Staring at a computer all day can take a toll on your body, eyes, and mind. You may want to call it quits for the day, but what if you can’t? What if you still have a lot of work to do?
How do you power through the exhaustion and get back to accomplishing the tasks and goals you have on the agenda for the day?
Obviously, there is no one thing that works for everyone, and throughout your career, no matter what profession you’ve chosen, you’ll find that there is no one solution that works every single time. But plugging away at what you’re doing while you are exhausted really won’t help your situation at all.
Working when you need some sort of break will leave you prone to mistakes, half-ass quality work, and your spirit and happiness levels will drop increasingly with every half-hour you force yourself to work exhausted.
If you need a break but still need to get work done for the day, here are some great rejuvenation tips to get your head back in the game.
Quick Workout:You obviously don’t want to kill yourself here. A full-fledged workout at the gym will probably leave you too tired to get back to work in the near future. But a half-hour workout like a light jog/power walk or some situps and pushups may be just what you need. Add that in with a nice stretch of all those bones that get kinked up from the reputation of work, and you should be ready to find your way back to accomplishing things with a fresh mind and body.
Personal Interaction: When I say personal contact, I don’t mean Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, etc. All those social media sites are great but think about it, if you’re working at your computer and that’s what’s making you exhausted, you’re not making much of a change by bringing up a social media site and never moving from your desk.
Even if you don’t work at your desk and you work in a shop or something like
Eat Something Healthy: It’s pretty easy to indulge in crappy food when you’re working. The thought of finding and possibly preparing something healthy to eat may seem like too much work, but if you don’t want your work to suffer this might be a good idea. Good carbs and low sugar meals can really help you get rejuvenated. Working on an empty stomach will make you aggravated and working on a full stomach full of crappy foods will make you sluggish, so chose wisely, but chose something.
Switch Location: This may not be an option for everyone, but a location switch can really help bring you back to life. If you’re working on a laptop and your work gives you the option to work in different locations, even if it’s from a desk to a coach, it’s something that can make a huge difference.
I used to work in a factory, and I could use any computer in the place to input inventory. Sometimes I would move to the other side of the shop after a few hours just to get a different vibe. The walk to the new location, new faces, different lighting, different sounds, different scenery can all help boost your mental toughness and stave off exhaustion.
Lay Off Caffeine: I’m sure a lot of people may find this one odd. Why would you want to lay off caffeine if you are trying to avoid exhaustion?
Too much caffeine tends to keep your muscles and your brain tense. It’s one thing to drink a cup in the morning and maybe one here and there throughout the day, but too much caffeine can make you irritated and possibly give you too much energy for the task you’re trying to accomplish. Instead of feeling bright eyed and fresh, you will feel wired and exhausted and your work will suffer.
Take A Quick Nap: A quick nap will put everything out of your head just long enough to feel like you’re starting fresh all over again when you wake up. A recommended nap time would be 20-to-30 minutes and no longer than an hour. Let’s face it, when you’re sleeping, you’re not working and the idea here is to get things accomplished. Plus, anything over an hour will probably leave you druggy when you wake up and it will take you that much longer to get back on task.
Conclusion: Working exhausted will lead to mistakes and inadequate work quality, but with some simple adjustments throughout the day, you can keep your body and brain staying fresh so you can accomplish goals and tasks with confidence.