With more and more of us working from home, it can be a challenge to keep focused. Is it just me that suddenly has an unhealthy obsession with the vacuum or cleaning the bathroom?!
In my case it’s a definite sign of procrastination, especially if I need to do something I don’t want to do. Before we get onto the nutrition side of things, my biggest tip is to plan the night before on what you want to achieve the next day. I always start the day with the one thing I don’t want to do. Most often this is my fitness. Don’t get me wrong I love my fitness but that doesn’t mean I don’t struggle with motivation. I never ever regret a workout, but I must remind my brain of this fact! Taking part in some fitness helps me become more alert and ready to tackle the day ahead. If I make the mistake of thinking I will do my fitness later 9 times out of 10 I don’t as I’ve lost motivation. I’m a firm believer that there is fitness for everyone and there are a whole host of different on-line classes you can do in the comfort of your own home. Even if you just take a brisk walk prior to opening up your laptop it can put you in the perfect place and ready to get on with work! After my fitness I will always tackle that one job that I don’t like. It may be doing something that is out of my comfort zone, making a difficult call or just something really boring like my accounts!
Doing these activities in the beginning of the day will help so that as the day progresses & you become more tired than you will only have easy jobs or jobs you don’t mind doing! I will make a list of all the work that needs completing, with an estimation of how long each job will take and then I rank them in order of hardest to easiest. When I’m nearing the end of a day’s work, I don’t mind doing the easy stuff! Little tip though-Maybe over-estimate the duration of how long each job will take. It’s quite demoralising when you underestimate how long certain activities take and you then finish on the day with work that needs to be carried over into the following day!
The food you consume can make a massive difference to how energised you are. My personal recommendation would be to eat little and often. This helps to break up the day, gives you a reward to look forward to & you are less likely to feel sleepy due to eating too much! These days we put so many pressures on ourselves, excelling at work, having an immaculate house, thriving children as well as busy social lives. No wonder our brains are feeling a little over-worked. Believe it or not, nutrition can play a fundamental part in how focussed and switched on we are. There are certain foods that actively help the cognitive wires in our brain, assist us with our memory and reduce the chances of us becoming fatigued.
So below are my top 5 ingredients to incorporate into your daily intake:
Oily fish like Salmon or tuna. Fish like these contain high amounts of omega 3 which can really help with concentration and improving your memory. If you can make a salad with these fish included, you are more likely to hit your daily quota of Vit C too. Be inventive with your salads, maybe use raw spinach instead of lettuce. Add pumpkin seeds for a nice crunch. Maybe add carrot ribbons or apple for a nice contrast in flavour. Remember to go easy on the dressing though. Balsamic is a good one, lemon or lime juice!
Eggs are a fantastic way of getting a healthy dose of protein into your diet and they will help you to produce serotonin. Serotonin can not only help improve your mood but also help balance your sleep. We all know that if we don’t get enough sleep then our levels of concentration can be shocking. Eggs are hugely adaptable so you can scramble, poach, or make an omelette out of them. If you’re not working from home, then boil them the night before and they can be popped into a salad. My “go to” lunch is tuna niçoise as its super filling, healthy and delish! I add horseradish to my tuna as it gives a lovely zing to the meal!
Green Tea contains both caffeine & L-theanine. The caffeine will help you feel alert whilst the L-theanine will help you feel relaxed. This is far better than just coffee as you can become addicted to the caffeine in coffee. It can make you feel jumpy or on edge if you consume too much. I personally find it hard to sleep if I consume too much caffeine or even a small amount if it’s too late in the day. Don’t like green tea? There is a myriad of different flavours so worth trying a few different ones to find a taste you like. I also find the more I drink it the more I want. There are many reported benefits of drinking green tea so definitely worth checking out!
Nuts are a fantastic food to snack on. They are full of omega 3 like the oily fish mentioned earlier so they help with your concentration and memory. There is a huge array of different kinds of nuts so try a few different ones as they will taste slightly different from each other. As they are so transportable, they are a no.1 choice for those on the go as a healthy snack. You can eat peanut butter with slices of apple, pop into a smoothie or make some “no bake” protein balls. Try not to eat in abundance though as they are a healthy fat but they are still a fat. If you are sedentary most of the day you may want to limit your intake.
Chocolate! Yes you read right, chocolate of the dark variety can be a great pick me up. It contains caffeine so will help give you the boost you need & if it’s dark chocolate it will help improve your concentration. Again, this doesn’t mean you can eat with gusto but in moderation it may certainly help and will give you a nice little boost when you’ve just had a meeting from hell with your boss!
I hope these ideas have given you some good for thought! If you would like more tips and tricks on how to be the healthiest version of you, feel free to check out my links below 👇
https://linktr.ee/nikkipuddingandpie