3 Valuable Tips to Stay Happy and Focused at Work

We all have those days on the job. When after a couple hours behind our computers, our brains feel foggy, the grumpiness rises, and our backs and necks start to ache.

These are all tell-tale signs that our bodies are craving movement.

Science tells us that sitting in a chair for long hours is a great way to communicate to our brains that we don’t need them to work very hard. Which, of course, is completely counter-productive when we have multiple deadlines creeping up.

The thing is, we often hear how important movement breaks are, but what’s not as clearly communicated is what movements we should be doing.

And sure, a walk to the snack bar can be a welcome break from the screen glare, but there are much more effective ways we can treat our bodies and brains to an energy boost.

So here are 3 of the best and easiest ways to re-sharpen your focus, reduce stress, and ease your aching back:

1. Controlled Articular Rotations

Controlled articular rotations, or CARs, is a fancy way of saying “joint circles.” But the potent difference with CARs is that they are extremely slow and deliberate.

You want to make as big a circle as you possibly can, as slowly as you can.

Let’s take the neck, for example. Instead of throwing the head around in a quick loop, you very deliberately bring your chin down to your chest as far as you can go, and then slowly drag it towards one shoulder, look over that shoulder, then start to point the chin up to the ceiling while you drop your head back, circle your chin over to the opposite shoulder, and then glide it down across the chest towards your starting point.

The reason why ‘slow and deliberate’ is so powerful is that it makes your nervous system pay attention to what you’re doing.

The more input you give to the movement, the more your nervous system says “Oh! This is important! Focus levels up!”

It’s like hitting the reset button on your attention span.

And it works.

Here is a collection of instructional videos for CARs. Pick one and give it a go!

2. Breathe

Yes, proper breathing counts as healthy movement! Many of us have a difficult time getting the breath right, which actually puts our bodies into near-constant stress response.

Yes, you read that correctly.

If we breathe poorly, our brains believe we are in danger.

This causes us to stay in fight or flight mode, which raises cortisol levels, decreases our ability to focus, and makes all of our systems run less efficiently.

This is obviously not ideal.

The way to fix this problem is to focus the breath into not just the belly, but into the sides of the abdomen and into the mid to low back as well.

When you breathe, try to relax the shoulders and neck, and imagine you have a balloon in the middle of your torso which needs to expand in all directions.

As you inhale, imagine the balloon expanding forwards, backwards, and sideways equally. As you exhale, that balloon empties, and your shoulders and neck stay relaxed.

Intentionally practice breathing this way, and you’ll be amazed at how great you start to feel almost immediately! Try doing this while sitting, standing, walking, and lying down (this may have to wait until after work, sadly).

They’ll all feel different, and training each of these positions will help your body absorb the knowledge of how to breathe properly so that eventually you won’t have to practice–it will just happen on its own.

3. Mindful Minute

When you start to feel overwhelmed and anxious at work, you become less productive and less present.

Feeling stressed not only costs your company money, but it costs you a whole lot of sanity.

However, just one minute of your time can drastically improve your mood.

And the great thing is that it’s easy to do.

You don’t have to be an experienced meditator to get it right.

Remember that stroll to the snack bar I mentioned? This is kinda like that, but way more effective.

So stand up, pop your headphones in, and press play. Start to breathe deeply, relax your jaw, relax your shoulders, and begin to walk slowly. Focus on the physical sensations of your body as you walk. How the ground feels underneath your feet. The temperature of your hands. The texture of your clothes. The expansion and contraction of your abdomen as you breathe.

If you take a stretch, focus on every bit of the stretch. Make tight fists with the hands and then open them wide.

Make an effort to feel everything for one minute.

Paying attention to your physical sensations is a fantastic way to short circuit brain fog and mental overwhelm. And the soundtrack, though optional, can help to bring you into a quick state of relaxation and focus.

One minute is the suggested starting place, but you may just find yourself wanting to stick around for more!