The 5+5 anti-stress
Current times undermine the morale of many of us. If a year ago we still had the courage of being part the solution and the enthusiasm of a crisis manager, we are now starting to wear ourselves out and feel like we are standing still. Many of us are teleworking and only see their laptop screen during the day and their TV screen in the evening.
Energy is at its lowest, morale is at zero and depression is entering through the back door. Let’s not let it happen, let’s try to get our physical and mental condition back on track despite restrictions, confinement, teleworking and social distancing. Simply because we have everything at hand to do us good, that is to say, our 5 senses and 5 activities that we can do without having to leave home.
So, try to take a 3-5 minutes’ short breaks every hour during your telework and fill these breaks using 5 senses:
- Hearing: put on your headphones and listen to your favorite tube or relaxing music depending on the need you feel;
- Sight: contemplate a beautiful landscape, a beautiful painting and let yourself be carried away by the colors and shapes;
- Smell: the aroma of a good cup of coffee, a soothing or stimulating essential oil, there is nothing like it to relax your brain;
- Taste: the thirst-quenching freshness of a fresh fruit, the melting of a small piece of dark chocolate and the world comes alive again;
- Touch: a light massage, a hug, a soft cloth and our muscles can relax.
Whatever direction you choose to fill your break, it is essential that you do so in full awareness. Eating chocolate while answering your chef’s email will not help. You would need to eat it and savor it fully, only thinking about the pleasure of your taste buds. These 3 minutes’ breaks will help reboot your brain and work in a more concentrated way afterwards.
For longer breaks such as lunches, evenings, weekends, plan one of the following 5 activities:
- Culture: a good book, a concert (even online), writing a poem or a short story, painting or drawing;
- Sports: a long walk, a bike ride, a basket-ball game with your children, a yoga session assisted by an app, a little stretching at the end of the day;
- Do-it-yourself: discover your talents in carpentry, tapestry, costing, knitting, but also cooking, baking, home decoration, etc ;
- Relaxation: a good hot bath, a sophrology session, breathing exercises;
- Social contacts: difficult at the moment but why not take advantage of it and write letters, cards, make phone calls instead of texting, skyping with grandma.
The most important thing is to spend time taking care of yourself and fulfilling your needs. Currently the temptation to spend most of your time working on your laptop and for the little time that remains to sink into passivity is great. So, structure your day around the 5+5s and try to motivate your family members to accompany you, because shared pleasure = doubled pleasure!
Have fun!