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Hit “Reset!” 12 Ways to Relax, Refresh, Renew, Refuel, and Recharge This Month

August 7, 2018

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When you were young, you slowed down in summer; you caught fireflies, had time to move beyond day to day routines, drank lemonade, and, you played. Basically, summer was a time to recharge, refuel and renew. Things at the office are a little more relaxed in the lazy, hazy days of summer as well.  It’s a great time to renew your spirit, mind and body.

Actions, input and experiences that have nothing to do with your job can reduce the chance of burn out and stress. Even better, they give you a different perspective that filters into your performance at work.  New learning and experiences have been proven to jumpstart creativity and improve your productivity. There’s actually a good reason for kicking back and trying new things! Here’s how to go about it!

  1. Seek new experiences and new perspectives. Change up your days. Visit a museum; take a course; explore areas of your town you don’t know well.

  2. Get outside. This time of year is perfect for immersing yourself in nature. Go to a park you’ve not visited; take walks during lunch; lie under a tree. Volunteer to walk dogs at a local shelter. Go out of your way to observe a sunrise or sunset.

  3. Contemplate. Quiet time alone can be a foundation for reflecting on your day; it can be a chance to chase new ideas and flesh them out. For many of us, it is a time to recharge your “battery.”

  4. Care for yourself. Stop postponing exercise, check-ups, and slow food. Make the appointments you need, go to the farmer’s market instead of the fast food restaurant and put gym time on your schedule.   Build a massage, facial or adjustment into your budget.

  5. Sharpen your tools. Technology skills are the foundation of the work you do. Add a new app to your arsenal or take advanced training in one of those you use each day. You never know what you might be missing.

  6. Do something exciting. Yes, exciting. You can probably think of something that intrigues you but that you have avoided.  Maybe you’re little afraid to try it—that restaurant that serves Ethiopian food, skydiving or paddle boarding, a trip to a foreign country, or Toastmasters, anyone?

  7. Determine what to do less of. Is it time to purge your possessions; clean out those drawers?  Are there things you do routinely that take up your time but aren’t really necessary anymore and aren’t meaningful?

  8. AND what you’d like to do more of: reading, sleeping, saying no, inviting friends to dinner?

  9. Take a break—a real break. Once each day, turn off your phone and computer for at least an hour. Resist the impulse to take on a task that needs to be done. Now what?

  10. Do something fun.  Make a list of the little things you enjoy. Things as simple as walking the dog, making lemonade and cookies to drink while you read in the rocking chair, jumping into a lake, listening to live music, making s-mores around a bonfire. Put some joy into every day for a week—or more!

  11. Spruce yourself up. It is easy to overlook the image we project, and not think about whether the person we present is the person we want others to see. Polish that LinkedIn profile, update your resume, get a new headshot take; evaluate your wardrobe.

  12. Stock up on food for thought. Read books or listen to podcasts that you don’t think you have time for. Get started today; choose one of each! Here are some suggestions for where to start.

 

Books

Success Principles: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Jack Canfield and Janet Switzer

Manage Your Day-to-Day: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus, and Sharpen Your Creative Mind by The 99U Book Series with Jocelyn Glei

Start with Why or Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t by Simon Sinek

Happier Now: How to Stop Chasing Perfection and Embrace Everyday Moments (Even the Difficult Ones)by Nataly Kogan

Off the Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done by Laura Vanderkam 

Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work by Chip and Dan Heath

Relentless Optimism: How a Commitment to Positive Thinking Changes Everything by Darron Donnelly

The Talent Code: Greatness Isn't Born. It's Grown. Here's Howby Daniel Coyle 

Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results by Stephen Guise

 

Podcasts

Love Your Work with David Kadavy. He interviews business leaders and behavioral scientists on matters of motivation, creativity, productivity, and everything in between.

The Tony Robbins Podcast. Tony focuses on living an extraordinary life and shares the key secrets to success in business and life.

Beyond the To-Do List. This show is about learning to make the best decisions when it comes to projects, tasks, and goals. The productivity lessons will help you lead a more meaningful life, one episode at a time.

The Side Hustle Show with Nick Loper. If you’re thinking about starting a small business, or job on the side to make extra money, but don’t now where to start? Nick’s podcast give you plenty of ideas along with specific ways his guests have turned their “side hustle dreams into reality.”

Personal Best with Rob Norman and Andrew Norton.

One of the funniest podcasts around. Rob and Andrew help those who want to better themselves or overcome personal foibles.

Back to Work. This award-winning podcast is about everything from communication skill development to work barriers, this show knows just what you need to get a step up in your career.

Hidden Brain by NPR science correspondent, Shankar Vedantam, illustrates the unconscious patterns behind human behavior using psychology and neurobiology.

Windows Weekly deals with everything Microsoft-related.

The Communication Guys Podcast by Tim Downs and Dr. Tom Barrett This podcast teaches timeless, universal principles and applies them to all forms of communication: spoken and written, personal and public, platform and small group.

In This is Actually Happeningyou are given the firsthand account — with zero commentary — from someone who has experienced something life-changing, devastating, and oftentimes unbelievable.

Working. Slate’s podcast revolves around what Americans actually do at work, digging into the minutiae of their day-to-day lives.

99% Invisible. This podcast about design makes you appreciate what goes into the big and small decisions that shape the world we live in, from the color of hotels to camouflage and parentheses around area codes.

Good Job, Brain! This program offers quizzes, offbeat trivia, and “random awesomeness” that serve as “Nutrition for the Brain.”


You can also refresh, renew, refuel, and recharge at the 2018 Administrative Professionals Conference. And EVEN BETTER, you can polish your professional skills, delve into your personal strengths, network with peers from across North American and around the globe and choose from more than five dozen learning sessions! Do yourself a favor and look into joining more than 1500 of your colleagues.

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