Where’s My Focus Gone?

I thought I was suffering from hormone-related brain fogginess (hormones are pretty much always my first stop when I’m looking for something to blame), but I have spoken to some friends, both female and male and they agreed that their focus had also taken a swan dive, before we got distracted and started talking about something else.

At the beginning of January, I felt like I was going gangbusters, powering through and getting things done. Cut to the last couple of weeks and it’s like somebody turned the ‘focus’ tap off and there’s just an occasional lonely drip. The only time I’m really focused is when I’m teaching a class (had to get that in there) and of course that’s not counting when I say ‘knee’ instead of ‘elbow’ or lose count of repetitions – that’s all normal.

Now clearly I’m not a psychologist and to be honest I haven’t even googled this, but my take on it is as we are constantly in more or less the same routine and at this stage words like ‘boring’ and ‘mundane’ are completely applicable, there’s no chance to get away, properly re-boot and come back feeling refreshed and ready to pounce. It's like when your computer starts to slow down / hum and it just needs maybe to be shut down for the night or even just a case of 'have you tried turning it on and off again?' and bingo it's back up and running again.

Anyone else out there been feeling that lack of focus?

I'm testing out a few ways to re-boot under lockdown, I'll report back to you with my findings!

Time To Stress Less

I think we’re all a little blue in the face from either being stressed or hearing about how to cope with stress.  Well here’s more of it, but with the suggestion of a very simple stress reducing solution. 

 I’ve managed to reduce my stress levels significantly in the last few years. Changing my job helped greatly, but there was another far simpler change I made, and that was to my timekeeping. For anyone who is reading this and is a paragon of punctuality you might aswell skip on to the next blog, you’re already singing from this hymn sheet, for the tardy types read on.

 For a long time I was a ferocious timekeeper.  Always a few minutes,  occasionally more than just a few minutes late. I was late for appointments with friends mostly, rather than business meetings.  The dread of discommoding a client far outweighed the fear of annoying my friends, whom I clearly took for granted, selfishly valuing my time above theirs.

Part of my issue was trying to pack as much as possible in before finally getting myself out the door.  Also I think I hated the idea of getting to a place too early for fear of actually having to wait for someone – imagine.

About three years ago when I started ‘Grá For Fitness’, this all changed.  I simply could not be late for classes that I was teaching.  I’m not sure if it was a conscious decision but I started applying this new found approach across the board.

I simply gave myself more time.  If I couldn’t get my ‘to do’ list done before I left the house, then so what?  One thing I noticed immediately is the difference it made to my stress levels.   When it came to driving places I drove slower and had more patience with people on the roads.  The level of road rage and related profanities decreased greatly, I was able to find a parking space with a bit of time left over to prepare for whatever the occasion was.   

Google maps is a fantastic timekeeping tool whether walking, cycling or driving.  I nerdily check out timings in advance, eliminating the question of how long it’s going to take for me to get somewhere.

 Another thing I’ve realized is, if you’re driving and running late, you’re far more likely to use your phone to send a sneaky text or call ahead with your ETA (if there are any gards reading obviously I have never done this).  

With regards to meeting friends, my new found promptness was also making my (and their) life easier.  I realized that I had been turning up to appointments late – irritated with myself, on the back foot, and sometimes a little irritated with them because I knew they were irritated at me.  That’s a lot of unnecessary irritation.  These days I even take a little pleasure in getting to my destination early and enjoying that slightly smug feeling of getting there first. 

I still have occasional times including the other day when I was late to an appointment. Instead of using my driving trip to the location to mentally prepare, all I could do was worry about how far away I was, road-raging like a loon and arriving proffering apologies which is never a good place to start.  It served as a reminder.

Of course there are times when being late due to unforeseen circumstances is unavoidable.   I realise ‘first thing in the morning tantrums’ related to issues such as not wanting to eat breakfast or wear your chosen / proposed outfit, refusing to be strapped into the car can cause serious delays, and then of course there are parents dealing with small children.  In the unavoidable cases where it really isn’t your fault, you just have to let the stress go.

If you’re already a top time keeper and kept reading – good on ya, think of all the stress you’re avoiding.

If you’re a habitual johnny or joanie come lately, I suggest giving this punctuality thing a go and enjoying those reduced stress levels.

And to all my friends I’ve kept waiting; thank you, I appreciate your time.

The Benefits of Working Out at Work

The buzz around Corporate Health & Wellness Programmes has been growing steadily.  At the January launch of the government’s ‘Healthy Ireland 2018’ campaign, Leo Varadkar flagged upcoming tax incentives for employers to install showering facilities and equipment into the workplace indicating the government’s strong support for workplace wellness.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), workplace health programmes are one of the most effective ways to prevent and control chronic disease and to support mental health, so it’s fair to say that workplace wellness / fitness is not a passing fad.  Although relatively new to Ireland, corporate wellness programmes originated in the US in the 90s, growing steadily to the point where they are now more of a need to have than a nice to have.  Some companies in Sweden including sportswear retailer ‘Bjorn Borg’ have gone as far as making on-the-job exercise compulsory with a weekly workout at a nearby gym.

I have taught corporate classes for over two years and put the question to some of my clients, asking how they saw the classes benefitting them. Roisín, who has been attending classes for over a year, mentioned several points including better back health, improved sleep, increased productivity and convenience. 
As a busy Mum of three girls with chronic back pain who has a long commute, she finds it impossible to fit in exercise outside the workplace;  “With lunchtime Pilates at work, I can fit exercise into my daily schedule. I have seen a noticeable improvement in my back while doing the Pilates classes, which has helped to considerably reduce the pain and as a result improve my quality of sleep. I also find on the days where I have that break to do Pilates at lunchtime, my afternoons are even more productive as I come back to my desk rejuvenated and ready to go.”

Mental wellness is now recognised as a major component in our overall health. One of the greatest challenges to our mental health is stress, all too often caused by what’s going on in the workplace.  While physical exercise is a known mood enhancer, many companies are offering a more direct approach to mental health with meditation / mindfulness classes.

Treacy O'Connor, team lead for meditation, mindfulness and team building with Corporate Wellness Ireland, says "We are receiving an ever increasing amount of corporate enquiries. Every session has been full to date with up to 60 people at a time. Giving the workforce access to very simple techniques they can use at any time of the day is proving to be of great benefit. One employee shared with me, that before the sessions, she suffered a lot from anxiety. She has been able to greatly reduce her symptoms (actually they’re nearly gone) and she now feels much more confident in herself.”

As well as the physical and mental health benefits, corporate classes have been shown to foster camaraderie between work colleagues. Never mind discussing last night’s Game of Thrones episode around the water cooler – how about comparing aches after yesterday’s exercise class?  As head of the TII sports and social committee, Mary Deevy reported “An unexpected bonus, as a recently merged organisation, is that the Pilates classes which are attended by a great mix of staff have facilitated staff to get to know each other better”. 

Let’s face it, business is business and companies are not going to invest in an initiative long term unless there are benefits to be had for the organization.  Healthy and more energised employees mean better productivity and less sick days. In addition, a good corporate wellness program can make a company more attractive to potential employees and can help to retain existing ones thanks to workplace satisfaction.

Whether fully, partially or not subsidised by the boss, more often than not wellness programmes work out cheaper for employees than the gym or regular fitness classes. Furthermore the convenience of working out at work is clear.  Workplace wellness programmes don’t have to be complicated or expensive or limited to large businesses or urban centres.  There’s a broad menu of activities to choose from and if you want to keep costs to zero, walking or running groups are an easy to organise option with a wide array of training apps to choose from.

The benefits are far-reaching, from individual employees to the companies they work for, with the end goal being that a healthier workforce impacts positively on families, communities and the nation as a whole, from an economic to a quality of life perspective.

© Grá For Fitness 2018