10 Ways to Survive the Work Day

Today’s post is a little different and basically stemmed from me catching myself one day at work saying the same thing multiple times to myself throughout the day.

My job isn’t necessarily hard, but it is stressful, constantly changing and demanding. Throughout the day, I find myself saying things like, “Background music makes this day better.” Or “I couldn’t make it through this day without her to vent to.” It all started with “I couldn’t make it through this day without…” or “______makes this day better”, and from those thoughts this post was born.

Then I started listing things out and it came to 10 and well, 10 makes a perfect list for me! Yes, I realize how self-centered this sounds, but such is the way I spend my Mondays – Fridays 7am – 3:30pm.

These are my 10 Ways to Survive a Work Day!! And yes, I use the word “survive”, it’s a strong word. Let’s be real, there are days that you just feel like you’re in pure survival mode while at work.

One.

Energy / Protein Packed Breakfast

I’m typically a morning person, but once I get to work and get settled in sometimes I immediately start to feel like I’m already dragging. To combat that, I toss a protein bar or greek yogurt cup in my lunch bag or whip up a smoothie before I leave our house. These really do the trick for me. They give me the energy I need while being SUPER healthy. PLUS, they keep me full until lunch time, which was always a problem for me. It’s so easy to snack the day away if you have desk job. Protein, protein, protein….curbs the snacking!!

Two.

Morning Chats With Co-Workers

I work with some of the best people you could ask for! Enjoying the people you work with certainly makes the days easier. I really look forward to our few minutes in the mornings when we play catch up and talk about what’s on tap for our day. And then in the afternoons, it’s usually time for a good venting session. A few minutes of venting to someone who knows what you’re going through can ease all the day’s tensions and stresses.

Three.

Pandora

I’m a music lover. I feel like I work better, concentrate better with background music. Plus, where my office is located, the  music muffles all the busy hallway traffic. My favorited channels on Pandora is quite the mix of music genres, but that’s perfectly me. My love for music is varied. My favorite Pandora channels range from: Pentatonix, to Maroon 5, Gene Kelly, ABBA, Sam Smith, Ben Rector, Eric Church, Oklahoma!, and Christmas music. Like I said, it’s varied. I’ve not started playing my Christmas channels yet….but I feel it coming on soon!

Four.

Lunch Break Reading Material

Most of the time during lunch, you’ll find me and two co-workers at our conference room table with our heads buried in our smart phones and/or tablets….and answering phones because the phones…they never stop! If I’m not catching up on Facebook or Instagram, I’m browsing Pinterest or Etsy on my tablet or flipping through pages of the latest issue of Good Housekeeping or Paula Deen Magazine. Having those few minutes to semi-escape work are definitely something I look forward to everyday!

Five.

Ice Water

I typically keep a Tervis glass full of ice water on my desk and sip on it throughout the day. Most days I have to refill at least once, sometimes twice. It keeps me alert and holds any dashes of hunger at bay. A friendly PSA: Behind Sonic, hospitals have the best ice!

Six.

Temp Control

Look, if I’m hot I feel sick. If I’m cold, I feel distracted. Optimal office temp is a Goldilocks complex for yours truly. It has to be juuuuuust right. So literally, I have a health-care grade heater under my desk at my feet and a small fan at my back. Some days I could leave the heater on all day. The fan….typically only runs for a couple hours in the summer and spring months to cut the humidity. Our little corner of the building gets stuffy during those times of the year. But these items have become something I depend on more than I realized. My previous heater broke into about 3,000 pieces last month, and I was miserable without it until the new one showed up. Comfort makes me a better worker!

Seven.

My Scentsy warmer and wax melts

This is two-fold. One, I just feel like scent welcomes people in and makes for a warm, calming environment. Two, I work with A LOT of men. Some of those men are smokers, and personally, I can’t stand the smell of smoke. This helps keep the smoky smell from lingering behind after they are gone…because really, that’s the worst.

Eight.

Emails from the besties

Occasionally, I’ll receive an email or two from one of my best friends during the day. And I’d be lying if I said, I wasn’t REALLY PUMPED when I saw their name pop up in the bottom right hand corner of my computer screen. Some days, these totally make my day! It may be a very detailed email about weekend plans or something simple and just a couple lines about a blog we read or something we saw on Facebook…whatever it is, it trumps all other emails in my inbox when it comes in!

Nine.

Texts from the hubs

There is no greater feeling than receiving a random text during the day asking how my day is going…just to know that he’s thinking about me. Puts a little smile on my face. (Which is quickly followed by the “what’s for dinner” text. Oh well, I’ll  take what I can get!)

Ten.

Erin Condren Life Planner

I’ve tried for YEARS to keep up with a planner, and have never, I repeat NEVER, stuck with one an entire year. We’re approaching November and I have used this puppy EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. (Except vacation, I had to draw the line somewhere, ha.) This little lovely is by my side all day every day and often tags along to meetings with me. I love having everything laid out for a quick look at what’s on the day’s schedule, bills for the week, menu for the week, painting orders for the week, etc. I keep our bills in the back folder and coupons in the back zipper pouch. I’d be lost without it at this point.

Those are my work day essentials!! What are your tips and tricks for the Monday – Friday survival?