We’ve all been there. You came into work ready to tackle all your projects and keep your productivity high all day. But as the afternoon rolls in, you start to feel tired and lose your concentration after only a few minutes.
While this happens to everyone on occasion, there are things you can do to help that can help you fight off these feelings of lethargy and maintain your determination to work effectively and efficiently. To show you how this can be done, here are three tips for avoiding afternoon fatigue at work.
Give Yourself The Right Breaks Beforehand
Although you might have every intention to work each second of your day, this just isn’t something that’s sustainable for everyone. Not only that, but your body and mind both need occasional breaks if you want them to be firing on all cylinders. According to Laura Schwecherl, a contributor to Greatist.com, you should take breaks from sitting at your desk in front of the computer and keyboard, should move your body around every hour or so, and should do some stretching if you start to feel a part of your body getting tight or tired. By taking just a few short breaks throughout the day, you’ll be able to avoid crashing when the afternoon hits.
Reduce Your Carb Consumption
To keep your energy up during the afternoon, it’s important that you fuel your body correctly. In the mornings, most people naturally have more energy, so they may take a supplement like Bio Complete 3 as a complement to their gut cleanse protocol to maintain that energy throughout the morning. But after you’ve had lunch and have been at work for a few hours, your energy levels tend to crash. To combat this, the editors of Reader’s Digest recommend eating fewer carbs during lunch and, instead, choosing more protein-based foods. Carbs take a lot of energy for your body to process and digest, which saps you of energy faster than when you eat other foods, like protein.
Plan Your Day For Efficiency
In an effort to make the most of your afternoons at work and keep your energy levels consistent throughout the day, you may want to strategically plan how you spend your time while at work. According to Everyday Health, you might want to try doing the most tedious tasks for your job in the morning when you’re more awake. If you leave these things for the afternoon, there’s a greater chance that you’ll succumb to your sleepiness and start dragging through the afternoon hours. With this in mind, you might want to consider switching your morning meetings to afternoon meetings so you can use those morning hours to get some solid work done.
If you frequently get tired at work during the afternoons, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you fight off these feelings of fatigue.