Healthy
Compartmentalization and the Pomodoro Technique
Often when we hear the word ‘compartmentalization’ it is
used in a cautionary capacity. That is to say that we’re generally led to
believe that compartmentalizing is bad and that we shouldn’t repress any of our
feelings.
But just as ‘guns’ aren’t evil so much as the people
using them, compartmentalization is actually just a tool that can have
psychological benefit when used correctly.
For example? The pomodoro technique and stress management.
What am I talking about? Read on and let me explain…
The Benefits of Compartmentalization
No matter how hard you work to improve your lifestyle,
you will find that there are always going to be some sources of stress
remaining. This is simply a fact of life and there will always be deadlines,
concerns and incomplete work.
The key to being able to relax and enjoy a healthy and
normal lifestyle then, is knowing how to sometimes to switch off from those
worries so that you can actually relax and recover. In other words, you need to
learn to leave your work behind you when you log off and head home – otherwise
you’ll constantly be stressed, you won’t be able to focus on time with your
family and you won’t be able to sleep.
What is the Pomodoro Technique?
Likewise, you can also use this compartmentalization
during your working day to be more productive. Case in point: the Pomodoro
technique.
Essentially this technique is a tool used to improve
productivity, by breaking your working hours up into smaller segments. Here you
take a timer and set it for a period of time – normally around 25 minutes – and
you work solidly in that time. When it goes off, you then give yourself ten
minutes to recover, before going back to work.
This then should allow you to focus with absolute clarity
on what you’re doing because you know that you will be getting a short break in
10 minutes. Likewise, it means you should be able to relax completely in those
ten minutes without guilt. This then recharges you ready to be more productive
following those ten minutes.
But the success of this process all depends on your
ability to compartmentalize. The secret to success is to work solidly when
you’re working and to switch off completely when you’re relaxing. There’s no
point in ‘half working’ or procrastinating – you may as well just be getting
some proper relaxation time.
Walk or sit, don’t wobble.
How House Plants Can Reduce Your Stress
Want a quick hack that can improve your stress and help
your health in a number of other ways? Then just get some plants and put them
around your home!
Plants in your home have been shown in countless studies
to be highly effective for improving mood and general health and there are a
number of reasons for this. Read on and we’ll examine why house plants are so
useful for stress levels and how you can benefit from them.
The Effect of Plants on Stress
It has been known for a while now that having plants
around can help to combat stress, depression and other negative emotions. In
fact, many businesses are encouraged to add plants to their office environments
in order to help their staff deal with large workloads and to combat feelings
of stress.
So what’s going on?
Well, the effect harkens back to our days in the wild.
When we were still evolving, we would have had to seek our vegetation in order
to stay alive. In the African savanna, seeing large patches of green would have
meant that we had found areas rich in natural resources. Here we would be able
to find food, shelter, hydration and nourishment.
As such, it seems that we still have a similar
response to seeing plants. Our bodies still respond by engaging our
‘rest and digest’ state via parasympathetic nervous system activation. Our
heartrates slow down and we become more relaxed.
Even just seeing the color green has been shown to have
this effect!
Other Effects
There are other benefits of having plants around too. One
is that they can help to improve creativity. This is a byproduct of increased
restfulness – and there’s a lot of evidence to suggest that we are at our most
creative when we’re more relaxed. This way we lose the ‘tunnel vision’ that
comes from stress and focus and instead we’re able to explore different ideas
and alternative solutions to problems. Having plants around helps us to get
into this state of mind and thus helps us discover more novel and creative
solutions to our problems.
Plants can also help to boost our general health by
cleaning the air and increasing oxygen. This has again been shown in several
studies and it has been suggested that we should keep a few plants around for
every family member to improve air quality.
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