Morning Routine

• Wake Up Early: Try to start your day with a calm and unhurried morning.
• Hydrate: Drink a glass of water to kick-start your metabolism.
• Mindful Meditation: If you practise meditation (and if you don’t it may be worth a try!) spend 10 minutes in meditation to centre your mind.
• Healthy Breakfast: Eat a balanced meal to fuel your body for the day.
• Set Daily Goals: Write down 3 main tasks you aim to accomplish today. Review the goals you may have set at the end of yesterday to ensure they remain relevant.

Between Assignments?

• Whilst being between assignments can give you the time to implement some of the mindfulness and wellbeing strategies discussed here, it can also be a time of great stress and financial anxiety.
• Many of the suggestions below, even the work-related ones, can and should be implemented. These strategies, applied to everyday life, can help alleviate some of the stress naturally felt during gaps between assignments.
• Watch our YouTube video here for some coping mechanisms.
• The most important tip for these times, is to recognise and accept the way you feel. There should be no guilt associated with feeling down when stressed about your job. But once you accept these feelings you should try to implement strategies that ensure you don’t spiral down into further negative emotions, and allocate time to positive distractions, hobbies, nature walks, socialising.
• Set aside dedicated time for job hunting and stick to it. Update your CV, search for jobs, apply, and follow up, then move on to other activities for the rest of the day. Mornings are ideal for this task; spend 1-2 hours before lunch, which serves as a good break. This balance helps you stay productive with job searching while also focusing on well-being activities.

Work Hours

• Take Regular Breaks: Where possible use the Pomodoro technique – work for 25 minutes, then take a 5-minute break. If this has not been possible, (we all know how work environments can interfere with this strategy, or even make it not possible for a couple of hours), ensure that you take a break as soon as possible after an extended period of intense activity. Even just looking away from the screen for a couple of minutes, focusing on a distant object or scene where possible, can make a difference.
• Stretch and Move: Stand up and stretch every hour to keep your body active, maybe walk around the office. In fact, when in the office, take every opportunity to get up and visit people in person instead of making a phone call or sending an IM/email
• Stay Hydrated: Keep a water bottle at your desk and sip regularly.
• Healthy Snacks: Opt for fruits, nuts, and yogurt instead of sugary snacks. But keep in mind an occasional treat is good too, so don’t feel guilty about that!
• Mindful Breathing: Practice deep breathing exercises during breaks, temporarily clearing your mind of work issues, and focusing on your breathing and how your body feels.

Lunch Break

• Eat Mindfully: Focus on your meal without distractions from screens.
• Take a Walk: Spend some time outdoors to refresh your mind and body. This is my top tip.
• Social Connections: Connect with a colleague or friend to share a light conversation.

Afternoon Routine

• Check in on Goals: Review your progress and adjust tasks if necessary.
• Mindfulness Exercise: Spend 5 minutes in a quiet place to regain focus.
• Positive Affirmations: Remind yourself of your strengths and achievements.

End of Workday

• Organize Your Desk: Tidy up your workspace to create a fresh start for tomorrow. This is just as important when working from home.
• Reflect on the Day: Write down what went well and what could be improved, but….
• Stay positive: if you didn’t achieve work goals, or didn’t implement all the wellbeing strategies you planned, don’t beat yourself up. Life rarely aligns perfectly with our plans. Recognise this, keep positive and see if there is any way to do better the next day. Even small improvements are better than self-criticism, which is rarely helpful. Focus on what went well, and how tomorrow can be even better.
• Plan for Tomorrow: Outline your tasks for the next day to reduce morning stress. Think about strategies to make your wellness activities really work for you tomorrow.

Evening Routine

• Unplug: Disconnect from work-related devices at least an hour before bed.
• Engage in Hobbies: Spend time on activities that bring you joy and relaxation.
• Light Dinner: Opt for a nutritious and light meal to end the day.
• Gratitude Journal: Write down 3 things you are grateful for today.
• Sleep Hygiene: Create a relaxing bedtime routine and aim for 7-8 hours of sleep.

Weekly Activities

• Exercise: Incorporate at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise into your week. Your lunchtime walks are a great contribution to this.
• Connect with Loved Ones: Spend quality time with family and friends.
• Nature Time: Spend time in nature to rejuvenate your mind and body. Being near rivers, lakes or the sea is a proven and particularly effective stress reliever.
• Hobbies: ensure you set aside some time for your hobbies, things that bring you pleasure and relax you. These will help take your mind off a worrying week at work, or stressful personal situations. If you enjoy playing video games, allow yourself some time to do that, but keep in mind the next item…
• Digital Detox: Take a day to unplug from all digital devices. This can be a day you choose to connect with nature (see the point above).
• News consumption: ration your news consumption and don’t become obsessed. The media thrives on negative news, and this can have an adverse effect on your mental health and mood. It’s good to stay up to date with world events, but it can easily become all consuming. For every negative news item you consume, balance this with thinking about a positive element in your life.
• Social media: whilst social media platforms and tools have been life changing in keeping in touch with friends, family and work colleagues, it is also life changing in creating a less welcome culture of doomscrolling, comparison anxiety, inappropriate behaviour, and it can quickly become habit-forming. Try to restrict your social media use for fun stuff only, set time limits on usage, and most of all avoid habitually scrolling through endless irrelevant (and often annoying) streams of nonsense. If you find yourself increasingly addicted to social media, or becoming depressed due to what you are seeing, there are ways of weaning yourself off, and it can be done if you have the will. Here are a few sites that can help:
• Mind Help: This site provides comprehensive information on social media addiction, including its signs, causes, and tips for breaking the habit.
• Help For Dependency: Offers insights into social media addiction and practical steps to reduce usage, such as digital detox strategies.
• Healthline: Provides guidance on identifying problematic social media use and offers advice on how to address it.
• These resources can offer valuable support and strategies for anyone looking to reduce their social media use.