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Why Hobbies Are Good for Your Mental Health

It’s very common for people not to prioritise hobbies and downtime. With working or studying full time it’s difficult to set aside time for ourselves to relax and indulge in activities we enjoy.  

Having a hobby is a great way to spend your spare time and unwind from your daily routine. Hobbies can range from learning an instrument, playing a sport, reading, photography or something artistic. 

By setting time aside for hobbies you can help improve your mental health and wellbeing. Research shows that people with hobbies are less likely to suffer from low moods, stress and depression. 

Hobbies allow you to enhance your life! 

What is a Hobby? 

A hobby can be any activity that you do regularly for your own enjoyment. Whether this is something creative, athletic or academic, what matters is that it’s meaningful to you. 

When you dedicate time to voluntarily engage in pleasurable activities, your mental health can benefit. 

Read now: The Valuable Mental Health Benefits of Cold Water Swimming 

Mental Health Benefits of Hobbies: 

Reduce Stress 

Hobbies are a perfect way to distract yourself after a busy day. They provide the opportunity to focus on yourself and release any stress built up from your day.  

Spending time on a hobby can be as simple as finding the time to listen to music. Whatever activity you choose will help manage your stress levels. So, take some time out of your busy day to start painting, or go outside and walk in nature.  

Creativity Boosts Wellbeing 

Partaking in creative activities such as song-writing, knitting, art and musical performance have all been shown to increase positive moods. By pursuing creative hobbies you’ll see an improvement in your mental wellbeing.  

Creative activities also allow you to expand neural connections in your brain, which has been linked to the release of the feel good hormone dopamine. Spending as little as two hours per week on an activity you enjoy can help you live a more positive life. 

Form Connections With Others 

Hobbies that include other people, such as team sports, offer great opportunities to foster social connections and friendships. Having a healthy social life can have a highly positive impact on your mental health.  

Shared experience through hobbies can also enhance your enjoyment of the activity and help you feel less isolated. So, if you’re looking for a new hobby, try something interactive team sport or even joining a band. 

Read now: Intentional Living: How Can it Benefit You? 

A hobby is something that you do for fun or personal fulfilment. 

Tips to Make Time for Hobbies 

A common issue when it comes to investing in hobbies is time. When it comes to how our lives are typically structured, work tends to come before play.  

Although many of us feel like there isn’t enough time in the day for hobbies, there are a few changes you can make to help free up some time for the things you love: 

  • Regularly participating in a hobby doesn’t mean you have you do it daily, a weekly activity will be a lot easier to fit into your schedule. Just an hour or two a week is a great addition to your lifestyle. If you feel you still don’t have the time try saying no more often and putting a hobby higher up on your list of priorities. 
  • It’s easy to lose a lot of valuable time in your day by doing mindless things like scrolling on social media or watching TV. Be conscious of how you’re spending your free time and try to make sure you’re using it wisely.  
  • If you’re finding it difficult to find extra free time, try taking more micro-breaks during the workday. This will help you find the time to do things you enjoy while also increasing your overall productivity. You could use these short breaks to go for a walk outside, listen to your favourite podcast or read a few chapters of a book.  

Read now: Surprising Benefits of Exercise: Confidence and Creativity 

Having a hobby can greatly improve your life. Do some research and find a few activities that interest you and simply try them out. There’s no pressure to stick to anything you don’t enjoy but eventually, you’ll find a hobby that’s suited to you.  

For further advice on lifestyle changes you can make to benefit your mental health, contact our experts at Ceed here 

Burnout: What is it and How to Avoid it

It’s easy to feel stress in our daily lives, whether it’s from work, school, or relationships. But when that stress becomes unrelenting, you might be suffering from burnout instead. 

What is Burnout? 

Burnout is the combination of emotional, physical and mental exhaustion, often caused by prolonged stress. It’s particularly common in the workplace when employees are overworked and don’t have time to relax. Burnout can reduce productivity and decrease energy, and create a complete lack of motivation. Signs of burnout include: 

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  • Anxiety 
  • Fatigue 
  • Lack of commitment 
  • Low mood 
  • Headaches 
  • Difficulty concentrating 
  • Cynical outlook 

Read Now: How to Regain Your Lost Motivation  

Burnout or Stress? 

Whilst there are some similarities, burnout is not the same as just being stressed. Stress comes when you are still trying to cope with all your responsibilities; burnout hits when you have given up. Burnout is a more gradual process, which makes it harder to control. 

Burnout can make you feel hopeless.

Stress often feels like a state of panic, when you feel you don’t have enough time to get everything done. By the time burnout hits, you might feel like giving up on your responsibilities, as they begin to feel unachievable.  

Burnout can be caused by lots of different things, but it is usually a combination of factors, including: 

  • Taking on too many responsibilities 
  • Lack of recognition for hard work 
  • Overly demanding expectations 
  • Feeling like you have no control  
  • Not having time for socialising or relaxing  
  • Not getting enough sleep. 

Read Now: 4 Effective Ways to Clear Your Mind of Stress 

How to Avoid Burnout 

The best way to tackle burnout is to notice the signs before it becomes overwhelming. If you can work to prevent burnout before it hits, it will be much easier to manage daily stress. There are lots of different things you can do to prevent reaching burnout. 

Find the Source 

The easiest way to prevent burnout is to figure out what specifically is causing it. It’s different for everyone, so take time to evaluate your stressors, and see what often leads you to becoming burnt out.  

Finding what causes your burnout is the best way to stop it!

Once you know where the source is, it becomes a lot easier to create simple day-to-day changes. If you know where to look, you can prevent burnout and manage stress. This gives you space to set boundaries and identify areas in your life that can be improved.  

Organise Your Priorities  

If you don’t organise your priorities, you can easily end up spending too much time on less important tasks, and falling behind on the important things. Take time to assess where you should be putting your energy – you want to use it in the most efficient way possible.  

Don’t be afraid to set boundaries either. If you know your workload is too much for you, delegate tasks to someone else or ask for extensions. Becoming overwhelmed by your priorities is an easy way to end up burnt out. Prioritising the important stuff doesn’t mean you are lazy; it means you have a stronger understanding of your abilities.   

Read Now: 5 Essential Habits to Help You Stay Organised  

Ask for Help 

Tackling burnout alone can make your problems feel impossible to solve. Talking to others can help to ease the pressure you might be feeling, as it’s likely they’ve experienced something similar before. Co-workers can help you to pick up parts of your work that you don’t think you can complete, whilst friends and family can listen to and validate your concerns.  

Don’t be afraid to ask others for help.

Like the team at Ceed, life coaches can help you find the best ways of managing your workload to avoid burnout in the future. Different techniques work for different people, so it’s important to find what is best for you.  

Exercise Regularly 

Exercising on a frequent basis can help to improve your mood and boost productivity. It helps you to get better sleep, which in turn sets you up to have more energy for the working day. This can decrease emotional exhaustion, psychological distress and perceived stress.  

Exercising outside can help to boost your mood!

Even exercise like taking a short walk in your lunch break can help to relax your mind and get your blood flowing. Especially if you have a job where you are sitting in the same spot all day, it is easy to get overwhelmed and discouraged. Exercising can improve your wellbeing, and in turn, fights off burnout. 

Read Now: How Exercise Improves Productivity at Work  

To Sum Up… 

Dealing with burnout can be difficult, especially when it sneaks up on you. The best way to deal with it is to prevent it. Following these simple ideas will make it easier to avoid reaching a state of burnout, and can help improve your day-to-day stresses.  

If you want further help on how to tackle burnout, contact the team at Ceed today! We can provide lifestyle coaching experts to help you grow.  

How to Make Your Dreams a Reality

When we dream of something, we think of some bold idea to accomplish. It could be anything. We want to go out and reach that goal, and it can feel incredibly satisfying to eventually get there.

You’ve envisioned your dreams, now what?

However, the thought of making our dreams a reality is easier said than done, and sometimes we feel like we’re in limbo when it comes to seeing it finalised. 

That’s where this guide comes in. With these five tips, you’ll be making those dreams of yours a reality in no time! 

Read Now: How To Uncover Inspiration 

  1. Write Things Down 

First and foremost, to help you figure out not just what your dreams are, but how you’re possibly going to reach them, you should start by writing down your thoughts and ideas. Now, while this may sound basic, you’ll actually find that writing down your thoughts is a rather effective method. 

As you write, whether that’s with pen on paper or typing on a computer or laptop, you’ll find that your ideas begin to take shape. You’ll be able to determine what works and what doesn’t, which will then start paving the way for a plan. It’s also good to do this in case you later forget of some of the things that popped into your head. 

When it comes to writing, don’t just use it for early plans and preparation. After initial preparation, keep note (in a diary, journal etc.) of all the things you’ve been doing to ensure you achieve your long-term goal. This can be recorded on a daily or weekly basis and provides you with knowledge of what you found worked and what didn’t. 

  1. Take Small Steps 

When you’ve figured out what your dreams are and how you’re going to accomplish them, it’s very easy to assume that you can just go headlong into a plan and reach them straight away. 

Sadly, life doesn’t work like that. If anything, taking huge strides and rushing into things won’t do you any favours. While you may reach your goal, you won’t be reaching it the way you intended and may ultimately feel unsatisfied by the outcome. 

Taking small steps and writing down progress can be hugely helpful!

We all know about The Tortoise and the Hare and its moral of “slow and steady wins the race”. By taking your time and making small steps, you’ll be reaching your goal at the required pace while learning of any advantages and disadvantages that could prevent you from getting there in the first place. It’s not about the destination – it’s the journey and what you learn along the way. 

Read Now: 8 Quick and Small Changes to a Better Life  

  1. Don’t Give Up 

Life is hard. There’s no sugar-coating it. There’s always going to be a challenge or a problem we’ll come across, especially if things seemed to initially be going easy, and it’s very tempting to call it quits there. 

Here’s the thing: don’t. 

“When the going gets tough, the tough get going”. No doubt you’ve heard this expression before. Basically, it means that a determined person is willing to work hard to reach their goal, which is something you should absolutely be doing. When you persevere, you’ll find yourself overcoming that troublesome obstacle that had initially got in your way. 

No matter how hard the challenge will be, there’s no denying that a level of catharsis shall follow knowing you conquered that challenge and proved it could be prevailed over. 

Read Now: How to Step into Your Growth Zone 

  1. Embrace Failure 

Sometimes, no matter how hard we work and no matter what decisions we’ve made, the only outcome can be failure. Now, you’re reading this thinking “well, that’s a very negative outlook”, aren’t you? 

Wrong! 

Just because we might’ve failed at something doesn’t mean we should then give up, just as we covered previously. Failure is by no means a terrible thing. Granted, you may feel defeated by it, but the truth is it’s an opportunity to learn. Think about where you went wrong; what could then be improved? The next time around, once you’ve fixed that aspect of your methods, you’ll know the right way to go, and if that fails too, try something else until you have the right solution. 

Don’t be afraid to play your cards wrong…

Life is a gamble. Everything can be a risk. The important thing is to take those risks. If they work, they’re a success. If they don’t, it’s just another chance to acquire more knowledge. 

Read Now: How to Overcome Fear of Failure 

  1. Find Others Who Share the Same Dreams 

There are times when the only things we need are a little bit of encouragement and excitement. A little of these can go a long way, especially when you’re striving to make your dreams come true. 

Try talking to others who also share the same dreams as you do. Along the way, you may even learn tips and tricks that can help you even more. Are there things that others are doing that you feel is a method worth trying? Why not try it yourself? 

Without finding the motivation to get you going, you’ll never even leave the place you started at. 

These were just five ways to help you make your dreams become a reality. If you’d like more advice on making lifestyle changes, don’t hesitate to contact us today at Ceed. 

How to Improve Your Productivity with Neuroplasticity

Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to adapt, rewire and change shape with new experiences.  

At any age, the way the brain works can totally transform. We can become more optimistic, joyful, productive and better at learning without ever returning to our ‘old ways’.  

Find more productive habits with neuroplasticity!

With the myth that we use 10% of our brains debunked, we now know that our entire brains are neural real estate, forming and strengthening different neural pathways throughout the day. 

Understanding neuroplasticity can unlock a clear pathway to more productive habits. By tapping into neuroplasticity, we can achieve:  

  • Better time-keeping 
  • Improved short-term memory 
  • An efficient work life 
  • An overall more dynamic brain.  

What is Neuroplasticity? 

Neuroplasticity is the “plastic” nature of the brain – its ability to shift and change layout.  

All our habits, thought processes and beliefs – the way we think – are physically represented by neurons and neural pathways. Different neural pathways get stronger with use or waste away, much like a muscle.  

It’s easy to imagine that if we had the technology, we could understand everything about someone just by looking at the physical map of their brain, looking up close at the neural pathways and seeing which are stronger and used more than others.  

We already understand a lot, like how to use brain examinations to detect dementia and determine the cause of a stroke. 

Using certain parts of our brains more strengthens those neural pathways. This is what behavioural therapy taps into – mental muscle memory. 

Read Now: Neuroplasticity: Better Your Brain with Positive Thinking

How Can We Use it? 

The future is bright. The more we dig into the science of neuroplasticity, the more we can see the limitless ways to harness and use our brains for the better. 

Below are just a few things we can achieve by strengthening new pathways and weakening old, unhelpful ones: 

1. Changing Our Habits 

Struggling to be productive is a difficulty most of us can understand. Getting started on new projects, staying motivated and working in a consistent, efficient way are all things that don’t always come easy, but can be developed with practice.  

An understanding of neuroplasticity is a great place to start when thinking about changing your habits. This way, you can make the change as easy as possible for your brain to take on.  

Try switching up your habits for better productivity!

For example, if you want to totally overhaul your work ethic and methods, start with a small change. Instead of putting pressure on yourself to fix the problem in one fell swoop, try breaking other habits in your life first by trying new things, or even doing something you know how to do already, differently. 

Even breaking and changing habits unrelated to the big one you have your eye on will help you to eventually make the change. This is because taking on new habits and experiences strengthens neural pathways responsible for learning, making your brain more dynamic and flexible.  

Changing a habit could be as simple as taking a different route to work or shopping for food somewhere different. And when it comes to making a bigger change, try doing something a different way before replacing it altogether. Your brain can learn to adapt

Read Now: 3 Reasons to Step Out of Your Comfort Zone and Into Your Growth Zone 

2. Communicating Better 

Communicating well is key to being part of a productive, efficient team. With good communication, skills can be shared, tasks can be completed quickly and everyone feels inclined to work well to get goals achieved.  

Using neuroplasticity to communicate better once again comes down to identifying and changing a habit. What gets in the way of feeling like we are on the same page with someone? More often than not, it is defensiveness of our own view and not understanding the view of the person we are talking with. The angrier we feel, the less inclined to connect we feel. 

This makes active listening – the act of truly trying to understand what someone is saying – impossible. In breaking this habit, the first thing to practice is checking in on whether you are actually listening to the other person.  

The second thing to do is to return to focusing on connecting and listening. While this is easier said than done, it is possible to make this a habit through practice

Read Now: How to Practice Active Listening 

4. A More Dynamic Brain 

The happiest brains are flexible and open-minded, open to learning and taking on new information. The more our brains experience changing and developing new skills, the more flexible and agile they become – and the more able to cope with any challenge. 

A brain that has recently been learning a new language and improving at sudoku will be developing strong neural connections in the parts of the brain responsible for learning. This makes it now more equipped to learn other new skills more easily. In other words, the more we change the brain through neuroplasticity, the more able to change the brain is.  

When it comes to productivity, the ideal brain can:  

  • Learn new skills 
  • Remember important details 
  • Switch between tasks easily.  

Try learning a new skill – no matter what it is, you will see benefits in how your brain processes information and takes on new challenges. 

Trying new things can create a more adaptable brain!

Read Now: How to Tap Into Neuroplasticity in Your Daily Life 

To Sum Up… 

These are just a few ways harnessing neuroplasticity can help to improve your productivity. With an understanding of how the brain makes and stores connections, we can develop any skill or ability we like more easily and effectively.  

With intention and an awareness of neuroplasticity, you can build an open-minded and flexible brain able to take on any challenge and navigate the unexpected. 

For help with making lifestyle changes, contact one of our coaches at Ceed today! 

How To Get Out of a Creative Block

Sometimes we just don’t feel creative. That’s fine if what we’re putting off is a personal project, but if we need to be creative to meet deadlines at work, things can start to feel stressful. 

We might start to feel anxious about our futures, or even question whether we’re in the right line of work. 

The good news is that writer’s block is more common than you’d think, and doesn’t indicate a lack of talent. Herman Melville, Ernest Hemingway and even Adele have all documented their struggles with it. 

Unlike Melville, you don’t have to give up on being creative altogether. Here are a variety of easy steps you can take to get those creative juices flowing again. 

Read Now: How to Get Out of a Funk 

Stop Working on Ideas That Don’t Motivate You 

No, really. 

If you’re trying to work and nothing’s coming to you, take some time off from trying to solve the problem as a first step. 

This might seem counterproductive, but studies show that solutions to creative problems are often solved subconsciously during periods of rest. If we try to do something else with our time, such as go for a walk, we open ourselves up to inspiration that we wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. 

Sometimes this can lead to a sudden eureka moment, clarifying in a split-second what you need to do to fix your project. Often, though, this inspiration plants a seed that takes the time to grow into an idea or solution. 

If you find yourself in need of a break on a tight deadline, ask for the deadline to be moved. If you’re able, know that it’s okay to postpone your own deadline, and to not be creating things all the time. 

If you can, drop an idea that isn’t working.  

Drastic changes to the direction of a work-in-progress can keep your productivity up!

It can be tempting to feel as though we have to finish an idea, thanks to the sunk-cost fallacy reminding us of how much work we’ve already put into it. But it’s important to note that if, for example, you’re struggling with writing something, then ploughing ahead will probably mean that your readers will struggle with reading it. 

Switch focus to an idea that you find more interesting, or that you’re finding easier to make creative connections for in your head. This keeps you enthusiastic about your work, which in turn allows you to maintain a period of being creative and reduce your anxiety. 

But if you’re at a loss for ideas, there are different techniques you can use to generate lots of them in a short space of time. 

Read Now: How to Live With Anxiety 

Look for Ideas in Unconventional Places 

Typical places we look to for ideas are the authors, artists, and type of content we want to produce. However, ideas really can come from anywhere. If you find yourself at a loss for ideas for a new or current project, don’t be afraid to look outside your comfort zone when searching for inspiration. 

Whether it’s a book, podcast, piece of music, or artwork that you wouldn’t normally think about, looking in unusual places for inspiration is a great way to make connections between words, images, ideas, that you might miss normally. 

The subject matter doesn’t have to be similar to the work you’re doing. Think about the content as separate to its context. Just taking the time to consume something new can encourage your mind to make those unconscious decisions which can lead to fresh ideas. 

Idea-Dump and Free-Associate 

Rather than pressuring yourself to come up a perfectly formed idea, consider setting a period of time, such as ten minutes, or up to an hour, to document every idea that comes to your mind, regardless of quality. 

Having ideas to discard is better than having no ideas. 

You can also take off the pressure to produce ideas even more by only writing random words and phrases that come to you in this time, or that you’ve found in media you’re consuming. 

From there, you can try combining some of the things you’ve written down into one or more coherent ideas. You might find that two or more separate ideas lacking in dimension find depth when brought together. 

Throwing two separate ideas together can create new ones with exciting depth.

Stop Second-Guessing Yourself While Writing 

Once you have an idea that you feel enthusiastic about finishing, the important thing is to finish it. 

Our brains have a filter for quality. We know what good art looks like, and we want to know that our own efforts meet these standards. Which is why it’s worth remembering that Rome wasn’t built in a day.  

The famous Hemingway quote goes as follows: “the first draft of everything is s**t”. 

The important thing is to get the idea down, even if you know that what you’re doing lacks focus. Then, refine it. Once you have a functional draft in place, you can get outside perspectives from colleagues and friends. They will be able to offer advice that will feed your subconscious.   

Use what they like or don’t like to guide the direction of the next draft, and the next one, and the one after that. But always trust your gut feeling when trying to get the draft written as fast as possible. 

Read Now: How to Stop Being Obsessive Over Things 

Wrapping Up 

Above all, getting over a creative block requires you to stop expecting the first draft to be perfect. It also takes accepting that you won’t be able to be creative all of the time. 

Whether you’re on a deadline or not, removing these expectations and reconsidering how you generate ideas are some best ways to get out of a creative block. 

If you’re interested in learning more about how to drive creativity, or other ways to improve your life, contact Ceed today. 

How to Get Better Sleep

The quality of your sleep affects every aspect of your life, from how you cope with stress to your relationships and your productivity. 

Feeling like you aren’t getting enough sleep can make you anxious, which in turn can keep you awake at night, making you feel exhausted and disconnected during the day. 

Stick to a sleep routine to get better sleep!

Insomnia can feel like a vicious, endless cycle, but there are changes you can make to your daily life and mindset to try and beat it.  

Here are some of the most effective changes you can make to your lifestyle to help you get enough sleep. 

Read Now: Why Rest is Important for Productivity 

Make Small Changes to Your Diet 

There are obvious ways to eat healthier. Working more fruit and vegetables into your daily intake, moderating your portion sizes, and cutting down on your sugar intake can all help. 

What you may not know is that exactly when you eat is important for your sleep pattern. 

Late night snacks, sugary or not, have been shown to impact sleep. The science is simple: eating at night gives you a burst of energy that you’ll struggle to burn off before bed. 

Focus on making your regular meals throughout the day more filling. If you eat sugary treats, distribute these amongst meals so you’re not tempted to reach for a box of chocolates at 11PM to fill a hole in your stomach. 

This way, you’ll be eating better, valuing your body and how food affects your mood. But you’ll also be sleeping better, giving you the positive mindset that you need to make and sustain these changes long-term. 

Reconsider your diet to get a better night’s sleep!

Read Now: A Happy Diet: 9 Foods Proven to Lift Your Mood 

Exercise More 

Tiredness brings sleep. To be tired is to have used more energy during the day than you’ve put into your body via meals or snacks. If you’ve made the above adjustments to your diet, and kept to them long-term, you’re already prepared for better sleep in the evenings. 

If you can, one of the easiest (and cheapest) ways to get some exercise is to go for a brisk walk, ideally in the afternoon, or at the end of the working day.  

According to the NHS, even a ten-minute brisk walk every day can improve your health by improving your circulation, especially if you work sitting down during the day.  

Analysts predict that the shift to home working will be a more long-term change to work culture even after the pandemic ends. This means many people will lack the opportunity to walk to and from work. So, it’s more important than ever to make a conscious decision to go for a walk.  

While walking contributes to the recommended 150 minutes of weekly exercise for adults, getting to burn off excess energy and decompress after a long day are happy side-effects. 

But whatever exercise you do, don’t do it right before bed. You won’t be in the calm state you need to be in to fall asleep while you’re full of adrenaline. 

Keep a Sleep Routine 

We’ve all been sat in front of the television, late on a weekend, awake for no reason. Our free time is limited, and we want to know that we’re making the best use of it, even if we aren’t. 

So, rather than staying up as late as humanly possible on a Friday or Saturday, keep close to your weekday bedtime and wake time. If you don’t have a sleep schedule for your weekdays, create one and stick to it. 

You might feel as though sleeping in on weekends is a good way to catch up on sleep missed during the week. 

However, people who keep a regular bedtime and alarm clock routine across a seven-day period are more refreshed throughout the whole week than people who eschew the routine on weekends, by being free from social jetlag

Block Out Distractions 

Turn off all your devices at least an hour before bed, and keep away from your phone. Place it on ‘do-not-disturb’ if you have the option, and keep it out of your reach until morning. Across the room, if necessary.  

Resist the urge to check devices at night!

To avoid being disturbed by light sources, make sure any electronic devices that emit light while charging are charged during the day. Get a blackout blind for your window if needed, or wear an eye-mask. 

If noises inside or outside of your room are disturbing you and can’t be dealt with directly, consider wearing ear plugs or noise cancelling headphones.  

Some might recommend putting on a dry podcast, nature sounds, or a music app on a sleep timer before bed. 

However, these will fill your mind with thoughts and ideas when it should be empty. Keep your room silent. Make a conscious effort to clear your mind at night. If you must, think in images, like counting sheep. 

Many things bothering us in our day to day lives can only be dealt with during work hours. You put unnecessary stress on yourself by thinking about these things at night, and increase the likelihood of starting the day tired. 

Read Now: Why Understanding Sleep is Crucial to Your Wellbeing 

To Sum Up… 

The good news is that getting enough sleep, for most people, is a matter of routine and psychology.  

Build routine into your life, pay attention to what you put into your body, and train yourself to clear your mind at night. This way, you should finally get some sleep.  

As a final note, while these techniques are proven to be effective in a lot of cases, they aren’t guaranteed to work for everyone.  

If, after following this advice for 4 weeks, you feel you still aren’t getting enough sleep, see your GP. They will have insight, advice, and treatment personally tailored for your situation. 

Improving your sleep pattern can improve all aspects of your life, but if you need just that extra nudge in the right direction, contact us at Ceed. 

The Ultimate Guide to Eliminating Work Stress

We all understand that feeling of being anxious at work, under the weather and fantasising about staying off sick all week. You may ask yourself, is this feeling wrong? Am I broken? 

No, of course you aren’t, this feeling which is known as work stress affects a large majority of people in the present and has done throughout history. 

According to Ciphr’s statistics: 1 in 14 UK Adults feel stressed every single day, whether that is at work or in general, and 79% of the UK population feel stressed at least once a month. 

There is a solution to finding your workplace stressful!

Work stress can make you feel like you are trapped at work. It might play on your mind constantly, even at home, while relaxing. We, at Ceed, would like to help you to eliminate this feeling and separate your work and home life.  

Read Now: How to Achieve the Perfect Work-Life Balance

What is Work Stress?  

Work stress, simply put, is the feeling of stress at (and caused by) work. This can stem from work related problems like conflicting demands, deadlines, overworking or a lack of passion. 

Here are a few ways to lower and ultimately eliminate your work stress levels:  

Self-Positivity 

Don’t allow the monster of work stress to drag you down further. It can eventually lead to depression, or a severe spike in health problems. Once you’re done working, take a look at the work you have completed today. Take it all in like a beautiful sunset and think to yourself: “I’ve done that.”  

Take pride in what you accomplish each day for you are valued: as a friend, colleague, and family. Recognise the value of your effort and work, as others do. Although they may not verbally acknowledge your effort, your employers understand your importance as a part of their operation and you should too.  

Take a moment to appreciate your own work!

Every day, as long as you are accomplishing something you can take pride in yourself, and this positivity can help re-ignite a passion in your work life, reducing work stress as a whole. 

Read Now: 4 Effective Ways to Clear Your Mind of Stress 

Verbal Communication 

We fully understand the anxiety in everyone’s mind when considering speaking to your manager about your problems, and even more so about something as difficult as work stress.

No-one can force you to speak to your manager, but if you have the confidence then please do. This is the easiest way for your manager to understand what you are going through and adjust the situation as needed for you.  

However, you can also speak to your friends and family about these issues, or perhaps other colleagues. There are so many people in the world going through what you are, and many have advice that helped them or wished had helped them in the past. Listen to their words, but take some with a grain of salt! 

Whatever you do, do not ignore work stress, even if its symptoms are miniscule. The more exposed you are to it, the more severe your symptoms can become.  

Relaxing and Taking it Easy 

Many people don’t understand how to deal with work stress and think it’s normal. The truth is it is and isn’t at the same time. Stress is a natural thing that happens to everyone, even animals. One of the easiest ways to get rid of work stress is to relax your body and mind. 

Whether that is by:  

  • Listening to music  
  • Playing videogames 
  • Watching TV or movies 
  • Exercising  
  • Reading 
  • Writing  
  • Or even just having a chat with friends and family.  

There are lots of different ways to relax, but try everything and find out which works best for you. Maybe if listening to music works best you could see if you can wear earphones at work to relieve stress. 

But all in all, do what you love and treat yourself; order that Chinese, stay in bed all day on your day off, take a sick day off if you feel extremely stressed. Just do whatever you need to make yourself feel happy, and stress-free.  

Read Now: How Music Can Motivate You to Stick to Your Exercise Routine 

Re-Igniting Your Passion 

Lack of passion for a job is usually a work stress issue, as it can slow your productivity down as you see no reason to carry on doing it.  

Ask yourself: is this the right job for you? 

If your answer is no, then perhaps look for a new job, maybe something that’s totally different to what you’re doing right now. This could be as drastic as going from retail to police work. It’s hard to predict how a job is going to be before working there so do some research and check reviews online. Indeed and Glassdoor have the option to check company reviews.  

If your answer is yes, then there are a couple of things you can do: 

  1. Find meaning in your work 
  1. Seek new opportunities at work. 

This could even be taking a health and safety course. A change in environment even momentarily can be great for the brain, and maybe even make you miss your current environment. The section below can also help re-ignite that passion.  

Asking for new opportunities can make work more fulfilling.

Read Now: Mindfulness At Work: How To Increase Productivity 

Setting Goals and Rewarding Yourself 

It’s easy to finish a work day on autopilot, not realising how much you have actually done. Some people feel like they haven’t done enough, and others feel like they have done too much. Set yourself goals, and choose rewards for reaching those goals.  

This can help to fulfil you mentally, and make you more focused on your work. It pushes you to motivate yourself to get those goals completed and instil pride in yourself.  

Reward yourself with a short break, or a snack or drink you like. Set realistic goals that you know you can complete.  

Don’t be unrealistic or not realistic enough. Maybe you serve 60 customers a day? Let’s make goals based on that multiple. So, maybe a reward every 20 customers. That brings you to at least 3 rewards.  

Obviously, don’t go overboard with snacks as rewards as this may affect your eating habits. For some healthy options, check out this article we made to help you with foods that can lift your mood. 

Read Now: A Happy Diet: 9 Foods Proven to Lift Your Mood 

Online Communication 

In this modern world, one of the most widely utilised inventions is the internet. The ability to communicate with anyone, anywhere is a great advantage to modern life. You are bound to find strangers online who feel the same as you: 91% of Australians feel stressed about one or more important parts of their life, and 86% of Chinese Workers also report stress.  

The fact is: you aren’t alone. There will always be people there who have experienced and felt the same as you in some way. 

Just look online to realise you’re not alone in feeling stressed!

There are mountains of websites, pages, and social media apps that allow interaction between you and like-minded people. Talking to them can help you to develop and advice can be applied to your own situation, so as to not repeat the same mistakes as others. Not everyone is correct in their advice though, so be warned! 

Here are a few websites where you can utilise to find specific pages for help: 

Use the search bar to find specific communities or subjects such as: Tesco, UK, Manchester. 

To Sum Up… 

Please remember, you are only human at the end of the day and not a corporate machine. Your feelings matter, and you matter. 

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We hope this guide has been beneficial to you and if you think you need additional help with work stress then feel free to contact us at Ceed today.  

How to Deal with Procrastination and Executive Dysfunction

Everyone procrastinates from time to time – sometimes it’s more appealing to watch another episode of your new favourite TV show than it is to get started on a daunting piece of work.

But for some, procrastination goes far past avoiding tasks you’re worried about. Instead, it can make it difficult to do anything, even things you want to do. To be able to combat procrastination, it’s important to distinguish it from its more severe counterpart: executive dysfunction. But how can we tell the difference between the two? 

Are you distracted because of procrastination or executive dysfunction?

What are Executive Functions? 

To understand executive dysfunction, we first need to understand what executive functioning is itself. Executive functioning is the process of the mental abilities that help people to achieve actions. 

Executive functions control your working memory, your self-control, and your cognitive abilities. They are vital for everyday life, helping with processes such as:  

  • Productivity 
  • Memory 
  • Flexibility 
  • Scheduling 

Executive dysfunction is essentially the opposite of executive function: it is the inability to control such mental processes. It is often caused by a mental disorder such as depression or ADHD, stress, a traumatic brain injury, or a form of addiction. These are not the only causes, but it is more likely that someone with an underlying condition would also struggle with executive functioning.  

So, is it Procrastination or Executive Dysfunction? 

The main difference between procrastination and executive dysfunction is intent. Procrastination is a form of avoidance through delaying or putting off a task for as long as possible, usually because it can be daunting, or can induce anxiety.

Executive dysfunction often occurs as a symptom of another disorder. In this case, it stops you from completing tasks that you have no reason to avoid, as it becomes difficult to transition between activities.  

In this case, you aren’t ignoring it in the way you might when procrastinating. Instead, you just can’t make yourself do it.

Whilst it is normal to be a bit forgetful, or to lose focus on a boring task, this does not mean you necessarily struggle with executive dysfunction. It becomes an issue when it impacts your life on a day-to-day basis.  

Procrastination can make it difficult to stick to schedules!

So how do you know if you are just procrastinating, or if it is something more? Whilst there are overlaps, there are some signs that suggest you may be experiencing executive dysfunction instead: 

  • Regularly losing concentration  
  • Difficulty with time management  
  • Inability to stay on one task  
  • Trouble regaining focus after being distracted  
  • Problems with organisation  
  • Struggling to set and stick to schedules.

Fortunately, there are a number of ways you can combat both procrastination and executive dysfunction, many of which overlap. 

Read Now: Overcoming Procrastination: Breaking a Bad Habit 

How to Overcome Procrastination  

Forgive yourself 

Everyone procrastinates at some point, so there is no reason to beat yourself up over it. By removing the guilt associated with procrastination it removes the negative feelings that arise, making it easier to move on from a period of procrastination. 

Read Now: How to Overcome the Fear of Rejection  

Use chunking methods 

Divide your workload into manageable chunks. Sometimes a task can feel too daunting to begin, so by breaking it up into chunks it becomes more manageable. Focus on completing one chunk at a time, and you will feel more motivated as your goals are more achievable. Five to ten smaller tasks can often feel easier than one large task. 

Set rewards  

Giving yourself rewards when you complete a task helps to keep you motivated. It gives you something to work towards, and creates a positive association with completing work, which in turn makes it easier to focus.  

Use apps  

Anti-procrastination apps and websites like Cold Turkey or Forest help to create a focused environment. If you are the kind of person that likes having your phone with you, but constantly gets distracted or side-tracked, these can help you stay on task by blocking leisure websites for a specified time. This allows you to focus on the task at hand. 

Apps are a useful way to help avoid distractions.

How to Combat Executive Dysfunction 

Create a workspace  

Have a clear area that is separate from relaxation areas like your sofa or bed. It will put you in the right headspace to complete a task when you separate work from comfort.  

It is all too easy to work from your sofa and end up watching tv, or work from bed and fall asleep. By separating these areas, your mind will begin to associate your workspace with productivity, and it might even help you sleep better when your bed is only associated with resting. 

Read Now: 5 Essential Habits to Help You Stay Organised  

Use the 5-minute method

Starting a task is often the hardest part. By committing to doing it for just 5 minutes, it makes it less daunting. By the time 5 minutes are up, it’s likely that you will be able to keep going as you will have found a flow.  

Even if you do not feel motivated after 5 minutes, you still will have made a start, and that’s already progress! 

Reframe your thinking about deadlines 

The phrase ‘deadline’ can be quite scary, and it can lead to a lot of anxiety about finishing a piece of work. It is hard to find motivation when there is so much pressure surrounding the date it is due.  

Try referring to deadlines as ‘finish lines’ instead – it is a goal you want to achieve but not the be all and end all, and it can create motivation. Deadlines are terrifying, but finish lines can be exciting and rewarding. 

Reframe ‘deadlines’ as ‘finish lines’ instead!

 

Try Cognitive Behavioural Therapy  

CBT can help to treat executive dysfunction by finding out what triggers it. A therapist can create personalised methods of coping by addressing and changing thought patterns. It can target executive functions, and help you adjust your behaviour, which can lead to an increase in focus and motivation.  

To Sum Up… 

Whether you struggle with procrastination, or find yourself dealing with executive function, these tips and tricks can help to give you some control over your workload. Remember, the sooner you start that dreaded piece of work, the sooner it is over!  

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If you’d like more help dealing with procrastination or executive dysfunction, please feel free to contact us at Ceed today.  

Why is Journaling Good for Your Mental Wellbeing?

It may come as a surprise to some that simply writing down your thoughts can be beneficial to your wellbeing. It seems strange that something as simple as keeping a journal can have a significant impact on your health, but the past thirty years of scientific research suggests just that.  

There are a variety of ways to journal, from daily entries in a diary or keeping a log of writing on your computer.  Journaling usually explores the thoughts and feelings you have towards life events. Its best when engaged as a daily practice but even sporadic journaling can be beneficial if you focus on emotional processing. 

Below are five of the main benefits of journaling to encourage you to get started today. 

Write your way towards better health! 
  1. It Reduces Stress 

Journaling is a very accessible stress management tool. Its free and you don’t need to book a class or be taught by someone. All you need is a pen and paper.  

Journaling doesn’t release tension from your body like yoga or meditation, but it’s a good practice for overall stress relief.  

There are three main methods for journaling to relieve stress which are: 

Gratitude Journaling 

This a practice of making daily entries of what you’re grateful for. This can make you more aware of the good in your life and encourage you to appreciate the little things even when times are tough. 

Bullet Journaling 

This is a journaling practice that helps you stay organised. Most use a bullet journal to keep track of what they have to do each day and any goals they want to work towards. Being more organised is a great way to feel more in control of your life and relieve stress. 

Emotional Release Journaling 

This is a form of expressive writing about your thoughts and feelings toward any troubling life event. This can relieve stress due to its physical and mental benefits which we’ll discuss further below. 

Read Now: 4 Effective Ways to Clear Your Mind of Stress 

  1. It Regulates Emotions 

Journaling is an opportunity for emotional catharsis. By transferring thought to paper you allow your brain to process the emotions you feel instead of supressing them. By writing down your emotions, you can alleviate their intensity

Journaling can also help you be mindful and bring a better perspective to any situation. This can be helpful for regulating emotions, as it can be difficult to see past your how you’re feeling in the moment. By bringing a better perspective to the situation, you can better understand what triggered you and ease the strong emotions you feel.  

Regular journaling also has the benefit of greater self-identity and confidence. This is important for managing strong emotions and helping you to feel more equipped to overcome any challenge you face.  

  1. It Boosts Your Mood 

One of the benefits of regulating your emotions is that you’ll be more able to boost your mood. By recording the details of your day-to-day life your brain is more able to process the emotions that come with life events. This increases your overall sense of wellbeing as you’ll feel happier, calmer and more in control. 

By keeping track of your emotions and what triggers them, you’ll become more self-aware. This well help boost your mood as you become more aware of what results in positive feelings and what doesn’t. You’ll be better at seeking out what makes you feel good and more able to avoid anything that doesn’t. 

Your diary can keep you healthy!

Read Now: How to Tap Into Neuroplasticity in Your Daily Life 

  1. It Helps With Memory 

Keeping a journal improves your memory, comprehension and working memory capacity.  

A 2012 study on college students explored how expressive writing about emotional events can significantly improve autobiographical memory. This is beneficial as having more specific memories about your own life can help you to navigate future goals and problems.  

Studies in improving working memory, also known as short term memory, have also found that writing expressively about thoughts and feelings is beneficial over other forms of journaling.  

Although it isn’t entirely clear why the research shows that expressive writing is better than trivial topics when journaling, you can certainly reap the health benefits. 

Read Now: 4 Great Techniques to Boost Your Short-Term Memory 

  1. It Improves Your Immune Function  

Believe it or not but regular journaling actually decreases your risk of illness. Studies by psychologists in the healing effects of writing suggest that journaling about emotions and stress can boost immune functioning in patients with HIV, asthma and arthritis. Expressive writing has also been reported to improve liver and lung function.  

Journaling can even make physical wounds heal faster. A study from 2013 found that 76% of adults who spent 20 minutes writing regularly about their feelings two weeks before a medically necessary biopsy had fully recovered eleven days later. Contrastingly, 58% of the control group had not recovered.  

To Sum Up… 

The benefits of journaling are undeniable, and it doesn’t take a big commitment to start experiencing the effect. Begin with just fifteen minutes a couple times a week and increase from there when you feel ready. 

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At Ceed we have trained coaching experts to help you work towards improving your wellbeing. Visit our website to find out more. 

How to Stop Being Obsessive Over Things

Our minds are an enigma. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to learn new things, solve problems, or even feel emotions. We’d never feel happy, sad, angry, surprised, scared, or disgusted by an event that has just taken place before us. 

Emotions are a powerful thing, and they influence our actions and reactions. A common response to an unexpected circumstance is to begin obsessing over it, as we might feel out of control. Different people can obsess over different things depending on the individual, such as: 

  • Something work-related – perhaps we made an error and want to improve ourselves 
  • Someone in our life – a friend, family member or even a celebrity 
  • Hobbies and interests – collecting certain items, travelling, watching certain films or TV programmes

The key here is that we know we’re being obsessive, whether we know this ourselves or have been told so by someone else. An obsession can be addictive and difficult to overcome. Here are five ways for you to try and stop obsessing over things. 

1) Work Out What You’re Obsessing Over 

Any given obsession has a reason behind it, even an obsession as simple as something cultural like a book series. The key to figuring out why you’re obsessed in the first place is to determine the root of it and why you feel inclined to ruminate over it. 

It’s likely that there’s one aspect of your obsession you’re holding onto the most. This is likely what triggered the obsession in the first place. When it comes to a series of books, a person may become obsessed with it because of certain plot threads, characters, or the overall quality of the writing. Finding the part of your obsession that holds the most interest is useful when trying to let go. 

Try to pinpoint what attracts you to obsessing over something!

2) Write Things Down 

This doesn’t just go for those who have difficulty expressing their feelings. This seemingly basic solution is more effective than you might imagine. By simply jotting down any thoughts you have relating to your obsession, it will clear your mind of them and shift your focus elsewhere. 

As you begin to write down those thoughts and feelings, you’ll find that things become clearer. One thing will lead to another, culminating in an understanding of how and why you’ve developed this obsession. This can bring a sense of fulfilment and leave you with an answer! 

3) Distract Yourself 

As we all know, obsessions can become rather intrusive. We might find ourselves thinking about whatever it is we’re obsessing over day-in and day-out, hour-by-hour. Whether it’s something we really like or is a problem that we need to solve, we can’t help but constantly think about it. An obsession can become a distraction from important matters like our careers and family life, so the distraction needs to have a distraction for it! 

There are various different ways you can distract yourself from your obsession. Physical exercise will make not just your body, but your mind to focus on something else entirely. Don’t try simple walking or running, but instead aim for things like a team sport or rock climbing. Different media forms can also serve as a distraction, so try watching films and TV programmes, listen to music, or even play video games.

4) Look For New Interests 

This may sound like an obvious, clichéd solution, but the truth is it can actually work! A new interest, whether it’s a skill, a type of media you like, or even a hobby can wake up your brain. This can move your perspective away from your obsession and help you out of the doldrum you’re stuck in. A change in routine can help as well. 

Picking up a new hobby can help distract you from an obsession!

You might even try an activity that is the polar opposite of your obsession. This will feel like a breath of fresh air and a step in a different direction. Remember – variety is the spice of life! 

5) Distance Yourself From the Obsession 

Undoubtedly, it can be difficult to get over an obsession if the source of it is within arm’s reach, making it impossible to concentrate on any other topic or subject. This is why you should place a physical distance between yourself and the source, which will eventually lead to the mental distance that you’re really after. 

Obviously, this will be difficult at first, but your obsession will gradually weaken and you’ll find yourself no longer interested in it anymore. If the obsession is something physical, such as a person or a book you’ve been reading, keep them out of your sight altogether. 

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These were just five ways to help you put an end to an obsession that you might have. If you want more advice on making lifestyle changes, contact us at Ceed today. 

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