Do you suffer from tiredness after eating at work? Yes, I’m talking about the dreaded afternoon slump after eating. You know what I’m talking about, your eyes feel so heavy you can hardly keep them open. Sometimes it can feel like you took a ambien and you just want to grab a pillow and a blanket and curl up under your desk and sleep for a few days. As a Virtual Assistant I have many projects going on all day long and I really can’t afford to nap and some days I can’t afford to sleep period. I learned several ways to boost my energy in the afternoon after I eat. Here are my top 5 ways to avoid the afternoon slump.
1. Energy Boosting foods to Boost Your Energy
Most Virtual Assistants work from home and can just walk to their kitchen and prepare their meals. I work out of the house. I find that I am more productive working out of a co-working space. Therefore I plan and prepare my meals for the week. Whether you work from home or an office, I highly suggest doing this. Not only are you assured to prepare energy boosting meals, but they will likely be healthier than any meal you could eat by dining out. Working from home we tend to grab quick and usually processed foods, that are not very satisfying and is what makes us tired.
High quality protein will fill you up and give you all day energy. Choose from salmon, tuna, chicken, cold beef and lamb. For vegetarians, eggs, beans, peas, nuts, nut butters and soy products are high protein. Complex carbs convert to glucose which gives you energy. Try beans, brown rice and sweet potatos
2. Eat Your Lunch Outside (Weather Permitting)
Here is another way to avoid being tired after eating at work. Have your lunch outside and divide your break between eating and a walk. It will help reset your chronological clock, keep down the amount of melatonin (the sleep hormone) your body produces during this circadian dip and give you a valuable boost of beneficial vitamin D, reducing your risk of osteoporosis as well as various cancers. I like to walk around the block after I eat. This always gives me an energy boost. This also helps with any shoulder stress I feel after sitting at my desk for long periods of time. I find that this also clears my head.
3. Clear Your Desk and Check Your Email Inbox
Both are relatively mindless tasks that don’t require great amounts of concentration or clear thinking, and both will leave you feeling more energized because you’ll have accomplished something visible as well as having reduced energy-sapping clutter. Write a to-do list or take some time to visualize your next task. As a work from home Virtual Assistant, I know how hard it can be to communicate with others. Talking with others does boost energy. Call a team member or family member for a little conversation. If you work in an office, talk with your co-workers. “The most effective teams tend to be the ones that have psychological safety, which often comes from learning how to pick up on each other’s nonverbal cues,” Duhigg says. This was out of an article from Reader’s Digest
4. Stretch
Roll your shoulders forward, then backward, timing each roll with a deep breath in and out. Repeat for two minutes. Crossing our legs while seated, especially when done on one side more than the other, can create imbalances in the hips and lower spine. Bring balance back with Chair Pigeon. While seated in your chair, both feet flat on the floor, cross your right leg over the left at a 90-degree angle, keeping the foot flexed as to not place pressure on the knee. Maintain equal weight distributed between the sitting bones while staying in an upright seated position. You should feel a gentle to moderate stretch on the outermost part of the right thigh. Hold 5 to 10 breaths before switching sides. Read full article here
5. Do the Work That Excites You The Most
Because your energy will be high when you first get to work, start the day with the task you’re dreading most. You’ll be able to breeze through it in the morning, leaving your favorite projects for later in the day. Then when that afternoon slump hits, your enthusiasm for the work you love the most will help you recover from that dip in energy.
I hope this article will help help you avoid the tiredness after eating at work. There are so many more ways to power through the afternoon and avoid the slump. Stay tuned for more suggestions in a future post. In the meantime if you are a small business owner and are struggling with trying to do it ALL in your business, we can help you. We specialize in Administrative task, social media management, email marketing and bookkeeping. Visit our services here. If you missed our last post you can find it here.
