Following on from the post yesterday about good Pre-Holiday Routines and making the most of your leave from work, you should now have some tips on how to arrive at your destination feeling in control and ready for a relaxing break.
At this point many people put all their health and wellbeing concerns on hold – they’re on holiday after all! Time to eat and drink what you want but - there's a downside to this. It can leave you feeling fed up about how you feel and look after the holiday and before you know it, you'll be making plans for the new diet and gym regime before you've even landed.
Here are 3 simple strategies for healthy holiday balance that will allow you to make the most of your time off and also ease your return when the trip is over.
1. Decide at the beginning of your holiday how much exercise or activity is acceptable, realistic or desirable. Even if you decide to do something every few days that could be enough to help you feel as though you stayed on track with your wellbeing and this makes the return home easier.
2. Devise some food strategies that will allow you to indulge a bit and enjoy your vacation without leaving you feeling that you lose all self-control and acquire some extra unwanted baggage about your person to deal with when you get home. Make a plan for breakfast, lunch and / or dinner and for any healthy snacks between meals. Decide also how much alcohol you feel is appropriate to drink while on holiday. Remember, most excess holiday calories come from the alcohol. Setting out your limits in advance makes decisions in bars and restaurants much easier.
3. Manage your expectations with your work. Decide at the beginning of your holiday if you’ll be leaving your phone and Blackberry off or if you’ll be checking them. If you plan to stay in contact with the office, set times and days to do this or you’ll just be thinking about work all the time which defeats the purpose of being away.
photograph by naama (flickr)
Friday, 24 July 2009
How to have a healthy, fun holiday
Monday, 7 July 2008
Healthy Staff = Healthy Bottom Line
It seems obvious to point out that the more healthy your staff, the less time they spend off sick and the more profitable your company is running with all hands on deck.
Unhealthy staff means absenteeism figures are higher than you would like, motivation is low, the remaining employees inherit all the workload and no one is happy or productive. Many large and small companies are realising that you get out of staff what you put in and as this is an issue close to my heart, I've just written an article about this for
HR Zone. The ways to get your workforce feeling loved and healthy by you is so straight forwards and this is one of those areas in life where a small gesture can go a long way. Have a look at the tips and see if you couldn't implement one of them this month.
The article is worth reading - but I would say that wouldn't I! But seriously, there are many different ways to injecting a bit of health and fitness into your staff and they all work. So what's stopping you trying one out today?
Did I miss any corporate health and fitness ideas out? Let me know.
Photograph by blue_gazelle
Wednesday, 4 June 2008
Watch your back in the office
More than two thirds of workers now suffer from repetitive strain injury, according to a new study by Microsoft. They attribute this to so many more employees using laptops and mobiles for longer than ever. It seems that the more 'electronic' our work becomes, the less well we cope physically. And working on trains, planes and wherever we want has meant we're more reliant on technology. So what can we do to make sure we stay injury free and ache free? And how can you get rid of 'Blackberry Thumb' when it strikes?
RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury) occurs when you type too much, sit awkwardly at your desk and allow your posture to slide after lengthy hours in front of the screen. It's all self inflicted but can be fixed if you abandon your old habits and adopt some new ones.
The report recommends the following tips to help minimise and relieve Repetitive Strain Injury:
1. Go Hands Free - if you use the phone for much of the day, stop cradling it between your neck and shoulders and order a headset.
2. Learn to touch type - This will take the strain off your fingers and will help to improve your posture as you won't need to be hunched over your keyboard.
3. Learn Shortcuts - This will shorten the amount of typing you do. Some common ones are CTRL + a = select all : CTRL + c = copy : CTRL + x = cut : CTRL + v = paste: CTRL + s = save : CTRL + z = undo : CTRL + p = print
4. Attach a keyboard to a laptop -This way you can maintain better posture when typing.
Read the full article here.
When we go into businesses that are predominantly desk-based, one stretch which always helps to relieve the strain on the back is this one. Give it a go right now and get into the habit of doing it once a day.
And here are some more general desk based stretches I devised for a fitness magazine. Try these to target those aches and pains.
P.S. - the way to get rid of Blackberry thumb is to be super disciplined about when you switch it on and check your emails. Try limiting yourself to checking once every 3 hours. If you have it on all day and check it constantly, you'll not only add strain to your neck and fingers but you're working too hard! What did you do before you had it? Exactly. Don't become too dependent.
Photograph by Dave77459 (Flickr)
