Holiday tips on how to relax

If you do not take the time to let yourself unwind, it can lead to some serious fatigue problems, and you may begin to feel burned out. In a burned out state you are never as productive. There are ways to avoid letting this happen by balancing your work life properly with times of calm, recreation and relaxation. Below there are tips for achieving a good balance for your work life. If you follow some or all of these, it will help to relieve a lot of stress from your day-to-day operations.

11. Get plenty of sleep.

Oftentimes sleep Is one of the things we sacrifice in order to get more work done. Sleep is an essential part of maintaining a good energy level and a positive attitude. When you get an ample amount of sleep during the night, you are more ready to take on the challenges of a new day and are able to do so with a smile. Never overwork yourself to the point of sleepless nights. You will hurt yourself and your productivity in the long run.

12. Take a break during your workday.

Sometimes the work schedule can be a very hectic thing. During your fifteen or twenty minute break, you should try to make the most of your time away from work. If you can do something that will make you feel refreshed it will be good and help you be ready to finish your day. A good idea could be a nice fifteen-minute walk outside the premises. Fresh air could be just what you need to clear your mind.

13. Foster good work relationships with your colleagues.

Whether you are the boss or just a cog in the wheel of a bigger corporation, having friends at work can help the time you spend there seem less taxing. Trying to have a good report with your co-workers and make small talk when there is time for it. Even meeting up with co-workers outside of work can be a healthy thing, and will make your synergy in the workplace even better.

14. Reward yourself for a job well done.

When things go well at work you need to have something tangible to show that your efforts are paying off. Do not just simply keep throwing yourself at work again and again. Take the time to reward yourself for doing a good job. Buy yourself something nice now and again. Whether it is new clothes or new tech devices that you crave, the reward will help put you in a good place. When you work hard, you deserve to reap rewards.

15. Understand that nothing is perfect.

The need to be the best drives the successful, and often the most successful people consider themselves perfectionists. This is a good trait in many ways because it means that you are going to pay attention to detail and always make sure that something with your name attached to it is quality. You should not go overboard though. Don’t beat yourself over the head with little details all the time. Do your best but realize that perfection is simply an unattainable ideal in most regards. There will always be “one more little thing” you could have done on a project. Accept that you did a great job and move on. It is healthiest that way.

16. Streamline your errands.

Errands can take up a good chunk of time. There seems to be so many things we need to get done on our days off that has been neglected throughout the week that it eats away our day off into nothing. Try your best not to let this happen, because you need to enjoy your day off and do something for you. Streamline your errand running by planning the best routes to go and get things done, and go at the least busy times of the day so you can be in and out.

17. No more skipping meals.

When you are busy at work it is easy to skip meals and just eat when you can. Your body runs at its best when you eat more small meals per day. Wake up with enough time in the morning to eat breakfast, and make sure that during your lunch break you actually eat something. You’ll have more energy and most likely a more positive demeanor.

18. When you aren’t at work, don’t think about work.

People are guilty of doing this constantly. When work is on your mind at home, it is as if you never truly stopped working. You need to take the time to enjoy yourself and all the wonders of your personal life. Work will be waiting for you when you clock back in. Don’t let it take up so much space in your head.

19. Listen to music.

Listening to music is an incredible way to wind down after a long day of work. The songs that we love always seem to have a way of putting us in good moods, and it can be very relaxing to just kick back, have some refreshments and listen. Relaxation is, as mentioned before, an important part of work life balance. You need the downtime.

20. Be honest about your limits.

If you are being overworked, be honest about the fact that you might have more than you can handle. If you are the boss, delegate some tasks to those subordinates you trust. If you are an employee, have an honest heartfelt talk with your manager. Get them to listen to you and assign more people to do all the tasks you had been handling alone.

Holiday tips to help you relax 2

If you do not take the time to let yourself unwind, it can lead to some serious fatigue problems, and you may begin to feel burned out. In a burned out state you are never as productive. There are ways to avoid letting this happen by balancing your work life properly with times of calm, recreation and relaxation. Below there are tips for achieving a good balance for your work life. If you follow some or all of these, it will help to relieve a lot of stress from your day-to-day operations.

6. Take up interesting hobbies.

Hobbies are a great way to have an escape from your work life. They can be very satisfying and rewarding in their own ways. There are many different hobbies that are out there, so you should be able to find one that interests you no matter what your personality type. It could be something as simple as taking up golf, or pick-up basketball games on the weekends. Even collecting comics or other types of memorabilia can turn into a passion. These types of things are needed when seeking balance in life.

7. Have goals that are not related to your work.

If you can have aspirations outside of your work place, it will help you in the effort of balancing your life. These goals could be something such as losing weight or fixing up your house to a certain level. It would be good to focus on these things when not working. It will give a sense of purpose.

8. Devote time to exercise.

Exercising is not only an important aspect of making sure you stay healthy, but it is also a mentally rewarding experience. When people exercise, it makes them feel like they’re doing positive things for themselves. When you start to see the results of your hard work, you will take pride in your physique and looking the best that you can. People who overwork themselves sometimes have the tendency to neglect their health in favor of focusing on work. This dedicated personality type can be flipped and used to focus on getting into shape.

9. Give to charity and do things for your community.

Giving to charities is often a highly personal thing. It is dependent on the individual whether or not they are inclined to give to an organization they find worthy. Giving to these organizations can bring a lot of peace to a person’s mind and it can help those less fortunate. Taking the time to do some, volunteer work now and again can be a nice change of pace from your daily grind and give you a positive outlet to do something truly helpful. There are many organizations in nearly every community that could use the help of a able-bodied individual.

10. When it is time to stop working, stop.

Set a schedule for yourself. If you are supposed to work a nine to five style schedule, then stop when that clock hits five. When you are on  you can dedicate your all to the job, but when it is time to quit you need to switch modes from professional into your personal life. There is a time and a place for everything. Make sure you stick to that dedicated work time and do not cut into your down time unnecessarily.

Take the time to relax

It’s a great feeling to achieve success in your work life. When things are going well it is very easy to get completely wrapped up in your work and dedicate vast amounts of time towards it. But is it a good thing to dedicate so much time to your work life? There are benefits from taking work seriously and being business minded, but focusing entirely on your life can have negative effects as well.

If you do not take the time to let yourself unwind, it can lead to some serious fatigue problems, and you may begin to feel burned out. In a burned out state you are never as productive. There are ways to avoid letting this happen by balancing your work life properly with times of calm, recreation and relaxation. Below there are tips for achieving a good balance for your work life. If you follow some or all of these, it will help to relieve a lot of stress from your day-to-day operations.

1. Lessen the amount of time you work.

This may not be possible for everyone, but for entrepreneurs, small business owners and freelance workers of all sorts, this can be a good method to lessen your stress. Sometimes people in these career paths can feel like they are always working since they are their own bosses for the most part, but limiting the days you work a week to four or five can work wonders. A little extra time off can help one recharge their batteries.

2. Consistently work in the same place.

For freelancers and entrepreneurs it can be easy just to start working at any time or anywhere. You just pull out your laptop or smart phone and go about business with this mindset. It can be best for you mentally to keep your work confined to a particular space. When you get used to working in your living room for instance, when you are trying to relax there it will always feel like you are working. You begin to associate work with that place. Keeping your work in a designated office space can keep this from happening.

3. Make time for loved ones.

Try to schedule the times you are working so that you can still spend time with family and friends. It is not good to be so wrapped up in work that you neglect the relationships with those close to you. If your spouse is always free on a Tuesday, try to schedule that as a day off for yourself as well. Enjoy time with your loved ones.

4. Leave your phone off sometimes.

Many of us feel attached at the hip to our smart phones these days. They are such useful devices and keep us in touch with business partners and friends alike. On your days off when you are having a relaxed evening with your spouse of friends though, turn it off. Do not let it distract you constantly.

5. No guilty feelings about not working.

Do not let yourself feel guilty for enjoying some good “me time.” Sometimes when you are a driven individual you get it in your head that all your time should be spent on productively working towards goals. You need the down time though. Your hard work should be for the purpose of ensuring the happiness of your lives and the lives of your loved ones. Take the time to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Boxing Day What is it for?

If you are looking for something that explains the origins of Boxing Day, well, you are not going to find it here. The day-after-Christmas holiday is celebrated by most countries in the Commonwealth, but none of them are really sure what they're celebrating, when it started or why. 

So here are some ideas presented for your pleasure on this holiday best spent lounging around in brightly colored sweaters, wondering, lazily and lethargically, what to do next

During the Age of Exploration, when great sailing ships were setting off to discover new land, A Christmas Box was used as a good luck device. It was a small container placed on each ship while it was still in port. A priest put it there, and those crewmen who wanted to ensure a safe return would drop money into the box. It was then sealed up and kept on board for the entire voyage.

If the ship came home safely, the box was handed over to the priest in the exchange for the saying of a Mass of thanks for the success of the voyage. The Priest would keep the box sealed until Christmas when he would open it to share the contents with the poor

Another explanation is that in England an 'Alms Box' was placed in every church on Christmas Day, into which worshippers placed a gift for the poor of the parish. These boxes were always opened the day after Christmas, which is why that day became known as Boxing Day. A variation on this idea is that during Advent, Anglican parishes displayed a box into which churchgoers put their monetary donations. On the day after Christmas, the boxes were broken open and their contents distributed among the poor, thus giving rise to the term Boxing Day..

There's another possible story about the holiday's origin. The day after Christmas was also the traditional day on which the aristocracy distributed presents (boxes) to servants and employees — a sort of institutionalized Christmas-bonus party. The servants returned home, opened their boxes and had a second Christmas on what became known as Boxing Day.

Finally, some believe that the following is the most plausible reason for the day being a holiday. Many poorly paid workers were required to work on Christmas Day and took the following day off to visit their families. As they prepared to leave, their employers would present them with Christmas boxes. 

Boxing Day has been a national holiday in England, Wales, Ireland, and Canada since 1871. For years in which the holiday falls on a weekend, the celebration is moved to make sure workers still get a day off (except in Canada, where it remains Dec. 26), but since visits to Grandma and other family obligations are fulfilled on Christmas, there isn't anything left to do on Boxing Day except eat leftovers, drink and watch TV.

The Irish still refer to the holiday as St. Stephen's Day, and they have their own tradition called hunting the wren, in which boys fasten a fake wren to a pole and parade it through town. Also known as Wren Day, the tradition supposedly dates to 1601, to the Battle of Kinsale, in which the Irish tried to sneak up on the English invaders but were betrayed by the song of an overly vocal wren — although this legend's veracity is also highly debated.

The Bahamas celebrate Boxing Day with a street parade and festival called Junkanoo, in which traditional rhythmic dancers called gombeys fill the streets with their elaborate costumes and headdresses.

In addition, of course, there is the shopping. England and Canada's Boxing Day evolved into a major shopping event in the 1980s — the equivalent of post-Thanksgiving Black Friday. Every year for the past three years many of the sales started earlier in an effort to boost the slumping economy.

Boxing Day has evolved to an extended Christmas afternoon. It is a holiday with presents that have already been opened and a dinner that has been eaten and another day to visit with friends and relatives. 

Enjoy your day!