positively, feeling a sense of achievement knowing you have got stuff done!

4.   Reflect on your day. Remind yourself of what you have achieved, whether that be sorting out those files you’ve been meaning to do for ever so long now or landing a customer or client.  This simple exercise builds your confidence and motivation, and conditions you to have the desire to accomplish more the next day so you can feel as good as you do in that moment.

Conditioning yourself to desire the sensation of achievement is a powerful tool in ensuring you feel happier after a day’s work.