By Claire Preen
We all know the feeling – it’s mid-afternoon and there’s a lot to be done, but it’s really hard to motivate yourself. Here are seven great things to help you.
1. Eat a healthy snack
Give your body a long lasting energy treat – not a short term sugar laden, insulin driving snack. It's important to keep your sugar levels, level during the whole day, rather than create a roller coaster of sugar highs and lows. So as well as healthy choices for breakfast lunch and dinner ensure your mid morning and afternoon snacks are just right for keeping your energy levels right. Try this easy chocolatey slow sugar releasing snack to sustain you through the afternoon:
Raw chocolate brownies. (
they consist of 4 ingredients and take 2 minutes to make)
2. Schedule meetings for the afternoon
If you don’t have a tight deadline to work to or a meeting to go to, you can lose motivation at the desk and allow the afternoon slump to control you. Get your ‘self -motivated’ work done and dusted in the morning when you are feeling fresh and invigorated and plan your meetings for the afternoon which will allow your body and brain to react to meeting stimuli and keep you bouncing through the afternoon.
3.Go for a walk and get fresh air
It will allow you to get the oxygen flowing through the body and clear your head. 5-10 minutes brisk walk is all you need to come back to your desk with a new sense of vitality
4. Keep hydrated
Keeping hydrated throughout the day is essential. A small coffee hit in the afternoon won’t hurt you either. Especially if you have to get up and go outside to get it (fresh air, clear head, moving oxygen!)
5.15 minute meditation
Meditation is like a mini snooze without the bleary wake up afte. It allows you to completely switch off from your brain and basically give it a massive re-charge. Close your eyes and concentrate on looking through your eyelids with your eyes closed. Slow your breathing down. Say a mantra within your head – I use the mantra “sheeama”
6. Listen to up-beat music
Do this after the meditation and you will find you are firing on all cylinders.
7. Breathe and stretch
Even if you have to stretch at the desk, it will get your oxygen flowing though your body. Try the following stretches:
1 Spinal stretch – breathe in and on the out breath keep your hips and bum facing your computer and twist your upper torso and head slowly to the right. repeat to the left.
2 Cat tilt – push your chair back a little from the desk – breath in and on the out breathe curve your back as round as it will go bringing your head down towards your desk making the letter “C”
3.Letter I– sit up straight, on the in breath bring your hands to prayer position in front of your chest, on the out breath push your hands up towards the ceiling keeping your spine straight.
Repeat 3 times
