Working at home with the kids – Video Part 1 of 6
This is part 1 of our series on working from home while home schooling! We hope there are some useful tidbits for you!
This is part 1 of our series on working from home while home schooling! We hope there are some useful tidbits for you!
Moreover, and while many people already work remotely to an extent – one or some days a week – doing it every day over a sustained period of time is altogether another matter.
Below are some tips around staying engaged as we start to work remotely on a wider and more sustained basis.
Although some people may relish the peace and quietude of silence and solitude to get their work done, this type of environment can send others positively stir crazy. Notably, those with more extroverted tendencies.
Working remotely and with limited face to face interaction has the potential to make extroverts very quickly feel isolated, disconnected, de-motivated and left out in the cold. After all, more extroverted individuals often feel highly stimulated, engaged and energised by the immediacy of interaction with others.
Office environments naturally offer a space for the type of interaction extroverts seek. Working at home on the other hand, puts up a very physical geographical barrier to the moments that arise naturally throughout the day – chatting with the barista as we order our coffee, exchanging chit chat in the lift on the way upstairs, catching up as we cross paths in the kitchen, or dropping by our colleagues desk to check in.
For those of us who are more extroverted, working from home doesn’t have to mean instant isolation. Rather, it just means we need to be more deliberate and conscious in creating opportunities to engage with those we work with AND with those around us.
Those of us who lean more to the introverted side of things, working remotely has the potential to be positively blissful. None of those constant interruptions with people dropping by your desk, peace and quiet away from crazy, noisy open-plan offices, a welcome break from the intensity of face to face meetings where everyone talks over the top of you and want everything now.
Yes. Bliss sweet bliss it is to work at home for individuals with introverted tendencies.
The challenge here, however, is that those of us who identify as introverts may retreat altogether into this naturally preferred habitat. Perhaps never to be seen or heard of again. At least until we email the final deliverable or announce the solution has been implemented.
For those of us who are more introverted, working from home may mean we need to be careful not to retreat too far. Staying connected is critical to stakeholder engagement and overall receptiveness to the solutions we generate and recommendations we make.
We have loads more ideas to share with you, and will be doing so over the coming days and weeks.
Next time, we’ll be looking at ways to stay motivated when working remotely. In the meantime, we’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas!
With gratitude,
The M.A.D. Team
Image Sourced from Unsplash by; Avi Richards, Dillon Shook, Freestocks and Aleks Dahlberg
Every now and then I run a little social experiment. When I’m walking down the street, I make a point to smile at everyone I walk past. Now, I don’t mean I get in anyone’s face or do anything particularly weird or unusual, just a casual smile and meeting of eyes as you walk on by.
What I love about this is that pretty much everyone responds. Instantly. With a smile.
If they don’t, well, it means they’re in a seriously bad mood or trying very hard not to reciprocate.
This is because smiling is an automatic response and one that occurs so rapidly in the brain, that the mechanism is activated before we realise. It’s a simple and very beautiful thing, this natural human reflex to respond to a smile with a smile.
Unfortunately, when we’re under a lot of stress or we’re having a bad day, the last thing we really want to do is break into a big broad beaming smile. It’s a little like looking back on those family gatherings where someone decides to take a whole group shot and you have to say “cheese” for the camera. By the time the shot gets taken, those broad grins somehow slip into surly grimaces.
Yet we know from the research, that a smile, along with a little humour, offers us one of the fastest ways to re-set, re-balance and re-establish equilibrium through the course of the day.
The good news too is that the smile doesn’t actually have to be real! So the grimace you make as you glare at the camera can actually work. As long as the corners of your mouth are lifted, this physical movement of the facial muscles is enough to pour a wonderful chemical cocktail that cascades through the brain and body to give yourself a little lift.
So next time you’re feeling under the pump, stressed out of your mind, or just plain grumpy, take just one second to stop and life the corners of your mouth.
So here’s to saying “Cheese”!
Happy International Day of Friendship!
Try this recorded exercise for more details on how to master this breathing technique.
Let us know how you go. And of course, we’d love to hear what you do to stress down too, so do share your ideas.
With gratitude, from all of us at M.A.D. Mindworks.
Why not try this simple practice? We’d love to hear how you go. Use this simple breathing to start with https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rS5RvOyk2E&feature=youtu.be
Many of us sit slumped in chairs for long periods of time. This gradually starts to weaken the core. When this happens, we also lose essential support to help the spine stay upright and in a healthy position.
This video demonstrates a simple technique you can engage periodically through the day to re-build your core strength and start to support your spine again.
We teach loads of simple practical techniques like this as part of our Wellbeing & Mindfulness Sessions. If you’re interested to know more, we’d love to hear from you.
Foster abundance, energy and vitality
Today is World Health Day and a great opportunity to reflect on our wellbeing. Although it’s a complex concept with many layers of meaning, if you ask most people they’d all agree that their health is important to them. Without good health, it’s much harder to live life to the fullest.
What’s exciting is that wellbeing is starting to be taken far more seriously in the workplace and there is also more and more serious research into the topic from the health sciences to the field of positive psychology.
I like to think of wellbeing as fostering abundance – of energy, vitality and zest for life.
A simple way for us to examine our wellbeing to consider
These are deeply entwined and interrelated with each impacting on, and shaping the other. And for each person, our relative emphasis on these dimensions will inevitably be different. Moreover, what helps one person foster wellbeing in each of these areas will look and feel different to another.
What matters is that you have a balance across all these areas and a variety of tools up your sleeve to help you promote your overall health and wellbeing.
Below are some simple tips for fostering wellbeing.
MIND
BODY
SPIRIT
World Health Day is a wonderful reminder for all of us to bring our health and wellbeing into conscious focus more often. It can start with bringing one small thing into your day.
Feel free to add and share your own ideas to the list we’ve shared here – we’d love to hear your suggestions!
From all the team at M.A.D. we wish you well!
Use this breathing technique to generate energy and focus
This recorded breathing practice focusses on extending the inhalation.
When you extend your inhale you activate the Sympathetic Nervous System which has an energizing effect on the body and creates greater mental alertness.
When you listen to the audio recording focus on cultivating a comfortable and soft breathing cycle.
This is best done in the morning as you start your day or at any point in the day when your energy and focus wanes.
Be mindful not to strain or force the breath.
NOTE: DO NOT USE THIS TECHNIQUE if you are asthmatic or prone to respiratory problems.
We service clients across Australia, New Zealand and the APAC Region with a network of world-class facilitators who bring M.A.D. Programs to you wherever you are.
Our head-office is based in Sydney CBD on the North Shore.
Katherine Mair
+61 402 444 240
contactus@madmindworks.com