Not looking forward to the week ahead? Already in a panic about your ‘to do’ list? Here are 5 Top Tips on how to break out of your Monday blues, taking breaks and learning to relax and the impact it will have on your productivity (spoiler alert: it’ll help boost it)…

1) A conversation with another consultant this week reminded me that it’s ok to take a break; simple as that. Whether you’re working for someone else or yourself, it’s ok to set boundaries and say no. Switching off for a little while is fine, you’ll shine brighter when you switch back on. So when you’re planning the things you need to do this week, make scheduling regular breaks into your plan a top priority.

2) Positivity is key. It’s very easy to become negative about what you did or didn’t do in the past, whether that was last week or last year, and easy to compare yourself to others. This just wastes time (hours wasted comparing your LinkedIn profile to theirs or thinking about where they’ve got to in their careers vs you). Where does that ever get you? Unless their story inspires and motivates you then all you’ll achieve is feeling worse about yourself and it causes procrastination, wasting yet more time. Get positive, focus on YOUR road ahead and your to do list will be done in half the time.

3) The more you learn, the faster you’ll get from ‘a to b’. That could be from learning, not agonising, over past mistakes and so called ‘failures’. In conversation with another trainer this week I was reminded of the epic post it note. They’re my greatest love, especially when training, not only because they’re so useful but they were born out of an experiment that went wrong and I LOVE that! Failures teach you things so you can do things differently, more productively, just generally better next time but you need to stop and review your learning from them.

You can also learn from more formal training, there is so much around and lots of it is even FREE! And yes L&D professionals, that includes you as well!! A conversation on LinkedIn last week reminded me how hard that is for some of us. It’s not always a case of there is the party buffet and so fhb (family hold back…if you don’t get it, you didn’t grow up in my family). It’s a bit like when you’re on a plane and in the emergency briefing, you’re told to put your own oxygen mask on first, before helping others…L&D professionals attending training is just the same. You should know better than anyone that development, in whatever form, helps the person progress and move forward. So, put yourself in the best possible position to help your customers.

4) Step away from the phone. Scary statistics on a session I attended last week at the Google campus showed how millennials experience anxiety if they are not able to check their phone every 15 mins. Whatever your age, step away from the screen and go and experience life through your own eyes. Breath in the fresh air! It will help with managing stress and building resilience. Fact.

5) It’s ok to ask for help, to delegate, to work with others. Sometimes something as simple as a fresh pair of eyes on a problem can solve the issue in half the time. They’re not better than you, just approaching from a different angle. This is often the case with emerging talent and why cultures should be built around developing multigenerational teams, where different views and ideas can help build a high performing team.

So, go and have a cuppa, rest and relax away from your phone and then crack on, seeing your productivity and teamworking rise. Good luck and I’ll see you on the other side.