It’s Monday, which not only means a new Monday Meeting post but also the start of the work week for many people - me included!
This will be my second week back to work but my first full week of work as I took two days off last week for grad.
I have to say, that the biggest adjustment I have to working full-time is sitting in a desk all day. By the end of the day, my back usually hurts! And by mid-afternoon, I tend to go into a slump where all I want to do is put my head down on the desk and take a nap.
Last week after the first day went like this I decided to take some precautions against it. Here’s how I’m working on beating the 9-5/mid-day slump.
Taking a real lunch break and leaving the office.
Even if I’m not doing actual work, I tend to eat lunch at my desk and read blogs or look at Facebook. I find that on days when I leave the office for lunch - or even to meet a friend for coffee for - I don’t hit the mid-afternoon slump as hard.
Exercising during the day
We do Office Yoga on Thursdays and I find that after taking an hour away from the glare of the computer screen and stretching it out, I’m way more focused in the afternoon. Even on days when we don’t have yoga, I try to escape at lunchtime for a run or even a stroll down the block.
Doing a different task
Even something as simple as getting up from my computer and spending a few minutes doing some shredding or tidying up the kitchen help to “wake me up” in the afternoons. It gets me standing and moving and, most importantly, up from my desk!
So, tell me, do you work a 9-5 job at a desk? What are your secrets for beating the mid-afternoon slump and getting through the day?
PS: I am working on a new addition to the Monday Meeting series and I need your help. I am looking for people who are willing to take photos of themselves in their work attire to be featured on the blog! If you’re interested, email me for more deets! amber@girlwiththeredhair.com
{ 32 comments… read them below or add one }
Yep, it’s a big shock to the body! I had been working FT during my summers, so I already had a taste for it.
Some days you just don’t even get the chance to eat, let alone step outside for lunch. But generally I try to pop out for a short walk - usually even if I don’t have errands to run, you need fresh air.
For me, the biggest problem is ensuring I rest my eyes and take breaks from staring at the screen and sitting up STRAIGHT! The posture thing is a constant battle.
Would be more than happy to contribute to the outfit pix, but am currently cameraless. Once that changes, though…
That’s awesome that you do office yoga! I agree - getting up and taking a break from the screen is the most important thing for me too. Helps me mentally, and helps my eyes too!
I definitely end up getting up and talking a walk around the office every once in a while- just to get a little movement in!
And couldn’t agree more about just getting OUT of the office- even if it’s just to walk to the building cafeteria next door… it helps! (Also- running errands is awesome: time flies, you get out of the office, and you’re moving!)
Fight the afternoon sleepiness is a job in itself. A definite must is getting away from your desk at lunch. Otherwise the day never ends. I have to physically get away from the office. Its hard because I cant see outside and everything in the office is gray. Sometimes just getting air helps a lot!
Before they moved us all into our own offices we used to do yoga at lunch as well, but the move’s made it a little difficult now. I find stretching DEFINITELY helps, and I also keep an electric heat pad strapped to my chair to help with the back pain. Make sure your desk is set up ergonomically - your monitor is at eye-level (mine is on a pile of yellow pages!), your chair isn’t too high so you’re doing the “T-Rex” arms (bad for shoulders). And having good music on all day is key!
I agree with this but it’s not always easy! I work on a laptop so I’m always looking down at the screen (I’m fairly tall) or my arms would be up in “T-rex” if I raised it.
Our chairs are AWFUL and uncomfortable and don’t fit well under the desk at a comfortable height for me. But I work in a non-profit and they’re not about to spend money on buying me a new computer or chair etc. just because I complain about it.
I sit on the third floor of the office building that I’m in. The cafe is on the first floor. I avoid the elevator and take the stairs. Walking up and down the stairs to go refill my cup with hot water for peppermint tea seems to give me an energy boost. Plus I make a point to eat a healthy high protein snack mid morning and mid afternoon to keep my glucose levels even for energy throughout the day.
These are the little things that separate College Life from Post-College Life! Even though I had worked in office jobs, working 9-5 (or in my case 9-6!) 5 days a week also put on the pounds! Make sure you do NOT visit the candy jar and eat all the wonderful goodies your officemates bring in and all the leftover food from client meetings and… and… yeah. You get the idea. The biggest difference between College Life and Post-College Life is that there was not as much movement being at work all day. So I definitely think getting us, stretching, maybe parking your car farther away, etc. can help.
I’m so glad our office doesn’t have a candy jar!!!! Haha
I HATE sitting at my desk all day. I use any excuse I can to get up and walk around. We have scheduled “breaks” here, so for my break, I will either take a walk outside or stay in my office and do crunches, lunges, squats, etc. I’m lucky enough to have a door to my office, so no one can see me doing it.
And, yes, getting AWAY for lunch helps tremendously.
Oh, and I set my breaks as calendar appointments. “Morning Break– Abs/Stretch” “Afternoon break–legs.” It’s a bit OCD, but I know how you like organization
LOVE the idea of scheduling in breaks!!
My job was a 7-3:30 desk job and I made up reasons to leave my desk at least once an hour, just to have an excuse to get up and stretch. It helps that my printer was a couple of offices away and that the bathroom was a bit of a hike too! When the weather was good I ALWAYS walked at lunch - anything to get away form my desk!!!
It is quite an adjustment to go from a sporadic student schedule to ‘working 9-5′. I avoid the afternoon slump by eating my lunch outside whenever it is possible. I am required to take a lunch, so I take full advantage of it, bring a book, and sit outside.
Additionally, I try to meet up with a friend for an afternoon stroll. My company has this huge grassy area with a little walking path that surrounds it, so we usually do 2 laps in the afternoon. It’s a great way to get away from work for a bit.
Lastly, I always pack a healthy afternoon snack. It’s usually yogurt w/ a berry of some sort, or popcorn. Having a snack to look forward to really helps!
HAHAHAHA wait until next spring!! It gets worse, well for me anyway….after a long winter and then being stuck inside is the WORST!! In the summer I go for walks alot during lunch but sometimes it almost makes it worse to come back and try get through the afternoon. When I’m not focused and falling alseep, i take a walk to get a coffee or to my friends office, we chat and then i come back and I’m ready. I would have to say REDBULL is key lol Oh and if you have a door to your office taking a nap at lunch is AWESOME
Or if your allowed to bring a radio or ipod to listen too…….drinks lots of water so you have to get up and you stay well hydrated……….ewwwwww 9-5 is sounding more and more like we’re caged animals…..lol
At my desk job, I try and get out into the sunlight (if there is some!) to beat my afternoon blahs. A little Vitamin D usually helps re-energize me for the rest of the day! If there’s no sun, at least the fresh air helps a little. Plus just getting up and moving around feels amazing!
I am HORRIBLE at leaving the office for lunch - and I pay for it well. In the last hour of my lunch I have been asked to: send out an office-wide memo, print 3 sets of architectural blueprints, call in a request for service when said printer failed to print, and determine how many laboratory projects my company has worked on in the last 7 years. Needless to say I did very little eating and even less relaxing and rejuvinating. My own fault.
Yes, these were the things I struggled with most when I first started working full time! I’m the girl who will walk to someone’s desk instead of send an email, take the long way around the office instead of the direct route and much more
I don’t get out to lunch as much as I would like but I’m hoping that changes sooner rather than later!
Great post! As you probably know, this post comes at the perfect time for me. I just started my internship last week and taking on the 9-5 working schedule. This is my second summer with this type of schedule and I am definitely much more prepared this time around! Last summer it was quite a shock to my body and truly scared me away from the working life! haha
This time though, I feel like I am in a company that is more suitable for me, still crunching numbers and excel/desk work but a lot less of it and more working with people. I have been shadowing my boss for the past 6 days and she is ALWAYS moving. This gives me hope for the real world. She’s in meetings, etc. always running around - which I think is much more fun and I now know the kind of job I want (hers haha).
Anyways, some of my strategies for beating the “afternoon-just-want-to-put-my-head-on-the-table” blues are moving around and finding other places to do your work. I’m strange in that I find corners of the office that instantly feel comforting to me (usually its a quiet place where no one ever goes), sometimes I’ll do work here or just go there for a 15 minute break to get away. I definitely think leaving the office (or atleast your desk) for lunch is key - I didn’t do this today and I am regretting it haha.
I just found a treadmill room in the office and I’m eyeing it for my new lunch break spot haha : )
Wow monster of a comment - Good luck getting back into working!
I love this series! Luckily for me at this point in my life, I don’t sit in a chair in an office. When I did it was torture. I even ended up with a back injury from sitting too much!
I think the hardest thing about my first full-time job was realizing I couldn’t go out at 11PM on weeknights anymore. Ahhh, the good ole college days. I drink a lot of water during my workday. Partly, because it’s a great flush of the system. And also, because the breaks I need to tinkle mean I’m walking down the hall and getting the blood flowing to my limbs again!
I work a 9-3:30 job, but I wouldn’t call it a desk job. I get to hang out with a bunch of awesome 13-15 year olds all day … sometimes I teach too
Man- I don’t know how you guys do it. I don’t sit down much at my job and when I have to, I don’t deal with it well haha. I like all your tips. I also like when people have exercise balls as their desk chair, or do random exercises at their desk
The sitting at a desk forever really gets to me too! I can often sit for HOURS with little break besides to get tea or go to the bathroom. I often find the 2-4pm timeslot just blurs into nothing until I realise I have an hour left to my day and I have no clue what I did for the last 2 hours.
Ideally I should get out more for lunch etc. but I don’t currently have a laptop at home so I often try to get my blog reading done while eating at my desk. But, since you’ve posted this I’m going to make an effort to get outside to walk or run at least 2 days this week!!! Ask me about how I did on Friday.
I cant say that I know what to do to break up the afternoons cuz i dont work at a desk all day. i do know that sucking on candy like mints and stuff helps keep me awake and helps keep me going. you should try having hard candies or snacks in your desk to entertain you!
Oh yes, adjusting to desk life can take some time. I definitely have to take breaks and go walk around a bit so I don’t need a 10 a.m. or 3 p.m. nap. It’s challenge.
Great post…I especially needed this now! I will definitely take your advice
Good call on the not just staying in front of the computer at lunch. I do that now and I end up cracking at about 2:30 or 3:00. I need some sort of break. I just don’t really have anywhere to go during lunch but the lunch room and sometimes that is more than enough! You will do great at your job! Keep doing yoga!
I definitely find reasons to walk away from my desk every few hours. I also leave at lunch time, just about every day. I generally go out with a friend once a week and the other days I pack my lunch and go to a nearby park to read or write (or if I’m being completely honest, sometimes I take a nap).
I’m required to take a lunch, and where I work eating at your desk and especially going on facebook or random blogs is really not allowed. Even if I wanted to get to a lot of those sites, they’re all blocked on our computer. So even if I’m not actually eating a lunch, I wind up reading a book in our break. Every once in a while I do get ridiculously tired after lunch, and do succumb the temptation of a soda or candy out of the vending machine.
And I know this isn’t really e-mailing you… but the comment does show up in your e-mail right? I’m going to try to take some pictures this week! So please let me know if there’s anything I should know!
I’m required to take a lunch, and where I work eating at your desk and especially going on facebook or random blogs is really not allowed. Even if I wanted to get to a lot of those sites, they’re all blocked on our computer. So even if I’m not actually eating a lunch, I wind up reading a book in our break. Every once in a while I do get ridiculously tired after lunch, and do succumb the temptation of a soda or candy out of the vending machine.
And I know this isn’t really e-mailing you… but the comment does show up in your e-mail right? I’m going to try to take some pictures this week! So please let me know if there’s anything I should know!
Desk jobs are KILLER on your back! I have been caught on the floor of my office doing yoga stretches. I realize I look ridiculous but my back hurts from sitting! I try to run a few times a week at lunch since I’m out in the country and can’t really go anywhere for lunch. Today it’s raining and I can’t go outside. *sigh* Gonna be a LONG day! I do drink a ton of water so that I have to get up and go to the bathroom often. What? Water’s healthy!
(Of course we only have one women’s bathroom and my luck is usually that when I get up, it’s occupied so I’m left doing the “gotta go” dance). Ha!