If you had only 5 minutes to learn something new, to do something healthy for yourself, or to do something differently, how would you use these very few minutes? According to some of Quora’s most participative life coaches, you can begin by learning or practicing some of these easy routines.
1.-Start your workday right by reading an article that is relevant to your field. In other words, use what little time you have left in growing your personal knowledge. Learning something new will always be a good habit, but learning something new that is relevant to your field is hitting two birds with one stone.
Exercising your brain muscles in remembering new information and maintaining a deep passion for reading and learning new things will benefit your career, as well as in your personal life, so make it a habit.
2.-Spend a few minutes for some quick breathing exercises. Work can be exhausting and the stress it creates can be suffocating, so remove yourself from this situation by spending at least a few minutes doing some quick breathing exercises. Deep breathing exercises, or the Wim Hof techniques, are some effective routines you can do, however, the basic breathe-in and breathe-out exercise work just as well.
You could make this an exercise you can do every hour or after 2 or 3 hours of work. Five minutes of breathing a day can keep you healthy.
3.-Stand up and stretch. Some jobs will require you to stay seated for hours upon hours. At first glance, the whole position might look comfortable and easy, but if this has been your lifestyle for the past few months or years, you are only exposing your body to various health risks. There are very good reasons why sitting has often been likened to smoking: when done excessively, both can be lethal.
After an hour or two of work, take 5 minutes to stand up and stretch. Make the effects stick by changing your work position entirely. There are easy standing converter desks which you can set up in an under a minute so you can go from a seated working position into a standing one.
4.-Open your windows and let the sunshine in. Not only are you allowing some natural light into your workspace, but also you are welcoming high amounts of natural vitamin D that will also aid you in fighting the severe effects of stress. Artificial lighting has close to zero positive effects on the human body, so if you can help it, allow natural light into your room whenever you can.
Giving your body a good dose of natural lighting also aids in keeping your circadian rhythm within its schedule. Sometimes, your body relies on natural cues and signs for it to identify the sleeping and waking hours you are accustomed to.
5.-Stand before your window and look far into the distance in a straight line, as far as you can. When all you have is 5 minutes to do anything for your health, do something that can improve your eyesight. Give your eyes the “stretch” they need by focusing into something far off into the distance so your eyes can have a break from looking at something that’s situated a mere foot away, like your computer screen.
6.-List down only the most important things you should be working on in your remaining hours at work. Basically, use these 5 minutes to refocus and go back to the things you should be working on or should accomplish by the end of your workday. This activity is best done with a pen and paper because you are training your muscles to refocus as well. If you want to make this refocusing activity more efficient, read your tasks and deadlines aloud, and you’ll hardly forget what you need to do.
7.-Skip that coffee and prepare some green tea for yourself instead. Most people love a good cup of coffee every now and then, but too much caffeine can actually be detrimental to your health. If you want to be a more focused individual, forego the second cup of coffee and drink green tea instead.
Green tea possesses detoxifying and de-stressing properties, making it the best logical choice for individuals who are exposed to so much work within their 8-hour schedule. If you’re not a fan of green tea, you might want to replace your second coffee run for fresh juice and other detoxifying drinks.
