It is important to have balance in our working lives to ensure that we can maintain a good level of wellbeing.
What is most important is making sure that organisations are able to support their staff to understand what wellbeing means and to ensure that we put systems in place to support it.
Part of my own wellbeing during the day is to go outside, take a breather and get away from the constant requirements of the work that I do with clients. It provides a way of breaking up the day and the constant feeling of pressure we often find in working environments.
I am lucky enough to be able to bring my dog to work and take him to the park to play throughout the day. While I understand that not everyone has that opportunity, that should not stop them from taking breaks.
We can get caught up in the deadlines and pressures that occur from constantly working.
We end up very busy without necessarily being very productive. Taking some time out and rebalancing the brain by getting outside in the fresh air gives us the ability to reset and not think about what is next on the to do list.
Wellbeing in general is often a sense of making sure that we are clear on what it is we need to do. If you work in a really reactive work environment, there is a constant feeling of pressure to do more work and do it quickly, then there isn’t enough time spent planning.
One way to manage this is by utilising quadrants and breaking tasks down into how urgent and/or important they are. A lot of the time, tasks seen as urgent often push their way to the top and therefore are given a priority as also important, when in fact they may just be urgent and not always urgent to you. The issue here is that tasks with little urgency that are quite important to your role tend to fall off the radar.
Often a reactive work environment means that you are not as productive.
If you were to better manage your wellbeing by taking small breaks, preferably getting outside or doing something creative, you provide a good balance and allow your brain to refresh.
There is always something that you may believe requires your immediate attention. However, that “something” will be there whether you are or not. Research shows that even a small break away from your normal work set-up has a positive impact on your productivity, so go take that break!
Even going for a short walk can be incredibly beneficial because when we walk, we engage in bilateral stimulation and that helps our brain to process our challenges – it’s great thinking time! It doesn’t have to be a long walk, just enough to stretch out your muscles, clear your head and take a moment to do something a little different.
Reframe . . . Respect . . . Recover!
