Micro relaxing moments during your workday

We all have those days at work where stress can build up and you just need to find a way to calm down, otherwise it’ll affect your entire day. However, it has to be a pretty quick fix, since you’re too stressed to take a longer break. Here are some tips to create micro relaxing moments during your workday!

Find your happy moments

Step one is finding the things that make you happy. Is it food, a chat with that one funny colleague, or a funny cat video? This is what you’ll need to harness during your work day, because enjoying the little things is not only meant for your free time! For me personally, it’s all about good food and good people. Since I don’t see my colleagues as often, I tend to eat fancier lunches. They are really something to look forward to. I also am lucky that one of my colleagues lives near me, so we work together once a week and it’s my favourite day of the week. Things like this will set off a feeling of being rewarded and it’ll stimulate you to keep the good things going. Therefore, it doesn’t only help with feeling happier, it also makes you more productive.

Stretch your legs

As I explained in my post about stress, the body doesn’t distinguish bodily stress from mental stress. Therefore, you can get also (partially) rid of mental stress by getting physical. Taking a walk around the block can help with this, but also tightening your muscles will. When I don’t have time for a walk around the block, I’ll therefore just sit a my desk, balling my fist or keeping my feet off the ground for a while. Although these are small movement, they do require your full focus and are very intense. When you relax your muscles again, you can feel some tension leave your body. I find this exercise to be especially helpful when I am experiencing stress headaches. If this doesn’t work, some meditation exercises can have the same relaxing effects.

Smell the good times

One of our strongest senses is our sense of smell. There are many smells that can calm us, for instance lavender, but also smells that remind you of good times. You can for instance wash your clothes with the same laundry detergent as your mom used to. You carry your clothes with you all the time, so that works well, but you can also carry a small bottle of oil with you to smell when you’re feeling on edge. If you’d like to know more about this, read my post on scents and their effects.

The wall of happy things

Another thing you can do is to make a vision board. You can put things on there that motivate you to go on (a fancy car, a picture of your child, yourself as a successful business person). When things get tough, it will remind you why you’re working so hard. However, for some people, this doesn’t work too well, especially if the goals you have are less tangible. In that case, you can just make a board of things that make you happy. Reminding yourself of these things (the people you love, your health, your stuff) will warm your heart and if this seems tough, this can make you feel more mellow again.

Talk about everything and nothing

Really shocking idea here: have a meaningless conversation. Especially when we’re stressed (and working from home) we tend to only talk to people when it’s necessary. However, having a conversation about things like the weather or a funny show you recently saw can take your mind off things and let you relax for a moment. Although reading a book or something can be nice as well, it can be hard to concentrate. Conversations have the benefit of forcing you to stay focused on the conversation, instead of letting your mind wonder back to the things that stress you out. Therefore, you sometimes just need to call someone or walk to someone’s desk and explain them that you just need to vent and relax for 10 minutes. It doesn’t have to be a long conversation to be a helpful one.

Organise your desk

A tidy home is a tidy mind. Therefore, tidying up your desk can really help to organise your thoughts as well. So, make sure you have some cleaning wipes (or a cloth and some all-purpose cleaner) and get everything off your desk, clean it up and organise it again. It’ll give you a few minutes to do something else and you’ll also feel refreshed yourself after doing it. Let some light in and some fresh air, and you’re ready to go again! You can also bring an office plant onto your desk, since having to take care of something else can also give you some mental peace, especially when it’s tied to nature.

Batch your time

Although I am not a huge time batcher, I do think strategically about when I do which tasks. For instance, I know to avoid having to do things I don’t like first thing in the morning and at the end of my day. Instead, I plan those things just after lunch, when I feel re-energised. I also try to plan the more fun things in between, so I can switch and I have better things to look forward to. Although it doesn’t make annoying tasks less annoying, it does make it more manageable. So, have a good think about when you are at your best and schedule the harder tasks, like difficult conversations, around that time as much as possible. What works for you in this regard and how can you divide your time based on not only your daily flow, but maybe also weekly or monthly? It’s prevent stress little when you have a grip on things like this. You can even plan in some of these micro relaxing moments into your workday ahead of time, especially when you foresee the nasty tasks.

I hope these tips will have helped you a little. Do you have any other tips to create micro relaxing moments into your workday? Please, leave them down in the comments below! And if you liked this, please subscribe to my blog or follow me on Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter, so you’ll never have to miss a new post. You’ll even get a free e-book on saving money, so you can enjoy every dollar you earn much more!

Lots of love,

Lisa

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