Good morning friends!

I used to get the privilege of sweating like crazy all day, getting covered in saw dust, ripping my Jeans, scraping my knuckles and exhausting every joint. I developed a lot of good habits, lifting with my knees, sweeping up every day after work (Thanks Alvin!), drinking lots of water, and taking regularly scheduled coffee/lunch breaks. Now as I write this, I note my eyeballs trying desperately to not fall out of their sockets, my old shorts and jeans are nothing but a nostalgic memory, and I can’t seem to function on 4-6 hour nights like I used to!

I didn’t transition well. I brought my appetite, but lost my exercise. I brought my work ethic, but lost my punctual schedule. Needless to say I grew in unfavourable ways.

The past couple weeks I have been consistently feeling better. It has taken me 3 years to figure out ways to increase my productivity and enthusiasm for work. I’m hoping the upcoming list will shave some time off for you.

  1. Here’s what should’ve been obvious. Exercise. Actually, it was obvious, but I just didn’t ever do it. Most blogs told me to do it, but I just didn’t make time for it. 6 weeks ago we bought a treadmill, and while I haven’t used it daily, I’ve been close to every other day. This has made a huge difference. I have not changed my diet (which I should), but have felt much more energetic and positive. It’s almost like there’s some kind of chemical that exercise releases to make you feel better…
  2. Smaller portions. I realized (too late) that I could no longer eat breakfast at home, a sandwich for first coffee, four slices of pizza for lunch and a couple cookies for second coffee. What a shocker! I’ve cut down to some fruit for breakfast, water for coffee break, two pizza pops for lunch (they’re deluxe so they’re exceedingly healthy), and water for coffee. Okay fine, sometimes there’s a tim’s run in the morning, or an iced capp at lunch. But the point is, conscious reduction of portion sizing throughout my day. I’m definitely not going hungry, and it’s fun to watch your 1 and 3 year old eat more than you…
  3. MORE BREAKS! When I first came into the office, I erroneously assumed coffee breaks on the site were just for the physical recovery of my body. I thought they were the times I could pee and drink water and catch my breath. I have found breaks for the eyeball and brain are more important. Take more time to stretch, check out the construction outside our window, or learn to moonwalk (visit Dueck Builders on Facebook to see that fiasco!)
  4. I hinted at it above, but drastically increase your water intake! I’m still learning to drink more water. I no longer am “thirsty” like when I used to work outside in the sun. But increasing my water intake has increased energy, alertness, and just a healthier me in general. Drink water!
  5. Find a hobby, or something to do. Do you like serving on boards? Do you like playing sports? Find a commitment you enjoy to set time aside specifically for. This year I’ve joined a soccer team and we get to play about once a week. So far we haven’t lost so Benny hasn’t scheduled any practices, but I’m sure that will come. When I lost the energy I had from working outside, I also lost the drive to do these extracurricular things. It is a very worthwhile commitment to make!
  6. FREE 6TH TIP! Reduce your social media time. It’s easy to get more into social media because you’re working on a computer all day. Once those hooks come in, it’s also easier to be on social media at home more. Just don’t. It’s not that great of a thing.

What about you? What steps have you taken to become a healthier you in your office work? I hope these steps can help you. Don’t get too hung up on doing them all perfectly right away. Just start doing 3 sets of ten push ups throughout the day, or cut out second coffee break snacks. Every little step makes the next one easier.