3 Options for Your Dreary Office

 Variety is truly the spice of life. Change your living space every 3 months to create a fresh feeling. Yes your office is a living space. You're in it at least 40 hours per week.

1) Get a new seat. Standing desks are still a possibility but not for everyone. All day you should be changing the height of your chair to prevent the Fuzz from building up. Every 3 months you can switch chairs with someone in the office. Here are some that I hope your co-worker have: Swing, Pivot Chair, Stability Ball, Balance Board, Reclining Dentist Chair, Saddle Stool, or the normal Swivel Office Chair.

2) Change your view. Simply turn your desk 90 degrees. If you're looking at the wall, hang up a poster or Fathead. Have you tried co-working spaces? That could be a great way to move every month if you live in a larger area. 

3) Decorate for the season. Planning ahead is a baby step in creating a habit. One month before the Holiday (or season) set out some trinkets. This little change in your office will keep you from dreading entering the same old work space day in and day out. Plus it gives you a little side hobby to find creative decorations. 

Notice how all three of these options are based on your senses. Touch, Sight, and the 6th sense of environment. Your environment really can change your mood AND your productivity level. Here are 3 bonus ideas: Sound- Use a free radio app and plug in those old headphones. Smell- use a diffuser to elicit different feelings or memories (be mindful of those around you). Taste- Keep a flavored water bottle, coffee mug, cup of tea, gum or even chapstick nearby to instantly keep that enhanced mood. You're welcome! 

This Method is Helping People Like You Become Healthier

The Slight Edge, The Compound Effect, Baby Steps, call it what you want. It's progress. Those small decisions you make over and over determines the outcome of your goals. I have worked with many clients that do not have patients for "baby steps". They want their desired outcome right now because they heard about someone else that has done it. The success rate of those "overnighters" is minuscule, not to mention the amount of work that goes into that type of change in such a short period of time. Anything worth doing, is worth doing right. 

We are talking about Health. Most of us know by now that a lifestyle change is long term. The Real Recess Lifestyle takes 9 weeks adding 1 principle per week. Start by drinking one glass of water (not just a liquid, but actual H2O) per meal. Even if you only eat one meal per day, this is a baby step toward bigger health goals. While you are on this first week, start to learn about your next step of 4 meals per day in a 12 hour window followed by 12 hours of not eating. Each week, add a new guideline. At the end of the ninth week you will have a well rounded healthy lifestyle around movement, nourishment, and recovery (both mentally and physically). *This lifestyle is designed for the general public, some individuals have special needs. Consult your physician prior to making any drastic changes. 

This breakdown of small goals can be applied to any healthy lifestyle. Remember, it's not just what you do - it's also what you don't do!  

Who Else Wants a Playground at Work?

Besides the convenience of having fun activities right beside you, wouldn't an Adult Playground in your office be inspirational? Take a minute to visualize your ideal "fun zone"...

How would you get to your desk from the front door?

Suspension bridge, trapeze, a go-cart, a freakin' paddle boat?

What would you sit on at your desk? (maybe you have multiple desk options)

Exercise ball, Leaning Chair, Swing, Treadmill, a beanbag?

Where is your breakroom located?

Through a tunnel, behind a trapdoor, down a slide, suspended above everything?

Why is it even called a breakroom?

Let's have monkey bars, rings, ropes, balance boards, punching bags!

You might be thinking, "Corporate would never go for this!" It just takes a little planning and scheduling to get everyone on the same page to be productive. Schedule "jam sessions" where you focus and work hard for a set time. Then employees get to take a Recess break if they reached their work output goal. Geez, I'm pumped up just thinking about this atmosphere. If you are too, contact Real Recess to get the ball rolling at your facility. 

Everything starts with baby steps. One Recess at a time grows into magnificant results. 

Build A Life Plan You Are Proud Of

You wake up, breakfast, go to work, lunch, finish work, go home, dinner, watch TV, go to bed, and repeat. That's no way to live!! Guest what? There's no significance in a safe life and there is no safety in a significant life. Okay, these are extreme examples. But do you really have a plan for the next step of your life? You've got to write down this plan and be able to see it. Look at it everyday. Then, check off the steps you accomplish along the way. 

First, start with 10 years from today. If anything is possible within reality, where are you going to be living in 10 years (location, setting, type of home, with whom)?  How are you going to make an income (mixture of what you like, what you're good at, what you can get paid for)? Remember, you are creating your future here, make it how you want! What are you doing with spare time (a hobby that promotes growth and with whom)? Find or draw a picture of this ideal lifestyle. It helps so much to visualize.

Now, take it back 5 years. What do you have to do in 5 years to make this 10 year plan work? Consider the concept of compounding interest. You may not be much further in 5 years than you are today, but you are building momentum. Progress will happen faster from year 5-10 than from year 1-5. With that in mind, what must you accomplish in one year to be on track for that 5 year step?  Finally, what are you doing today to reach that ideal lifestyle? 

I will gladly share an abbreviation of my life plan created in 2009: In 10 years I will be living in a Recess style house (swinging furniture, ramps, fireman poles, suspension bridge, lookout windows, walk-in shower, hot tub, ice bath, luscious garden) near a body of water with land to hike and having a view of a valley in Blair County. I will be living with my girlfriend and preparing meals with her everyday. Income will be from two sources. First, I will receive monthly checks from companies using an onsite Real Recess Health Coach. The second source of income will be from the residential and commercial Functional Recess spaces I design and build. To make this happen, 5 years into the plan (2014) I moved to a bigger town so I could pitch Real Recess to other businesses. It ended up turning into research. I learned the real perceptions and goals that most CEO's and Owners have about employees and growth. It's going to take a certain company that matches my values of improving their employees' lifestyles first and then the company's bottom line second (not the other way around). Prior to that bigger town move, my 1 year goal was to open an Adult Playground setting and I did. However, I found it difficult disrupting people's schedules (by driving to a gym) to try something new. From there the plan pivoted to online but the ultimate goal remains the same.  I continue to practice and share my daily Recess breaks today with as many people that will listen. 

With all of this planning you will realize you're starting to live your ideal lifestyle already. The only difference in 10 years will be what you can afford. 

Get More Work Done by Design

I learned in an art class a long time ago that "Less is More." Wow. That phrase can be used in a lot of scenarios including office space.  Less clutter means less distractions. Less distractions means more productivity. The Property of Transitivity tells me that Less Clutter equals More Productivity (I learned that in Math class a long time ago). 

Get rid of your bobble heads. Put your coffee maker in another room. Hang your pictures behind you. It's almost a minimalists point of view. Your office is for working, so get work done. I recently attended a seminar about productivity. Here is the most important information I took away from that weekend: Schedule Jam Sessions. What does that mean?

Name the most important part of creating success in your job. Go ahead, think about it. For me it is making this website user friendly. It is non-stop. I'm always changing wording and fixing links. Whether it is a paying or non-paying customer, if I confuse them they might not come back. So, three times a week I now schedule an hour and a half 'jam session'. That means I am devoting that time to working on my website. If I think of something I need to do while outside of that time, I write it down and come back to it during my Jam Session. The idea is to be in the state of 'Flow' during that time. Get as much done as possible. It is about maximizing your time. If there are pictures of my family in front of me, I will get out of Flow and think about them. Those 90 minutes need to be distraction free and focused. 

What does your work space look like? Please ask me my opinion if you have questions. This could be the difference between meeting a deadline with killer quality and being fired...

Play is Not Just for Kids

      I guarantee that one of the best parts of your day is defined by a smile. It means you're happy. And this may or may not come from play. However, if you need more smiles, play is definitely the first place to look for happiness. 

      The Real Recess Movement Chart depicts 5 separate skills everyone should play with. These 5 skills can be performed in a laying, sitting, or standing position. That is 15 different ways to make you smile. I am not going to list them here, you can simply go to the website and read about them. What I will do is ask you to turn each skill into a game. For example, the first skill is Rolling in a Laying position. How far down your legs can you reach your fingers by sitting up and forward? This may make you smile by how well you can do, or it may make you smile by realizing you have not tried this in a while. Either way, you just created a game and set a standard to beat the next time you try.

       Perhaps a more traditional game would entice your sense of play. The goal is to find what makes you happy. Just putting a basketball hoop or ping pong table in your office may make these games more easy to do. Whatever brings a smile to your face is where you should start. Thirty seconds for every thirty minutes of inactivity. Just get up and move you body and mind, then get back to work. Make it a habit and over time you whole world will change into a game.