2022 has so far flown by with it being middle of February already as I write this and I have no doubt that with a click of a finger, it will be New Years Eve, everyone is celebrating heading into the new year of 2023. Long story short, time flies when were are busy whether we are at work, spending time with loved ones or just simply enjoying ourselves. We live in a world consumed by social media and there is no denying it has been a transition period these last 2 years while the Covid-19 pandemic took shape. Everyday, there is a new article online about scandals, crime, cost of living, political diversity and despite not all of these directly affecting the individual, there will be times when individuals wonder why we bother doing the things we do and enjoy.
It’s no surprise cost of living has had or will have a huge impact on those struggling families and individuals where incomes don’t make up for an increase in bills across the board from gas to energy and everyday food and drinks in your supermarket. There is a lot of pressure for a vast majority of people to secure another source of income or even rely on a friend or family member to scrape by. Bank of England also forecasts the inflation rate to increase to over 7% by spring 2022 due to a number of factors including the economy recovering from the Covid crisis, sharp rises in energy and unexpected events. As you can imagine, it’s not the brightest outlook when you read the news each morning. It’s crucial to not get over-indulged in these statistics (unless you’re a stats enthusiast of course) as it can really affect your levels of anxiety and stress for the short and long-term.
Life is never going to be easy and there are always set backs but it’s how you deal with them that sets your apart from those that just ignore those and give up.
I’m not trying to paint this picture to say that it’s all doom and gloom and there is nothing we can do however in a world where we work hard to try to get through life, we have to enjoy life too through relaxing, recharging and rewinding. Remembering these 3 R’s is how I stay calm and keep focus on what’s ahead of me. These tips and thoughts can be applied for anyone whether you are employed, unemployed, young or old and is my blueprint to make sure I do not go insane after a long day’s work.
Relaxation
Definition: “The state of being free from tension and anxiety” — Oxford Languages
In a busy world that can offer roadblocks every hour of the day that could be work related, personal finances, relationships or anything for that matter, we have to find the time to relax. Relaxing or relaxation is a term that could have different meanings depending on the individual and how they spend the time to relax could be completely the opposite on how someone would relax and vice versa. For the average person in employment, for example, working an office job can be fast-paced and stressful when you are trying to get work done to a deadline or have an important client meeting. The anxiety and stress levels can be apparent and it’s no surprise that many companies are now investing resources to either upskill or employ mental health and wellbeing staff to ensure employees are in the best frame of mind to complete their work and feel less stressful in an already worked-up environment.
You might be wondering: “ I don’t have the time to relax when I could be being more productive/earning more money.”
While it is true to an extent that you could put the extra hour or two in to be more productive, you would also have to be wary of how a tired call for example could be detrimental on a client business development call when you’ve not had the time to reset yourself and relax for 5 minutes. I know for me, when I have a tough 1–2 hours of work through a big call-out, I take 5 minutes out to take a break and focus on something not related to work at all. Go grab a coffee, take a walk, get some fresh air, stretch and take deep breaths.
Relaxing goes beyond the working hours of your day. I get that some people also have side hustles or other activities which occupies their evenings so something it’s hard to fit the time to wind down. But there is always a way for you relax without having to try and squeeze much of your valuable time. There is no right or wrong way to relax and what works for you might not be suitable for someone else. This also applies for those who might be at school/college/university, an unemployed person looking for work or even an elderly person who has a busy lifestyle.
Its important to find that time and activity which relieves the tension, stress and anxiety because it will boil over into the next day and the negative thoughts start to creep in.
What do I do to relax?
I tend to escape reality by playing video games or reading to relieve my stresses of the day. Being introverted, working in an office and sales environment can be tiring especially when you find it hard to connect to others on a personal level. Baring this in mind, I have always found that having a book next to me (usually business books) takes the stress out and I can look to learn something new in the process. For others, yoga or meditation is a popular way to relax or playing an instrument or learning a new language. Whatever it may be, the list is endless and it is imperative that everyone no matter their background should find the time in the day or evening to relax fully whether it is 15 minute of reading or 2 hours of Pilates. If you are in a fortunate position to share your life with a partner, do activities together and enjoy each others company.
“There is more to life than increasing its speed” — Mahatma Ghandhi
Recharging
To recharge physically and mentally is to relax but also to set aside time to look after oneself to prepare for the upcoming task/day. Similar to relaxing, recharging oneself, not to be confused with recharging a battery although comparisons apparent, is to feel like you have completed a long day of work, relaxed and getting ready for the next day. Stress is the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure — Mental Health (Sep 2021). Everyone has a certain level of stress in their lives. Some have more than others but it is how one copes with it that could be detrimental to the wellbeing of that individual. Recharging is a way to set expectations and prepare for an upcoming event.
Once you have gone through that period of relaxation, it’s time to think about and prepare for the next day. Anxiety and stress can come from not knowing your priorities and scrambling to figure out what to do next. So it is no secret that I value preparation when it comes to work-life as someone who needs to understand what needs to be done as urgently as possible but what also can be done as non-urgent, however equally important tasks. Of course, I wouldn’t spend hours doing this. It could be as simple as writing down 5 of your key tasks for the upcoming day or 5 keys points for your presentation.
No matter how your prepare, it will give you a sense of ease heading into the next day knowing your did your preparation a day before and you can focus more candidly, therefore bringing a sense of relief and toning down the levels of stress one burdens everyday.
Recharging physically is also really important to balance the levels of stress and anxiety. Of course, it would be easy to say to do 30m — 1 hour a day of exercise but realistically not everyone would want to or even have the time to in our hectic lives. However, the benefits are enormous and it helps to boost self-esteem and confidence. Many people have sports as a hobby and for me badminton is my gateway to recharging physically. Even if you don’t consider yourself to be sporty or the ‘exercise’ type, just taking a walk to the park, beach, shops or wherever can be enough to get your muscles moving and relaxed.
What do I do to recharge and refocus?
I write everything down I need to do to keep track of my progress throughout the day. I then have a checkbox by each task and tick it off when I’ve completed it. The idea is you have a long list of tasks you need to do but by the end of the day it’s all/almost all completed and you can be proud to have achieved your days goals. Not only does this tell you, you are on track but it also means you are making strides towards your own personal goals.
I have also started to implement 15 minutes of stretching at the start of each day to warm my body up before the start of a jam-packed day. For desk-based role, its important to look after your body and even the simplest of stretches can go a long way.
As everyone knows, sleep is super important to recharging your ‘batteries’ for a whole host of reasons that can include improved concentration, mood and less stress. I try to get between 7–9 hours of sleep a day to maintain my sleeping habits and to keep productivity up at work. Sometimes this isn’t possible everyday but if you are able stick to a good pattern that works for you, keep at it and know your body and it’s limits.
Rewinding
Once you have you relaxed and recharged ready for a full day ahead, its time to take stock and to rewind the day to a fresh day, and see it as an opportunity to start from zero. Forget yesterday and only look ahead in front of you. We all have bad days, some more than others which is why it is important to rewind and consider a new day with a clean slate. If you are in the mindset of the previous day where it was stressful and hard then you will just go into a spiral that won’t stop and this is only going to have a negative effect on your peers, friends and family. Treat the new day with optimism and know that your efforts today will get you to where you want to be.
As a goals and targets-driven individual, I know there will be days where I am not getting the results I want and that’s okay because I know if I keep on trying and change my approach, good results will come in time.
Opportunities come to those who are patient but resilient and won’t take no for an answer. A new day will bring challenges, but it’s how you deal with them that separates successful people to those who are not.
My Final Thoughts
This article is purely based off my own personal thoughts and experiences and cannot claim to be an expert in the field of mental wellbeing however I hope from this you can take some ideas to implement into your own lives no matter how small or impactful it may be. I would highly recommend everyone that reads to share with others and hopefully this can be useful to somebody else. We all get caught up in the latest news and it can feel demoralizing knowing that our efforts aren’t getting us far but use resources we have our disposal to enjoy the little things we enjoy to break the day up to relax, recharge and rewind.
