Make every weekend work for you!
A weekend well spent can have a positive effect on your personal and professional life in the new week. Taking time off from work and weekday routines will help you relax, get recharged and make you feel re-energised! Who knows, it may even increase your productivity at work! (hint: tell your boss that the next time s/he asks you to work over the weekend!)
While going away for a vacation can be a real treat, many of us just don’t get to do that often enough. Nonetheless, there are other ways to make every weekend count – relieve stress, re-energise your senses, re-discover the world and regain a healthier, happier you.
Here are our top 3 recommendations of things you can do as starters:
1. Indulge in some therapeutic and recreational activities
Start off your weekend with a morning stroll! A nice walk in the park helps reduce stress levels, calm your mind, relax tense muscles, and improve blood circulation. If you are not a fan of the great outdoors, reap the same benefits from a massage. A satisfying body rub helps release feel-good chemicals such as serotonin and dopamine, which trigger feelings of calmness and tranquility.
If you prefer to stay at home, creating a personal space also offers a sense of relaxation. Set aside a cosy corner in your house where you get to express your personality and unleash your inner creativity. You can consider throwing a dash of light shades of blue or pale yellow green on your walls and decors.
A dose of retail therapy is also a proven stress-reliever. When under stress, people tend to want to reward themselves, and shopping becomes a hot reward system for many – thus, the saying, “when the going gets tough, the tough gets shopping!”
2. Learn something new
When was the last time that you learned something new, attended a workshop or developed a new hobby? When you are learning something, your brain gets stimulated, you are exposed to new insights and your confidence would also get a boost.
Consider attending a stress management workshop! The 2019 Cigna Well-Being Survey found that a vast majority of working Singaporeans are under stress, and women in particular feel that it’s less manageable. There are courses specifically designed to tackle stress from workplace. You will learn to identify your stress factors and develop skills to manage them.
3. Give a helping hand
Helping others or volunteering for a social cause would benefit yourself more than you know. Research has shown that helping people actually puts yourself in a good mood and reduces stress. Volunteering also provides a sense of purpose, gets you more connected to your surroundings, and broadens your social network.
Lending a helping hand can be as simple as doing little acts of kindness! Helping an elderly neighbour living alone with household chores, comforting a loved one struggling with issues, or offering a listening ear to an overworked colleague can go a long way.
Did you know that you can learn to establish human connection in a non-intrusive manner? It is actually the art of Psychological First Aid (PFA), a real subject stemmed from the know-how of disaster response. PFA teaches you to provide immediate emotional relief to people in distress.
In a nutshell, PFA is…
Singapore Red Cross is the first-ever PFA training provider in Singapore and in Southeast Asia. Learn from the disaster management expert, and apply PFA principles in your everyday life – for yourself and others. We’ve done the homework for you; click here for upcoming PFA training dates. And snap a screenshot of this article to get a free mini first aid kit (limited to the first 100 redemptions @ 15 Penang Lane, S238486, T&C apply).
If you are looking to do good for the community, look out for volunteering opportunities with Singapore Red Cross. The institution offers many assistance programmes for the elderly, the disabled, children and youth, and communities affected by disasters. Find a cause close to your heart, lend a helping hand and make a difference! For more information, please visit redcross.sg or call 66640500.
This article is syndicated with permission from Singapore Red Cross
ADVERTISEMENTS