WorkLife Balance

1. Brighten Things Up – Make a ‘Cheerier’ Workplace

In the pursuit of looking sleek, modern & professional, many workplaces can tend towards darker interiors, cold furnishings and a generally ‘smart’ yet not so healthy work environments.

Too much heavy/dark colours etc can tend to dull the mind and even contribute to lack of vitality and even depression.

With people spending 8 hours plus ‘in the office’, one of the most profound ways to increase morale, positivity and general health is to brighten up your workplace environment.

Life these days is full of requests for our time, energy & expertise. As we like to be needed and feel that we are ‘giving’ to others, we can quickly find ourselves using up all our time…and thus having none left for ourselves.

Once we know our priorities (the ‘most important’ things in our life), one of the keys to our success, is having the ability (& the self-esteem!) to ‘say NO’ to excessive demands/requests.

Christmas – The most important thing at this time of year is to rest, relax and just have a good time.

If you’ve been busy during the year your nervous system will have accumulated stresses & fatigue you may not even be aware of. Rather than thinking you have to ‘get healthy’ straight away it’s actually more important to understand that the health of our nervous system is more important than anything else…and the nervous system is rejuvenated best by things like mental rest, joy & laughter.

So don’t worry about diets or exercise regimes now. Put your feet up, indulge a little (during the DAY not at night best), totally forget about work for a while and just enjoy spending as much time being with those you love, catching up with friends etc – We’ll help get those extra kilo’s off in the New Year.

If you are lucky enough to be in good health & spending time with people you love at this time of year, treasure it and spare a thought for those who are aren’t so blessed.

Bring Nature to You:

Ever noticed that by the end of the week, you just want to ‘get out of your stuffy office’ and ‘get some fresh air’/get back near Nature? One of the best ways to avoid that feeling as well as to improve your mood, workplace productivity, energy levels & resistance to illness is to bring Nature to you.

A study by Professor Margaret Burchett, of the University of Technology, Sydney, found that potplants can reduce air toxins by as much as 20%. A study on houseplants has shown they reduce, fatigue, sore throats & cold symptoms by over 30%. What about at work? Studies in Europe have shown potplants in the office can reduce ‘sick leave’ by 60%.

Plants not only give a bit of ‘life’ & colour to our sometimes ‘over-business like’ office environments; they can literally help reduce stress, offset the various toxic emissions from things like computers, mobile phone radiation, synthetic carpets, paints etc, increase mood and productivity & reduce absenteeism.

We always talk about our everyday thoughts/feelings are by far the most powerful influence on our level of health. If you are not spending enough time on the things that nourish you emotionally, that can spell trouble.

We want to make sure our life balance/priorities are in order.

Do you ever get tired of trying to be a dynamic, high energy, high activity person all year round? Well the good news is, you not only don’t need to be, but it’s actually healthier if you don’t try to be. That’s right. You see, the ancient science of Ayurveda explains that just as there are daily ‘rejuvenation’ cycles (you can’t be dynamic during the day if you don’t get proper rest at night), there are also powerful ‘seasonal’ cycles of rest & activity.

While spring & summer is a time for more activity and dynamism, winter is the exact opposite – a time for more rest… a bit more ‘Hibernation’!!! Just as the rest of ‘Nature’ quietens down (hibernates) during Winter to prepare (re-balance) for the warmer months, we humans are designed to do the same though not necessarily to the same degree.

Are you enjoying good Work-Life Balance? If so great, if not read on for the all important first step.
We know creating better life balance is about being clear on what’s most important/meaningful for us, eliminating the ‘small’ stuff & prioritising etc etc, however many of us never get around to doing it…because our life is so full/’busy’.

To enjoy the life balance we desire, we need to break this cycle and create some ‘space’ in our life. Without periods of space, silence…doing ‘nothing’ (argggghhhh!), we can never truly know what it is that we most desire, what it is that will bring us the balance & fulfillment we crave.

Step 1 Towards Better Life Balance: