Rest – Recharge – Reset your Mind & Body in August

Welcome to August 2021 – a time to Supercharge Yourself!

Trying to manage your wellbeing has been an incredible challenge amidst the pandemic backdrop. With summer in full flow, the kids off from school, and many on annual leave there is no better time to be thinking about your emotional, spiritual, and physical wellbeing, before returning to work hitting the ground running in September.

This blog and accompanying videos and tips will equip you with the evidence-based tools, tips, and techniques to improve your wellbeing by focussing on the mind, body and fun in August.

I have been delivering mental health and wellbeing training to businesses and organisations across the UK, Europe, and many countries around the world since 2015. This includes stress management, mental health awareness, manager training, resilience, mental health first aid to name a few. In those sessions many people ask what things they can do to maintain their own mental wellbeing, so I have created a fun plan that you can follow and get very active with during the whole month of August to supercharge yourself!

Week 1 – MIND – Relaxation

Being able to unwind, relax and disconnect from a busy and challenging lifestyle is an essential requirement to maintaining great mental and emotional health. Relaxation can help reduce stress, become more present, and improve clarity of thinking, as well as lower blood pressure.

Week 1 is focussed on taking time to do one thing every day (no matter how small) for yourself to help enable this.

Consider trying meditation, mindfulness, walks in nature, enjoying some quality time alone or simply focussing on getting a good night’s sleep.

Mindfulness meditation trials in 2011 successfully demonstrated improvements in overall mental health, as well as its benefit for reducing risk of relapse from depression. Similarly, substantial evidence exists that mindfulness has a positive impact on anxiety disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder. It works by becoming very aware and conscious of your five senses, meaning you are ‘present’ which is where I believe we cannot feel symptoms of anxiety and depression, as these are truly fixed in the future or past.

Not done it before, try it free here:
The Honest Guys – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p_yaNFSYao
Calm – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZToicYcHIOU

Here are some other suggestions for you to consider:

1. Sleep – improve your bedtime ritual, go to bed at the same time every night, reduce stimulants like caffeine and sugar in the hours before bed, don’t look at any screens an hour before bedtime
2. Read – fiction or non-fiction, allow yourself to escape
3. Enjoy some time alone, no distractions
4. Get out into nature – use your five senses to take in everything that is around you

Week 2 – FUN – Hobbies & fun stuff

When we are stressed and feeling overwhelmed emotionally, we tend to halt all creativity including indulging in our hobbies.

Finding a hobby is a great way to relax, have fun and/or distract us from any concerns we may have. It brings a sense of fun and freedom to life that can minimise the impact of chronic stress. Indulge in activities like photography, creative writing or stimulate the mind with activities like knitting, adult colouring books, or piano lessons.

Here are some other suggestions for you to consider:

1. Learn a new language
2. Learn some new fun cooking recipes
3. Learn to dance – YouTube is packed with tutorials, ever thought of learning salsa? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wV8cDpJa2f4
4. Handy with DIY? – restore old furniture back to life
5. Dog sitting – enjoy combing time with ‘mans’ best friend’ and getting outdoors!
6. Volunteering – find out how you can add value in your local neighbourhood
7. Jewellery making – safe £££ by making hand crafted gifts for others

Week 3 – BODY – Keep active

“The best way to change your mental and emotional state is to move your body” Anthony Robbins

Have you ever considered how you feel after doing exercise or when being active? Science has proven that this can help aid the release of endorphins (the feel-good hormone), hence the reason why our mood can feel upbeat afterwards.

What could you do today to become more active?

The secret is to find something that you enjoy, that will also give you the above benefits. My go to activity is cycling. Riding down country lanes, getting out into nature whilst burning some healthy calories works well for me. But when time is a factor, simply going for a quick walk in my local green space also adds huge benefits.

Here are some other suggestions for you to consider:

1. Visit the gym
2. Do some gardening!
3. Dance to your favourite upbeat track
4. Do Yoga or Pilates
5. Join a Zumba class
6. Go for a run
7. Play golf
8. Take the stairs!
9. Walking meetings
10. Housework!
11. Jump on the kid’s trampoline!!

Week 4 – RETURN TO WORK – Get ready!

Are you ready to hit the ground running come September?

One of the best ways to approach a busy work life is to feel ready for it believing that you can accomplish what’s required of you. Preparing for the rest of a busy 2021 at work can include some practical planning, good organisational skills, and positive thinking.

Here are some tips to help build confidence, self-belief which can help lower stress going back into a busy period:

1. Eat that frog – this book by Brian Tracey talks about tackling the most challenging task of your day first to avoid procrastination. Do you have a build-up of tasks that if you accomplished them would help with your productivity and help reduce stress?
2. Tidy your desk – according to a Princetown University study, a cluttered desk mentally exhausts you by restricting your ability to focus and limiting your brain’s ability to process information. Arrange items so you can see the surface, discard items in your drawers you don’t use or need. Keep your desk clean and germ free (no food). Keep only a few personal items on the shelves.
3. Time Management – 4 D’s. For every task that lands on your desk, do one of the 4x D’s to help manage your time more effectively, and lower pressure upon yourself
   1. DO IT
   2. DELEGATE IT
   3. DIARISE IT
   4. DUMP IT
4. Cycle/run to work or at lunchtime – consider extending week 3’s physical activity with work, and cycle or run to work. Not only will this help maintain great physical health, it will save you money, and help start your day with a huge boost of emotional energy.
5. Watch your overtime – Researchers have found that working long hours is linked to poor sleep and serious health problems. Those who work 55 hours a week were found to suffer a long-term decline in their mental acuity, compared to working 40 hours. Make a habit of leaving work on time and not lingering. Leaving 30-60 minutes earlier a day will have a direct impact on your wellbeing.
6. Detox – Create and maintain your energy for work!

Detoxing helps you to lose weight and tone up, but the most immediate health benefit is a boost in energy. Eliminate or reduce junk foods, caffeine, sugars and processed food. You could fast or just eat fruit for a day to rebalance your system.

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Thank you for reading, have a wonderful day – Yohan!

www.greatminds.training – E: hello@greatminds.training – T: 020-7101 3891