The days are getting shorter, mornings cooler, and by the time three o’clock rolls around, you’re trying your best to stay awake over your keyboard. Sound familiar? Yeah, us too. Don’t reach for another cup of coffee, or sugary energy drink, just yet. Here are some helpful tips to keep your day running smoothly at work.

1. Nutrition matters. What you put into your body matters. Having a healthy, mid-afternoon snack to keep your brain active is a good thing to keep your blood sugar stable. Go raw! Try raw unsalted nuts, such as almonds or pecans. They contain good fats and minerals your body needs. Be conscious of your portion size. Skipping the roasted, salted nuts will help keep your blood pressure under control as well. Mix a little carb in with that good fat for balance to keep you going strong until dinner. You could eat an apple, orange, (celery and a nut butter) or any raw fruit or vegetable. Then stay hydrated. Water is imperative. Leave those artificially sweetened drinks alone. Avoid sugar. Try a little coconut water, as it contains electrolytes as well. Then get up from your desk, as often as possible. Try a little walk around the office, or even outside for a break. Stretching helps too.
2. Environment counts. Stress can be detrimental to your body in many ways. Cortisol gets produced when we are under stress. This sets off a chain reaction inside the body with adrenaline, causing the body to crave carbs and fatigue is inevitable. Resting well at night, your everyday nutrition, and activities to help reduce stress are important. Modify your desk to what works well for you to keep you efficient. Get a diffuser for work and try essential oils instead of toxin loaded candles and room sprays. A great recipe for Fall in your diffuser: 3 drops of cinnamon bark, 3 clove, 2 orange, 2 nutmeg, 1 ginger. Essential oils can help support the body for a healthy response to our everyday stresses and can be used as an alternative in cleaning products. Finally, just breathe! Take a minute to become aware of your breathe (and hopefully inhale some great essential oils, like peppermint, lavender, or even citrus).
3. Out With The Old. Outdated equipment, like a printer or computer, along with outdated software, can kill your productivity faster than you can say !#@!%! If you haven’t invested in your business in some time, start with the equipment and software you use daily. Have they seen better days? Are you having to help them along, every day, after multiple crashes? Are you using more and more ink? Printers, especially, degrade over time. Their ability keep calibration and fast page counts, as well as properly use consumables of ink and toner, grow less with each iteration of an operating system update and driver incompatibility with the latest OS. If you work with wireless devices, you can now print directly to your favorite printer instead of using up time downloading files to your computer first. Let us help you with the best solutions for your office. We promise that you and your wallet will thank us.

Remember that small changes add up to big results. Make a small change, today, in your routine, to get you on a path to better health and therefore better productivity.