ESPC: 5 ways to improve your week
Need to banish those week-day blues? Here are 5 ways to improve your week brought to you by Lisa Venter, ESPC Media Relations Consultant.
1. Don't skip breakfast
We all know that breakfast is the most important part of the day but we still keep skipping it! Breakfast not only stokes your metabolism (boosting weight loss) but also helps to wake you up and get your brain working.
If you find you don't have time to make breakfast then try porridge. Edinburgh and everywhere in Scotland really, is the home of porridge oats and we should all embrace this. Oatmeal can be made in 3 minutes in a microwave with just a little hot water and salt and it will keep you going right through to lunch.
Many of the staff here at ESPC line up behind each other to get their oats ready in the morning but you could even make yours for the week in advance. Simply add a few tablespoons to a mason jar along with a little sugar and salt to taste and soak by covering in water. Take the jar along to work and heat up just before you need to eat it; the perfect low calorie 'happy' breakfast you need to kick start your day.
2. Break the silence
When you move onto an arduous task at home or at work, try and listen to some classical or calming music with some headphones in. This will help you block out any hustle and bustle for a bit and also help your brain. You don't have to do this all the time or even play the music very loudly, quite the opposite in fact:
"It turns out that a moderate noise level is the sweet spot for creativity. Even more than low noise levels, ambient noise apparently gets our creative juices flowing, and doesn’t put us off the way high levels of noise do.
The way this works is that moderate noise levels increase processing difficulty which promotes abstract processing, leading to higher creativity. In other words, when we struggle (just enough) to process things as we normally would, we resort to more creative approaches.
In high noise levels, however, our creative thinking is impaired because we’re overwhelmed and struggle to process information efficiently." Belle Beth Cooper, Buffer
3. Take a 'creative' break
While copious trips to the kitchen for coffee breaks may get you through most days, taking a creative break may be better for you!
Set aside half an hour a week to meet with a few other colleagues to brain storm aspects of your next project instead of the usual method of emailing everyone through the initial stages. All bring in coloured post-it pads and stick them up on the wall or surrounding windows with ideas as they come up and collate them all at the end to be reviewed at your next big project meeting.
If you aren't situated in an office or are a full time parent, then you could do this with your family every now and again to plan short budget holidays, new meal ideas or activities to enjoy as a family.
4. Take a power nap
Leaders like Winston Churchill and Bill Clinton are said to have enjoyed short naps during their periods of leadership so take a leaf out of their book and have a quick nap once a day if you can.
If you have a flexible work place then why not invest in an ostrich pillow. Literally like being an ostrich and 'sticking your head in the sand', this clever contraption is an office saviour! Short daytime napping has been said to improve concentration and boost productivity; but only for 20 minutes at a time according to some medical studies.
If you're at home or not in an office environment, get into the habit of lying down for 20 minutes at some point in the day. If you can't then try and get to bed a little earlier at night, even if it is just every so often, to make sure you are well rested between busier days.
5. Look at properties
Take 5 minutes to look at properties or dream homes such as those available through us here at espc.com Whether you are ready or not to buy a property or not, taking a few minutes to look at new homes will not only get you excited about your property journey but also inspire you and help you even visualize future plans!
Whether you browse the web or pick up a copy of the ESPC Paper, or even pop out at lunch to come and take a look at properties on show at one of our ESPC Showrooms; you'll be sure to get inspired.
About the author
Lisa Venter (ESPC Marketing Content & Engagement Executive) is Editor of the ESPC Paper and is always thinking about new property related articles and searching for gorgeous houses advertised with ESPC. She also edits our Premier Living magazine as well as mediates our online news section and social media activities.
You can connect to Lisa and the rest of the ESPC staff by connecting with ESPC on Facebook or tweeting us @espc on Twitter.