Vanya Wryter Consulting Services

Tag: work

  • How Food Can Inspire You While You’re Working

    Eating and working at a desk job seems like an odd combination, but some of us do it, so let’s talk about it! When you’re hard at work and need a burst of creativity, your food choices could be the secret sauce to creativity. Food is fuel, and what we eat can impact our mood and spark inspiration. Let’s explore how the right snacks and meals can bring some joy and excitement to your workday.

    First, do you have a stash of snacks in your desk drawer? For example, chocolates or nuts. If you’ve got writer’s block, a quick bite of your favorite snack might get your creativity going. Eating something delicious can be an instant reward, making mundane tasks more enjoyable. For example, one bite after each task is completed. I find the day goes so much faster when I can have a bite of a delicious snack after completing a grueling work task.

    Food is also a great opportunity to be creative and have some fun. Packing yourself some tasty leftovers from last night’s dinner or trying out a new lunch recipe can be your exciting reward for getting halfway through the workday. Some of the tastiest creations include putting together a lunch with a variation in colors and flavors, such as a salad. I also enjoy leftovers from a tasty dinner – a reminder of home.

    Additionally, food that feels like a reward is very motivating. I’ve made it through a long and dull day by marking out the hours with delicious items. For example, dessert such as a cookie. Or your favorite tea at mid-morning to break up the day. It feels almost like being a kid again, to be motivated with food and not just a paycheck! The best part is enjoying every bite after finishing a dreary work task. 

    Next time you’re looking to be inspired while working, take a moment to savor what you eat. Your choice of food can be just the thing to fuel both your body and your creativity and get you through a workday. (Especially on a Monday!)

    What are your favorite snacks?

  • How to Deal with Distractions While at Work

    How to Deal with Distractions While at Work

    Distractions can be relaxing. Distractions can be harmful. How you deal with distractions determines if you can manage your time or watch it slip away from you. Especially at this time of year, it’s easy to lose motivation at work. We’re still partly in holiday mode and readjusting to our work schedule. If you are distracted while at work, try these tips on how to deal with distractions to keep yourself focused.

    1 Shift Your Mind into Work Mode

    Imagine your mind as a bunch of rooms. If you can, divide your life into compartments to avoid distractions. If you work from home, there is plenty to distract you from doing your work. Your family members may want your attention. Or your delicious lunch is tempting you to go to the kitchen. That TV series you’re hooked on is beckoning you to finish one more episode.

    A mental switch into work mode can include changing into work clothes (your work sweater, your work hoodie) and starting your routine, such as getting your cup of coffee, opening up your computer, and checking your work emails. 

    If your job involves a lot of brainstorming and creative thinking, it’s easy to take a moment to check messages on your phone, wander off to get a quick snack, or peek out the window to see what the neighbors are doing. “I’m doing some research,” you say. The break might inspire you with a breakthrough.

    The ding! of a work email can be super exciting if your mind is completely blank and you’re stuck on your creative work task. What should you write next? How do you tackle this problem? Checking a work message can be a nice distraction. After all, you’re still in work mode. You’re just off task. Having a timer helps keep you on task.

    2 Prioritize and Time Your Tasks

    Sometimes, despite your best intentions, it is difficult to stay in work mode. You might still be in holiday mode and feeling sleepy now that you’re getting up early again. However, office hours have begun and you need to get some work done. Devoting a whole eight hours to work instead of doing whatever you like can be daunting.

    Start by mapping out what work tasks you absolutely must complete and what tasks would be nice to complete. Prioritize tasks that must get done by a specific time or end of the day. 

    Use a timer and block off your day in 15 or 30-minute chunks – decide what increment works best for you. It’s easier for your mind to wander if you think you have all day to finish your work. Set a goal to complete a specific task within your time block. With short-term goals, it’s easier to stay focused.

    3 Set Aside Time for Self Care

    Sometimes, telling yourself to switch to work mode or prioritize tasks isn’t enough, especially if you’re dealing with something that affects your mental or physical health. 

    For example, you just found out you have a major health issue to deal with in the coming months or you’re dealing with a conflict at home that’s giving you sleepless nights.

    Provide yourself with something to look forward to, such as a favorite snack or lunch to reward yourself when you finish part of the work day. If you can, take a nap or listen to some music. Go for a walk during lunch. Talk with a friend during your break. What you do after work is important as well, such as spending time with friends or family, or going to the gym. Check if you’re getting enough sleep. Plan an activity so you have something to look forward to at the end of the work week.

    Distractions can be fun, but sometimes too much distraction can lower your productivity.

    What do you do when distractions pull you in multiple directions?

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  • Do You Stand Out in a Crowd?

    Do You Stand Out in a Crowd?

    What part of my routine would I always skip if I can? I would say it’s my face. Yeah, I can tell by your reaction that you weren’t expecting an answer like that when you asked for this interview. But, like I said over the phone, I’m not like other people that you know.

    So while you’re checking your interview notes to see what detail you missed about me, let me explain.

    Every day, I go to work, I take the transit like hundreds of other people in this city. I check my phone for the latest news during my ride and then I grab my coffee on the way to the office. I enter data and write reports all day. I say hello to my coworkers on the way to my desk, and goodbye on my way home. Yeah, it sounds boring, but I’m as pleasant and polite as can be.

    So what’s this got to do with my face?

    Well, everything. No one really knows anyone. No one really knows me.

    My coworkers and my boss call me reliable and hardworking. But they couldn’t tell you a darn thing about my favorite hobby or favorite food. They think it’s pizza and beer, but that’s because they all have pizza and beer after work when we gather at the pub.

    My parents say I’m a good son. I visit them on the weekends. I play with their dog and their cat so they think I like animals. They like going to Europe in the summer and I’m always intrigued by their adventures so they think my dream is to visit Europe.

    The reality is, I don’t know what I want. I try so hard to be a people pleaser, that over time, I’ve lost myself. Every day, I put on my face before I walk out that door. That face is the face of the person everyone thinks is me, you know?

    But who am I? If I didn’t put on my face, who would they see? 

    For once, I wish I had the courage to be late for work because I slept in, so yeah, fire me. Wouldn’t that feel good! I wish I could board the train and start belting out a song and hope everyone joins my impromptu concert. For once, I wish I could say to my parents, I want to go hiking in the mountains, even though I could get lost, and it’s a little dangerous. But I’m not brave enough.

    I guess I’m too scared to see the faces of the people around me go from acceptance to shock. So I guess the answer to your question, “What part of your routine do you always try to skip if you can?” would be, “not putting on my face.” I always try to go out as the real me, to skip that step of putting on my fake face, but I always run back. No one will ever see who I really am. I’d rather just be another face in the crowd.

    Thanks for reading this post!

    Daily writing prompt
    What part of your routine do you always try to skip if you can?
    View all responses

  • How to Create Adventure in Your Comfort Zone

    How to Create Adventure in Your Comfort Zone

    Each day, we start with the same number of hours, minutes, and seconds to spend how we choose. We have the power to make each day special or different. Some days stand out more than others, like attending a wedding, a birthday, or a graduation. Or they stand out for other reasons, like a funeral, job loss, or extreme illness. 

    Those days are atypical. But if it’s a workday, how can you turn a typical day into a memorable one? You can change the little things, like the screen saver on your computer, eat something different for lunch. You can change the greeting for your coworker from the usual, “Hi, how are you?” to “Hello, how will you make today special?” Your coworker will likely stop and stare.

    It’s easy to say that we had a typical day because we got up at the usual time, did our usual morning routine, went to work, and then had the usual commute back home before having a bland dinner. Five days a week can pass like that and it’s okay to enjoy the comfort of a drama-free routine.

    But when you think about it, five days a week, fifty somewhat weeks in a year (depending on how many weeks you work) is a huge chunk of your life that’s typical or routine. You don’t have to live it that way. 

    I challenge you to try something different to change your daily routine and keep it fresh. Your mind will notice the details when you slightly change your route to work, or check out a new place for lunch. 

    You’re also setting new goals for yourself. You might learn something new if you pause to talk with someone you’ve never spoken to before—a neighbor, a coworker, or the cashier at the coffee shop. 

    Tomorrow, ask yourself, “Was today typical?” or did you change things up just a little bit?

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    Daily writing prompt
    Was today typical?
    View all responses
  • What’s more important: Time or Money?

    What’s more important: Time or Money?

    In life, there are two important currencies: time and money. Sadly, we can’t have both, although ideally, we would want both. How do we prioritize which one is more important? One is a finite resource while the other is not. Which would you choose to have in unlimited quantities: time or money?

    Daily writing prompt
    What do you wish you could do more every day?
    View all responses

    Each day, we wake up with the same twenty-four hours. How we spend it is up to us. We have routine activities, like eating, brushing our teeth, and showering. We have mandatory activities like going to work and paying our bills (and eating). And we have enjoyable activities, like spending time with people we care about, working on hobbies, or visiting places.

    Some of us have to prioritize money in our twenty-four hours. We need it to live. Without it, we can’t buy food or pay for shelter. This can mean working at a job we hate or working two jobs just to exist. It might not be the life we want.

    Some of us can equally enjoy money and time. We work the hours we need to pay our expenses, and then we spend weekends relaxing or going out. We can afford to spend money and time on experiences by exploring our hometown or going on trips. In our lifetime, this is what we remember: experiences, if we have the time for them.

    If we prioritize time, we find ways to enjoy life, like fixing up our backyard so it is a great place to invite friends over for a barbecue. We can set up a home theatre. Our income is spent on experiences. We can stay home and spend time cooking healthy meals in our kitchen. Buy new tech so we can enjoy the latest computer games.

    For those who have money in abundance, time is also in abundance. We can pay someone to do the things we dislike, such as chores and housework. The time we gain from not having to do the mundane aspects of daily living is now available for relaxing and enjoying life.

    Money is something we can lose and gain back. We spend it, we work again, and get it back.

    Time is finite. We only get to experience a particular day once, and when the sun sets on that day, we never see that day again. We have only one chance to experience that day in our lifetime and there is no rewind button.

    So what do you wish you could do more of every day? I think it depends on where you are in life. You may want to work more so you can afford what you want. You may want to spend more time with friends and family. Or you might want more time to spend on that vacation you’ve always dreamed about.

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