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8 Hacks for When You Are Sick at Work

The weather just got chilly here and now everyone seems to have a cold. But how do you survive the flu season when you can’t afford to take the day off? Here are 8 hacks for when you are sick at work.

1. Use your lunch break to sleep
When you are sick it is actually a good idea to eat less. You see digestion takes up a lot of vital energy and when you are sick you need that energy to go to fighting off the germs. Now I am not saying don’t eat anything. Fruits and vegetables are great. But, keep the heavy foods to a minimum.

You may need less food but you also need more sleep. Usually we get an hour lunch break and this is the perfect time to go and have a power nap. Science has shown that a 20 minute nap taken during the middle of the day is the same as getting over two hours of sleep during the night. However, you do not want to get more than about 30 minutes at nap time because then it will be too hard to wake up.

I suggest going down to the park (if it is warm) and having a sleep in the sun. The sun has a very physical impact on how well we feel and a few moments of rays can make a massive difference. At least get outside and clean your airways out with some fresh oxygen.

2. Drink green tea
Green Tea has been used by the Chinese and the Japanese for thousands of years. They have long considered it a medicine – not just a tea. And modern science is starting to back this up. Recent studies showed that those who drank green tea were up to 60% less likely to develop cancer. Green tea is fully of antioxidants and is a very relaxing way to detox your body everyday. When I get sick I try to drink two or three cups per day and it always makes me feel a little better.


Creative Commons License photo credit: ms.Tea

3. Drink a lemon, ginger and honey tea
In this post I introduced the Lemon, Ginger and Honey Tea. It is a hot drink that I learned when I was in Bodhgaya in India. I was told it was an ancient Indian combination and it was a powerful cold and flu fighter and preventer. They were right. It fixed my cold up a lot faster than normal and I haven’t had a bad one since – even when everyone else is sick.

4. Take a load off
Throughout the years at work you have probably clocked up a lot of favors. Every now and then we do things for people and they say “I owe you one”. Well, now is the time to call in that favor.

Go and look around the office and find someone who owes you a favor and ask them to help you with some of your work. Nine times out of ten they will be happy to lend a hand. It is a good way to make friends as it is a mutual helping – explain that you will help them next time they get sick.

5. Make a deal with the boss
One of the best things you can do is go to your boss and STRATEGICALLY explain to him/her why you need some of your work load assigned to someone else. Here is how you do it.

Go to your boss and explain that you are really quite sick but didn’t want to miss a day of work because you didn’t want to let the team down. Explain that you know how much pressure everyone is under and couldn’t live with yourself if you had a day off and left them in the lurch. Then explain that despite coming into work you underestimated how sick you really were and really would appreciate some help because you don’t want to produce poor quality work.

Your boss will love it.

Showing that you are a team player is a big advantage but also knowing when to ask for help counts for some points. This strategy allows your boss to see that you are trying but need some assistance.

6. Make use of “toilet” breaks
Sometimes you need a break when you are sick but you can’t exactly lay down at your desk. My girlfriend mentioned that she uses up her toilet breaks when she is sick by heading down to the cubicle, placing a rolled up jumper against the wall and having a short nap. You could probably get away for ten minutes at a time like this.

7. Give yourself an allotted time to be sick
One of the best things you can do when you are sick at work is take a short break and give yourself an allotted time to be sick. Just sit there for five minutes and groan and moan and feel awful. After the allotted time is up you should compose yourself, take a few deep breaths and head back to work revitalized and full of bravery.

8. Meditate on compassion
His Holiness the Dalai Lama often says that if you want to have the inner strength of a warrior you need to develop compassion. One of the best times to meditate on compassion is when you are sick.

If you are feeling lousy you can think about the fact that there are people out there who are feeling a lot worse than you are. This should give you a renewed sense of energy and vitality – a sense that you should keep working hard because things aren’t that bad.

The next way you can meditate on compassion is by the using the buddhist practice of Tong Len. Tong Len means “sending and taking” and is where you use your breath as a tool to increase compassion.

Firstly, breathe in an imagine that all the suffering in the world is coming in to your body and dissolving. You take on all the suffering of others so that others don’t need to experience it. Secondly, when you breathe out all your happiness and health goes out to others and makes them all healthy and joyful. Finally you make the aspiration that buddhist makes whenever they are sick:

“May all sentient beings’ sicknesses ripen on me right now while I am sick. May this sickness purify all sentient beings of their illnesses right now.”

top image:Creative Commons License photo credit: Lost in Scotland

9 Effective Ways to Beat a Headache at Work

Work is stressful. It produces headaches. And headaches can be severely debilitating if you do not know how to deal with them properly. In this post I’m going to show you 9 really effective ways to beat a headache at work.

9 Effective Ways to Beat a Headache at Work

1. Drink some water
One of the first things you should do if you get a headache is re-hydrate yourself. A lot of headaches are caused by a lack of fluids – especially if you are sitting in a warm office all day, skipping meals and eating salty snacks!

I find that if I am working on the computer and I don’t drink any water I get a headache pretty soon. If I drink water the headache is gone within about half and hour. I have read a lot of studies showing that water can be used for the purpose. Some people will disagree but it seems to work for me.

2. Stretch your neck
Talking to my Chinese doctor recently I asked him whether a bad neck will cause headaches on a regular basis. He told me that the main source of headaches is a tight or out of place neck. 90% of the headaches that he treats are cured by working with the neck.

One of the best ways you can loosen your neck up is by doing a few simple stretches. Two minutes of gentle stretching can prevent hours of headaches.

Stretching your neck to avoid headaches

This first stretch is done by simple placing your hand on the top of your head and gently pulling your ear down towards your shoulder. You should feel a stretch in the neck on the opposite side.

Another neck stretch

This second stretch is done by placing your hands on the top of your head and pulling your head forward with your hands at the same time as your neck pushes backwards against the pressure. It is almost as if you are trying to push the top of your neck higher into the sky.

There are plenty of stretches you can do for your neck. Take is slowly and don’t do any stretch until you have researched it properly and are sure you are doing it correctly.

3. Learn some simple acupressure points
Acupressure is part of the ancient Chinese medical arts and it has been used to successfully treat headaches for thousands of years. The pressure points relating to headaches are designed to loosen up tension and open up your internal energy channels so that the “chi” or energy flows in a more unobstructed manner.

Let me tell you, this stuff works. My girlfriend had been suffering from massive migraines her whole life. She had tried every pharmaceutical drug, physio, chiro and even had CAT scans to see if there was anything wrong. Nothing worked. Eventually I persuaded her to go to a Chinese doctor and within two weeks her headaches were gone. Now she gets a monthly refresher and she hasn’t had a migraine since.

Tiger's Jaw Pressure Point for Headaches

This acupressure point is called the Tiger’s Jaw. It is a basic pressure point that you can use every time you get a headache. However, you should avoid this point if you are pregnant or have other health issues – then it isn’t so good.

To find the pressure point simply press your thumb and index finger together and find the highest point on the muscle. Relax your hand. Then, using your other thumb, firmly press the point upwards towards the index finger bone that runs through your hand. It will hurt. This is good. Hold the point for about a minute.

4. Discover the magic of headache fighting teas
When I was in India in 2005 I discovered a hot drink called a “Lemon, Ginger and Honey Tea“. The three ingredients, when mixed together, form a powerful healing agent that has been used in Indian medicine for over a thousand years. It is also wonderful for treating headaches.

I first discovered this drink in my local Indian eating hole. I went to the same restaurant in the town of Bodhgaya for two weeks in a row and struck up a friendship with the manager. He brought me this drink one morning when I was feeling sick and said, “Drink this. I have had one every day of my life and I have never caught a cold or had a headache.” I didn’t believe him but his friends who also worked in the restaurant claimed it had done similar things for them as well. It worked wonders for my sickness and I have been drinking them ever since.

To make a Lemon, Ginger and Honey Tea simply slice up some fresh ginger and throw it into a big mug with a teaspoon of raw honey, the juice of about half a lemon and boiling water. You can alter the amounts to your own taste but you must always have these three ingredients together – the whole is much bigger than the sum of its parts!

If you get headaches at work on a regular basis you can simply make a thermos of this drink before work and take it with you. Or, just keep the ingredients in the fridge at work and make it when you feel one coming on. The ingredients are cheap and the drink is extremely good for your longevity.

Another tea that is said to have headache fighting properties is peppermint tea. In Chinese medicine a lot of headaches are said to be caused by problems in the stomach. When you are constipated you almost always get a headache. Peppermint tea is a good way to relax your stomach and as such fight that headache.

5. Practice some simple Chi Kung breathing exercises
In high school I was taught a simple breathing exercise by my kung fu teacher. He said he used to use it when he was stressed and had a bad headache. It seems to have worked for me so I thought I would share it with you here.

How to do it –
To do it simply sit at your desk and place your right elbow on the table. With your right thumb block your right nostril and with your right index finger press firmly on your “third eye”. The third eye is simply the point right in between your two physical eyes and up a bit on the forehead.

Hold your fingers in this position and breathe in slowly through your unblocked left nostril. Try and bring the air all the way down into your deep stomach. Breathe out slowly and imagine sending the air up your spine to your third eye. Repeat this for about a minute with each nostril.

It leaves you feeling fresh, awake and much more relaxed. Your headache should vanish sometime during the exercise.

6. De-stress yourself
Stress itself is a big headache producer. We tighten up; tensing our muscles, frowning at the brow and pursing our lips.

However, de-stressing is not as easy as it might sound. There are a million causes of stress and as such there are a million solutions for stress. You need to find out what is causing your own personal stress and find the solution for it.

Some basic ideas include:

  • Deep breathing
  • Looking at the big picture
  • Drinking de-stressing tea
  • Catching up with mates at lunch
  • Reading The Daily Mind!
  • Meditating
  • Having a naughty sweet snack

Whatever it is that helps you de-stress you should try it and see if it helps your headache.

7. Get acupuncture asap


Creative Commons License photo credit: Keisuke Omi

As I mentioned above in the acupressure section, acupuncture is extremely good for headaches. And the great thing about acupuncture is that it last forever. The Chinese doctor is not going to give you medication that simply numbs the pain, he is going to get to the SOURCE of the headache and knock it on the head. Excuse the pun.

If your headaches are recurring you should go and see a reputable acupuncturist and ask them for some help. It is extremely cheap and you will find you have more energy and a lot less stress. It works wonders for you health.

8. Meditate
Meditation is one of my favorite solutions for everything! It is an effective method for treating headaches because it helps you loosen up, relax and helps your internal energies return to their normal pattern. From an Eastern medicine point of view, most headaches are caused by problems with the flow of these energies. Sort out the energies and you sort out the headache.

If you aren’t sure what type of meditation to do for a headache it is a good idea to experiment with the ones that seem to relax you. Simple breathing meditation or mindfulness meditation are some of my favorites.

9. Take some Aspirin
The easy way out. I don’t normally like to take pain killers because I don’t feel like it is a long term solution – it is like a band aid on a bullet wound. But, sometimes you need fast relief in order to be your best at work. Perhaps an aspirin is something you can do in the short term until you discover a long term cure.

Aspirin is a better solution that other pain killers because it is an anti-inflammatory that is also quite good for your blood. As an anti-inflammatory aspirin can help your body fight off the bugs that are causing a headache – assuming that is what is causing it.

Don’t take any painkillers without medical advice though. I am not a doctor. Aspirin is simply my personal preference.

Conclusion on work headaches

Usually a headache can be solved with one of these simple solutions. However, in some cases a headache is an indication of a more serious health problem. If you find that your headaches are regular and without an ascertainable cause you should head to your doctor to get a check up. Don’t be afraid – just get it out of the way so you can stop thinking about it.

Does anyone else have any other methods?

Top image:Creative Commons License photo credit: madmolecule

Stressed Sleep: How to Stop Stressing About Work at Night

One of the most common reasons that Americans give when asked why they can’t sleep is that they are stressing about work. We lay awake all night thinking about deadlines, important meetings and pay checks. And when this post on waking up fresh became popular I realized that a lot of people were having trouble with their sleep.

In this post I want to look at some basic strategies you can use to stop stressing about work when you are trying to sleep.

How to stop laying awake at night stressing

About a year ago something happened with my online business that kept me up for a few nights because I was running over everything in my head. This post is a product of that time; these are strategies I used to help me get to sleep.

1. Tie up loose ends at work
One of the simplest things you can do to ensure you get to sleep is make sure you have tied up as many loose ends as possible at work. Sometimes this might involve staying back at work for an extra hour but it will be worth it if that hour allows us to get to sleep on time.

The loose ends could be an unfinished report, paperwork or even just sorting out your upcoming deadlines. Try to get as much done as you can.

2. Look at the stressed thoughts
One of the most powerful techniques you can use to stop stressing about work is to look at the nature of the thoughts themselves. This is an ancient Buddhist meditation.




As you are laying in your bed you will notice that thoughts come up in an endless torrent. You worry about this, stress about that and it never ends. Gently shift your focus away from the subject of the thought and look at the actual thought itself. Every time a thought comes up take a look at it. Where is it? Where does it come from? Where does it go?

After a few minutes you will see that thoughts really aren’t that powerful. This technique will also help you slow down the torrent.

3. Use logical arguments
My father is a very logical man. When I was 16 I was playing in a soccer team that had won every game of the season. To win the championship cup we had to win the grand final and the night before the game I was a mess. I was thinking about my position and whether I was ready and i just couldn’t get to sleep! It drove me mad.

At about 1am I trounced out into the kitchen stressed that I was going to be tired the next day for the game. My father was in there finishing off some work and he asked me what I was doing up. I complained that I couldn’t sleep because I was stressing about the game and this is what he told me:

“There’s no point in worrying about the game now. You can’t do any more preparation than you’ve already done. Whether you win or lose will depend on how hard you play on the day. Worrying will impact on that so you need to relax.”

He was right. Worrying was not going to help me prepare anymore.

The same goes for work.

Laying in bed thinking about your job is not going to get anything done. It will not help you solve any problem. Thinking about things over and over only raises more questions, it never helps you find the solution.

Another logical argument that has brought me a lot of deep sleep:

“If the problem can be solved, why worry? If the problem cannot be solved, worrying will be of no use.” – Shantideva

Sometimes we need to tell ourselves that worrying will not solve anything – now is the time for sleep.

4. Look at the space between the stress
Another meditation technique that can help you get to sleep is to look at the space between each stressful thought.

Thoughts are a lot like waves on the ocean. One will arise and then dissolve and before the next one can come up there has to be some space or calm. Try to gently look for it. To do this you need to become like an impartial observer or a spy. Quietly shift your attention to the thought and look for the space between the death of one thought and the birth of the next. This can bring a deep calm.

5. Learn to focus on your breath


Creative Commons License photo credit: kiwanee2001

Breathing meditation is the oldest and the most simple way to relax. It is taught by meditation masters, relaxation therapists and doctors around the world as a way to get your mind to slow down.

Lay down in your bed and get comfy. Close your eyes and breathe through your nose. Start to become aware of the feeling of the air entering your nose and flowing down into your lungs. The task is now to stay focussed on the breath for ten cycles. A cycle is one inhale and one exhale. If your mind wanders off to stressful thoughts simply start again from one.

Every time I do this I fall asleep within about 30 breaths. It is a good practice to get in to because the breathing also helps you enter a much deeper state of sleep and you will wake up feeling refreshed and amazing.

6. Learn the habit of leaving work at work
I once knew a psychiatrist who worked with extremely violent patients at an inner city hospital. He used to tell us of some pretty horrible stories of things that he had seen and heard. I asked him how he dealt with it all and stopped himself from getting upset or depressed and he told me that he learned the habit of leaving work at work.

This is an important thing to recognize – leaving work at work is a habit. It is something that you need to develop. You are not going to be able to stop thinking about work straight away; you will need some practice.

Start by thinking about your job as a whole. What do you do? Then think about a part of that job that you do everyday. For example, a police officer might select “filling out crime reports”. The task then is to not think about that part of your job from the moment you step out of the office. Every time your mind wanders back to that topic you should remind yourself that you are not thinking about that at all.

Over time you can increase this to your whole job. It will take some practice but you can do it.

7. Quit your job
In all seriousness, if your job is causing you to lose sleep on a regular basis and thereby affecting your health it is not worth sticking to. Start looking for new work tomorrow. When you find that new work it is time to quit that stressful job.

Any other tips?

I would love to hear any other tips you all have about forgetting about work and getting to sleep. Does anyone else have trouble sleeping because they are thinking too much?

top image:Creative Commons License photo credit: desi.italy

How to Fix a Sore Back at Work – Does Your Back Hurt?

Sore back

I think back injuries are the most common health problem people experience at work. In this post I want to look at some of the causes and some ways you can tackle the problem.

What causes a sore back at work?

Depending on the kind of work you do there are a few things that can cause a sore back. For the purpose of this post we are going to assume that you are like me; sitting at a desk looking at a computer for the majority of the day.

I will go through the major causes and give them an indication of severity.

1. Hunching Forward
Severity: Moderate to High

Hunching forward is when you roll your shoulders towards the computer so that the back of your neck has to curve for your to look straight ahead. It is quite a serious posture problem as it blocks a lot of the blood flow to your head and is very bad for the neck.

Sitting like this will cause pain in the upper back and neck and probably give you a headache. Over time your posture can permanently change and your headaches will last longer.

2. Sitting with one leg tucked in
Severity: Moderate

I often sit with one leg tucked under my bottom in sort of a “half crossed leg” position. I don’t know why I do this but I have since found out that it has caused me some pretty serious back problems. [Read more…] about How to Fix a Sore Back at Work – Does Your Back Hurt?

Computer Danger: The 8 Most Important Tips for Your Health at Work


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Most of us sit in front of a computer all day long. We work hard and we have no idea what effect the long hours of typing are having on our body. This post will look at the most important things you can do for your health at work.

The 8 most important tips for your health at work

1. Look away from the screen
Your eyes are very badly affected by how long you stare at that bright screen. We stop blinking and start staring which makes our eyes strain and dry out. Make sure you look away from the screen and close them for a few seconds every few minutes.

2. Sit on a fitness ball
Here in Australia many corporations are now making their employees sit on fitness balls instead of chairs. Why? Because they are better for your posture and therefore your neck and back benefit.

The fitness ball helps you to sit upright but it also moves when you move which stop you from sitting in a bad position for extended periods of time. Go out and get one. They aren’t expensive.

3. Get a tennis ball and save your hands
It is really important to give your fingers, wrists and hands a break from resting on the keyboard all day. Some very serious and chronic injuries can develop from too much typing. A tennis ball is a great way to do this. Every time you need to think you should grab the ball and give it a few quick squeezes. This will do wonders for your joints and muscles.

4. Watch your posture
Leading on from the fitness ball tip you need to learn how to sit correctly. Take notice of how you are sitting now. I bet your chin is drooped forward and your spine curving backwards. I bet your shoulders and hunched and your wrists are flat on the keyboard.

Try to sit up reasonably straight with your bottom on the edge of the chair and your feet flat on the ground. Try to pull your shoulders out to the sides (not backwards) and make sure your chin and neck are upwards and in the right spot.

If you sit with bad posture you will suffer many negative health effects. Pinched nerves, back pain, headaches, tiredness and more. Sit up.

5. Watch the coffee intake
It is very easy to slip into a bad habit at work. Most often this bad habit involves coffee or some other caffeine related beverage. We drink a cup to wake up and then we have a cup every time we get stressed. Before you know it you have had five or six cups and you are addicted to coffee.


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The thing about this is that it is not only bad for your body, it teaches you addiction. After coffee comes junk food or perhaps a glass of wine to take the “edge” off. If you drink coffee at work you should take an honest look and see if you are abusing it. You don’t want it to get out of control.

6. Actively work against stress
Make no mistake, high levels of stress are killing you. People in highly stressful jobs have a higher chance of developing heart problems and even cancer. So how stressed are you?

Make sure you are actively managing your stress. Don’t just wish it would go away, start taking steps to fix it. It is something that you need to work hard to get under control.

Some things you can do include eating healthier food, getting enough sunlight, socializing with happy people and so on. For more tips take a look at this post on avoiding depression at work.

7. Make friends
It is important that we have people at work that we can chat to and bounce ideas off. Working in a lonely environment is not good for anyone’s health. You become sad, depressed and your stress is more difficult to manage.

Friends are so important for ordinary people. We need that human contact to express ourselves and to make ourselves feel a part of some kind of community. Take a look at this post on making friends at work.

Making friends also has many “selfish” benefits. If you have a few good friends around you it is often possible to palm off some work to them or get some help when you need it on those busy days.

8. Keep glare off the screen
It is really important to make sure your computer screen does not have direct sunlight hitting it. This is very bad for your eyes and will give you headaches and eventually damage your eyes.

Conclusion on health at work

We spend more time at work than we realize. If we don’t take care of our health while we are there we will not be healthy. Make sure you are doing everything you can to keep your body and mind in good shape.

8 Hacks to Help You Exercise Before Work Everyday


Creative Commons License photo credit: auer1816

It is well to be up before daybreak, for such habits contribute to health, wealth, and wisdom.
– Aristotle

Every single person I know wants to be able to exercise more. The reason they don’t: too busy at work. Well that excuse just doesn’t cut it. Here are 10 hacks to help you exercise before work everyday.

1. Get to sleep at the same time each night
Many people think they need eight hours and if they don’t get that eight hours they are screwed. Well, this isn’t really the case. Science has shown that it is better to get up and go to bed at the same time each night. The consistency is important. In fact, thinking that you NEED eight hours can be more of an obstacle than a help. I know that when I used to get less than eight hours I was angry and frustrated. It was causing an obstacle.

Going to sleep at the same time each night will allow you to develop a new sense of regularity – this is how exercise habits are developed.

2. Wake up at the same time each morning
The second part of this plan is the getting up. You need to set your alarm for the same time each day. When the alarm goes off you should get up and not snooze it. Do not adjust the wake up time if you went to bed a bit later. This is all part of the plan. If you continually change the alarm time for your changing bedtime habit you will never get up with enough time to exercise.

If you can get up at the same time each morning you will have time that you perceive as “spare” and you will then be able to exercise in that time.

3. Book in with a friend
One of the best things you can do for your exercise habits is book in with a friend. When I started training early morning martial arts with my mate down the road I found it so much easier to get up because I knew he would be waiting for me down at the park.

It is a good idea to use other people to help you as long as you don’t “depend” on them.

4. Find a new exercise class
If you have been trying to get up in the morning to go for a boring old jog you might find it a bit hard. If, however, you have something interesting to go to like martial arts, gymnastics, hiking, etc. you will be more likely to get going. Try and be creative, and invite your friends a long.

5. Start small
If you are pretty busy and you really can’t get up early enough to have a long session you should start by just doing 20 pushups before breakfast. My mother always used to do 100 squats when she got out of bed. She said it was a great way to start the day, wake you up and burn a few calories.

6. Walk, jog or ride to work
One of the best ways to fit in some exercise is to walk, run or ride a bike to work. This is good for the environment as you save the green house gas emissions and it is good for your fitness and your waistline. The thing that is really good about this hack is that it doesn’t feel like you are exercising – it just feels like you are going to work.

7. Take advantage of day-light savings time
If you live somewhere where you have to wind your clock backwards and forwards for day-light savings time then you should take advantage of that special time every year where you get an extra hour of sleep because you wound your clock backwards. Instead of sleeping in you should get up at your “non-daylight savings normal” waking time and get running. It will be a much easier way to get into the habit.

8. Do it every single day
Don’t just do it once. Do it everyday. If you do it only a few times you will not develop the habit and every time you try to do it you will feel crap during the exercise session. Make sure you get up and exercise at the same time – even on the weekends.

Conclusion
Exercising before work will make you a better worker. It will make you more alert, energetic and much happier. Exercising before work will change your life for the better in ways you could not imagine.