By Paula Fischer-Fodor
Burnout, loss of motivation, increased stress levels. These lingering remnants of the COVID-19 pandemic are still felt today, adding to the difficulty of building a more balanced lifestyle. Here is some advice from a wellness expert and fellow workaholics on how to manage these challenges and tap into a more balanced and positive mindset.
Keeping up the motivation
“I believe we all need to have a more balanced lifestyle both mentally and physically,” said Helen Derbyshire, 31, certified life and wellness coach. She has been coaching women on how to dive into their own self-development and unlock their potential for the past decade. At the core of her work lies a passion for helping people overcome challenges she herself has faced.
The mindsets of today exceed those of pre-pandemic days. Derbyshire believes people are less focused on the “hustle” part of working and are prioritizing their lives from a more holistic perspective.
“Less people are driven solely by work like pre-pandemic. It has allowed us to slow down and take inventory of our lives a little more which enables us to create a more balanced life. I do think motivation levels will have changed for a lot of people in relation to their jobs, but they are potentially shifting that energy into places that they find more peaceful,” she said.
Figures from a survey led by Aviva in 2021 show that 12% of UK adults said they planned to turn a hobby into a second source of income, while 8% hoped it would turn into a career. A more recent survey from Aviva shows that 63% of those who started a side job since March 2020 are still active in them today, with 27% working on their new occupation to empower themselves and improve their mental health.
“One of my favourite hacks for motivation or focus in the afternoon is to meditate for five minutes after my lunch break and visualize how I want the afternoon to flow, and what I need whether that’s creativity or productivity,” added Derbyshire.
Managing stress and burnout
“You’ve got to make time for things that give you a sense of satisfaction. So, helping somebody make a move in their academic or professional life is something that fulfills me, which is why I make time for that,” said Emma Starrs, 47, creative director at Kenland Media Relations. Starrs has been in the PR business for over 20 years looking after many fashion, lifestyle and beauty brands.
“Just believe in yourself. It’s hard when negative thoughts take over. You can challenge them, and I’ve only just learned that in midlife – your thoughts aren’t facts, they’re just a concoction made by your brain from past experience, insecurities, all that sort of stuff. It’s not reality. So, if you challenge those perceptions, flip reverse them and choose a way that makes you feel happier and where you’re kinder to yourself, then that to me is the key to success,” added Starrs.
In a survey conducted with 17 participants, aged 18-44, more than half said that their stress levels have increased since the pandemic. The majority of them feel like it’s harder to stay focused and motivated on their work especially since the pandemic.
“I wish I had more tips [in reducing stress],” said one of the participants that wanted to stay anonymous.
Mindset and wellness becoming more mainstream
“We’re talking about wellness and mindset like it’s the weather, whereas in the past we all lived with the idea of ‘suck it up and get on with it’. However, I also think there are a lot more distractions and vices available to us which doesn’t always promote the healthiest method of stress relief which can leave people feeling more stressed than they were initially,” said Derbyshire.
Practicing being more present in a fast-paced environment
Social media contributes a lot to how we distribute our time, essentially when it starts consuming the free time we have in an unhealthy way. We are so used to consuming content first thing in the morning like it is the Sunday newspaper that we forget to spend time taking in the present.
“A practice I really enjoy to do is something called ‘savouring’ which is essentially when you stop and describe your surroundings in a lot of detail in your head, for example how blue the sky is, or the branches on a tree. It sounds really simple, but it allows us to zoom in on granular details rather than just moving through life.
“It’s something I personally do anytime I’m rushing to get somewhere, I shift my mindset from ‘I’m so late’ to something I can see, it doesn’t mean physically stopping if you’re in a rush, it just means shifting your focus and being more present in the moment,” said Derbyshire.
Hannah Ajala, 29, journalist for the BBC, talks below about the importance of enjoying where you are in this moment and how to cater to yourself first when life becomes too busy.
Beneficial self-care practices
Self-care practices are not supposed to cost you a fortune by using products TikTok beauty gurus swear by. They are rituals that should work solely for you and improve your wellbeing.
“Some of my favourite practices for stress management include meditation, exercise and journaling. But it’s important to note that a personalized approach needs to be taken to each of these rituals in order for them to work.
“We must also factor in our key stressors to understand the best method of stress relief and management on an individual level. It’s about finding a routine that works for you, at whatever frequency or capacity,” said Derbyshire.
Recommended activities to boost energy and maintain balance
“I go non-contact boxing, which I find really helpful, because it gets you into the zone of not thinking about anything else. It’s quite rhythmic in the way you punch and the way you move your feet, so you have no time for anything else. That for me is a massive head clearer,” said Starrs.
Hannah vows that exercising has done wonders for her for the majority of this year. While she is an enjoyer of exercising, the activity proved to improve her mental health. Among journaling and reading she recommends other activities below.
“I really enjoy exercise and find this helps me to stay balanced, it doesn’t have to be a big workout, sometimes a short stroll does the trick. The more we move our bodies the more energy and momentum it generates for us, it also improves our sleep quality which is incredibly important not just for energy but for our overall well-being and mood management,” added Derbyshire.
For more information on mindset, self-development, stress management and wellness, visit Helen’s Real & Raw podcast that talks in depth about tools you can use to navigate the challenges of life.
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