Short stretching and breathing exercises
Most of all, our body during a difficult day suffers from clamps, breath holding and other traces of stress and anxiety, which instantly enslave us and aggravate an already difficult condition. The best ways to switch and give yourself a short break are breathing exercises, facial exercises, or a little stretch that doesn't have to be athletic.
The easiest way is to lean forward, freeing your neck, and swing from side to side. Lie down and stretch strongly. Lunges and arm stretches are also very good. You can make several turns with your head or with the whole body, the main rule is the absence of pain and discomfort. Breathing, face fitness, and stretching help to reboot the body and speed up the metabolism a little, and also switch attention away from the head and hands, which have already suffered a lot during the day.
Healthy snack
Stress has a huge chance of eating bad food, especially if there is no way to cook, and the office supplies free cookies and rolls or endless amounts of coffee. But it is not fast carbohydrates that trigger the effectiveness, but a completely different type of nutrition.
If you like crunching, stock up on vegetable sticks made from cucumber, celery, carrots and paprika, or just buy a bouquet of your favorite salad. Many people like nuts as a snack - they are high in protein. The main thing is to find out that you will not be allergic to them. And one of the best snacks is the fiber in fruits. Here again, the point is in your favorite foods and in what is suitable for the diet: let's say, some people can't use pectin, but others can't use bananas. Take with you apples, pears, oranges, tangerines - simple and familiar fruits that you can add to your break. And combine with something truly loved. Most importantly, read the labels on finished products: “healthy snacks” with granola and honey can be several times heavier than banana and dark chocolate.
Call a friend
Most overwhelmed people feel a lot of guilt about not having enough time to interact with loved ones. Use the break to call family and friends: Trivial messages and calls may seem unnecessary, but in fact, they are responsible for maintaining constant contact and help not to lose sight of each other. Plus, do not hesitate to ask not just routine questions “How are you?”, But start a meaningful conversation: about what happened in their life, how your friends feel, where they traveled, what worries them and what situation they are in now. Discuss your common hobbies, fresh impressions, and not just plans for the weekend - this will give the feeling that apart from everyday life, you are connected by something permanent.
Small cleaning
Some people think that cleaning is a form of procrastination and underestimate its effect on our condition. At the same time, cleaning is one of the most effective ways not only to shift attention to specific small tasks, but also to deal with pressing anxiety.
You can tidy up anything - a littered desktop or documents on your computer, a list of books to read, your favorite songs or movies, paper around. You can throw out the trash, look through the wardrobe or current little things clogging up the space, wash the dishes. So that cleaning does not overwhelm you, identify a few specific little things that you want to improve in the next five minutes, and proceed from the main to the secondary. You might be surprised to learn that after deleting unnecessary folders on your desktop, cleaning up spam or washing cups, it will become much easier for you to prioritize burning tasks.
Five minutes outdoors to your favorite song
A smoke break is the most common reason to go outside or open a window, but certainly not the most useful. Start a charging playlist or just songs that always set you up for a fighting mood, take your favorite headphones and go out to listen to music, breathe the air and look at the world around you and passers-by with an inestimable curious look. To the music, you can also run up the stairs, bend in different directions, or find your favorite spot nearby to find regular comfort there.
A couple of pages of a handbook
Another reason for the feeling of guilt of a modern person is that you read little and do not keep up with all the interesting things that happen around you. Meaningful reading really takes time and focus, which we with attention deficit disorder are completely deprived of, and most often it is impossible to correct this by volitional effort. The way out is to choose a reference book for yourself, to which you will return constantly and which is comfortable and pleasant to read in pieces. For some it is a favorite novel that you know by heart, for others it is a book of poetry, for someone a diary or text in the form of a stream of thoughts. Or maybe a creative notepad for notes or drawing, or a useful book with tips and instructions for every day, where a couple of pages trigger the necessary reflection and give an outside perspective. Tolstoy, Proust, poems by Tsvetaeva, exciting non-fiction,the recipe book is the only condition for you to want to hold this book in your hands, and not put it away.>
