SURVEY SAYS Rejuvenating Yourself at Work

Last week, I asked NewsDash readers, “Do you hit a slump during your work day, and if so, what do you do to rejuvenate yourself?”

The vast majority (91.7%) of responding readers said they do hit a slump during their workday. The most popular way to rejuvenate themselves, according to the survey, is to take a walk (78.8%). Nearly four in 10 (39.4%) said they drink coffee and one-third take time to socialize with coworkers.

Nearly two in 10 (18.2%) said they listen to music to rejuvenate themselves at work, 15.1% take an actual out-of-the-office lunch break, 12.1% each selected take a short nap during lunch and drink a soda or energy drink, and 6.1% said they rest their eyes.

Asked to share other ways they rejuvenate themselves during the work day, responding readers shared:

• Drink a cup of tea or have a piece of chocolate
• Getting up and moving around is the best solution for a workday slump.
• I run three flights of stairs on the way back from every restroom break.
• Hide the lobster. We have a few office ‘left behind or found ‘ toys including a rubbery red lobster. Always a fun mental break to hide the lobster somewhere unexpected or somewhere that JUMPS out at a coworker.
• I take a walk to the kitchen and look out the window for a few minutes.
• Take a short nap in the mid-afternoon.
• Some days, just moving my desk to the standing position and standing while working will rejuvenate me.
• Getting out of the building at lunch
• Looking at my to-do list and goals always puts me right back to work!
• Stretch, breathe deeply, stand, walk
• I just need to get up & walk around to refresh & wake up!
• Drink a lot of water

A big thank you to the readers who said in verbatim comments that they take time to read the NewsDash to rejuvenate themselves. Other ideas for rejuvenating were also left in the comments. A couple of readers talked about how “resting your eyes” can end up being a longer pick-me-up than planned. Editor’s Choice goes to the reader who said: “Getting out of the building at lunch is priceless.”

Thank you to all who participated in our survey!

Verbatim

I tend to hit a slump around 3:00 in the afternoon. A little walk, chatting with colleagues, or a shot of ice water all can be rejuvenating. The better solution would be to get adequate sleep at night. Easier said than done of course.

I usually read the summary of recent benefits-related lawsuits in NewsDash. The descriptions of the ridiculous “reasoning” used in these suits (by both lawyers and judges) usually gets me so disgusted and angry that I am quite alert for the remainder of the day.

Completely switch gears, work on a different topic, read NewsDash.

Chocolate!

To make me laugh and stay alert, I play the “Hump day” commercial with the camel.

A healthy lunch goes a long way to keeping you alert in the afternoon!

I take a walk around the building a couple of times during the day to break things up and get the blood flowing again.

Inevitably the slump hits after lunch, usually around 2:00.

Some people view naps negatively as a sign of laziness, but I find a 15-minute nap totally rejuvenates me and makes me much more productive for the rest of the day. Better to have 15 minutes of downtime than 60 minutes of lethargy.

I usually get a second wind around 5pm and end up working until 7pm (after arriving between 7:30a and 8:00a).

I found during my college years that I can either fight the mid-day slump and be unproductive for an hour or take a 20-minute power nap, have some coffee, and refresh my productivity.

It’s not easy. Some days I can’t rest my eyes because if I close them I’ll be out in 30 seconds.

I have “rested my eyes” during a meeting or training class that was longer than needed in a room that was slightly dark where the material was dull or stretched to fill a timeslot that was longer than necessary. Back then I was not confident enough to get up and leave the room for a walk. Today I would indeed, leave the meeting/training and take a quick walk…. and perhaps not return if the discussion or training material is not beneficial to my role. I would also complete the survey that is sent out following the meeting to create awareness that if the presentation/training can be covered in 20 minutes…. Don’t stretch it to an hour.

Get up and move! We all sit at our desks way too much, just a couple minute stroll around the office works or up and down a flight of stairs wonders and is great for your health.

When I am on a deadline, I don’t experience a work day slump. But on those days when work is slower and there are no pressing deadlines is when I feel a work day slump after lunch in the afternoon. One way to deal with the work day slump is to change which project I am working on.

Getting out of the building at lunch is priceless, a bit of reading and a 10 minute nap, I’m a new person in the afternoon

Wellness rooms are popular, yet I do not see employers rushing to allow them to be used to rejuvenate when you hit that slump. What about other cultures – doesn’t the siesta help to rejuvenate??

I eat a light snack of mixed nuts. I avoid caffeine and sugar.

Coffee doesn’t do it for me! But my co-worker gets 3 lattes a day at the Starbucks kiosk in our cafeteria.