Issue 3: Starting Anew//The Benefits of Create a “Fake Commute”
Entering 2021 with some help from Mark Mohammadpour - APR, health coach and personal trainer
Happy 2021, folks! I hope you’re entering the year feeling a sense of hope. In the spirit of fresh beginnings, I’ve asked my friend and health coach Mark Mohammadpour, APR for some wisdom on how communicators can start the year with healthier habits. I have absolutely sacrificed my health for my clients, working 7 to 7 and calling networking event canapés and beer dinner. I have left birthday dinners to answer calls and written reports on vacation. But those actions are neither sustainable nor good, and there’s no time for them anymore. That’s why it is so important to hear from experts like Mark, whose whole mission with his company Chasing the Sun is to help communicators feel - and be - their best. Enjoy the guest post and share with me, your Instagram friends, or comment on this newsletter - what are the healthy habits you’ll cultivate in 2021?
You’re lying awake in bed. It’s 5:48 a.m. on Monday. You hit snooze twice on your alarm already, but this time the phone wins. You grab your phone and immediately look at all those notifications. “I guess it’s time to get up and get to work,” you tell yourself as you rub your eyes, get out of bed and immediately walk over to your home office, sit down in your pajamas as the glow of your laptop warms your face. Next thing you know, it’s 2:00 p.m., you haven’t showered or eaten, and you feel exhausted.
Sound familiar?
Because fewer of us are spending time in cars, buses, or trains heading to and from a physical office, we no longer have a natural ramp up or wind down to our workday.
It’s why I was drawn to recent articles talking about the German word Feierabend, roughly defined as “the time after work is done and a period of leisure and rest begins.” Essentially, we are creating a “fake” commute.
Here are three suggestions for every evening “fake” commute:
Wrap on a high note and write down one thing that went right, and more importantly, why?
Write down your three big priorities for tomorrow. Writing these down will help with, among other things, reducing the time you’re lying awake at night thinking about work, as well as minimizing the “Sunday Scaries.”
Incorporate some physical activity, whether it’s walking, running, biking, or dancing, around your neighborhood or in your house! Make it fun, involve family and friends in person or virtually, set it in your calendar and make it a part of your wind down.
As business leaders and trusted advisors, this is our opportunity to show how we are prioritizing our wellbeing.
Encourage your teams, colleagues, managers, and clients to join you in instituting this approach.
What I shared above are just some examples. What about you? What will your “fake commute” look like? Let me know!
Have a wonderful January, everyone.
Be safe. Be kind. Be well.
