A recent article has shown that in the last three years, 45 million work days in the UK have been lost through stress, a stat that is, in itself, quite shocking, but one which becomes even more surprising when you consider that we live in an age where we have so many stress-busting activities at our fingertips, and a myriad of ways to bring some joy to those dark autumn days when you arrive at the office in the dark, and leave in the dark!
With this in mind, here’s a reminder of how to create a happy space for yourself in your workday, perhaps on your lunch break, or during your commute.
Escape from It All with a Good Book
Those who see the world as one huge computer screen can, arguably rightly, feel at times like they spend their lives staring at a flat screen without actually absorbing any interesting information. Tech may seem like the enemy here, but devices like an Amazon Kindle actually make it easier to achieve pure escapism for half an hour. If you prefer your reading in a little more old-fashioned way, grab hold of a paperback and escape from the real world for a while during your lunch break.
“Reading a Book” by (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Now is the perfect time to get hold of some fiction titles, with new releases this year from Ali Smith, Robert Harris, and Dan Brown, amongst many other talented authors. Indeed, if you really want to fine-tune your reading skills, you could follow this example of how to read over 200 books per year and see for yourself whether or not this strategy helps you to relax!
Get Into Gaming
iGaming is big business nowadays. The experience of gaming has transformed from a relatively isolated hobby to an activity readily accessible to anyone with a smartphone, and applicable to those who want to enjoy some game time, have the chance to win big, or even just make some friends without leaving the confines of the office block.
Indeed, while casino terminology can be confusing, brands like 32Red have made life easier by explaining terms that help you to fit in with the social circles of online players, allowing you to show off your new skills and vocabulary to a new circle of poker, blackjack or even roulette friends. Social poker games also offer you the chance to play against your friends while you unwind; you can even track down your boss online to do battle at the poker table if that’s your thing! 32Red have a feature created solely for allowing gamers to find a player, while PlayNow. com offer regular Sit & Go and Multi-Table tournaments.
Learn that New Language
Speaking of learning new vocabulary, why not spend your downtime at work broadening your horizons in a different way by learning how to converse in a brand new language. With only 7.7% of adults in England and Wales saying they speak a language that isn’t English (in the 2011 census), the fact is that learning a new language is not only a way of having a bit of fun (if you choose to go down the route of something slightly less serious by taking on something like Dothraki or Elvish!) but could also help you to push your career forward. Learning Mandarin in your lunch hour is a challenge, but one which could well pay off.
With the world changing rapidly, and the way that we communicate becoming easier all the time, it makes sense that there are all kinds of ways in 2017 to start language lessons, including the likes of Rosetta Stone, which works seamlessly on your smartphone.
With all of this knowledge at your disposal, it’s easy to find a way to reduce stress during your lunch break. Perhaps the only way that you can pile on that extra stress during the work day, in fact, is by being one of the 12 per cent of people in the UK who recently responded to a survey about their work lunch by saying that they felt under pressure not to take one. If this is you, avoid the temptation to skip lunch and instead try to wind down and reduce your stress levels by following one of our three top tips! ]]>
Dan Brown, Social Poker, and Mandarin: How to Eradicate Stress from Your Workday
