Well it’s certainly been a less extraordinary week than last week’s cardiac arrest at the Christmas party! I received so many kind messages afterwards for which I’m very grateful. There’s been a momentous change in my work life this week though, I’ve moved offices. On the face of it that’s not such a big deal? Wrong. I’ve been in my old office for 10 years, and happy as I’ve been there, it’s not a great place to work. It started life as a store cupboard, but the department grew and more office space was needed. It didn’t have a window, or heating. For some years now I’ve been using a seasonal affective disorder lamp during the daytime, as the lack of any natural light really isn’t good for you.
A departmental office re-shuffle, and I’ve now got a window (overlooking some bins, but I can see the sky, and that’s all that matters. I can’t tell you what an improvement it has made to my life. My secretary agrees.
Getting at least 10 minutes of natural light in your eyes within an hour of waking is really important to help set your body clock. Ideally not through glass, and it doesn’t matter if it’s a grey day. Light levels (called lux) are still far higher on a cloudy day outside than artificial light inside. If you don’t take vitamin D supplementation I would also seriously consider this, especially in winter months. I take vitamin D and K2 daily.
I’ve also gone in with some colleagues to get a new coffee machine, which is amazing (and will pay for itself in no time given the savings on cafe coffee, whilst being far nicer). I am a coffee-holic, and being able to make a decent flat white with my own beans in my office is incredible. It’s also healthy – the polyphenol content of good beans is really high, acting a natural anti-oxidents, and are great for the gut micro-biome.
It’s not all been plain sailing though. I perhaps stupidly thought I could carry the coffee machine and the small fridge I bought from my car to my office in one go (it’s about an 8 minute walk). They were quite large boxes, but only moderately heavy, and I do loads of weights so no problem? It was a bit of an effort, but manageable, and all was well until about an hour later when my wrist really started to hurt. Many years ago I broke it in a bicycle accident, and 2 operations later am held together with screws. I’m still not quite sure what I did, but suffice it to say I regretted my decision to carry the boxes together! I was in real pain, needed painkillers for a couple of days, and had to wear a wrist splint. I couldn’t do any weight training, or swing a golf club. I’m also off skiing soon and was worried about that too, not to mention I’ve been doing lots of lower body weights sets in preparation.
Some years ago I read an amazing book called the ‘School of Life’ by Alain do Botton, in which he sets out a framework by which you are encouraged to determine some absolute truths of life. These are things that if you believe on a fundamental level, they make life’s challenges far easier to navigate.
Some of mine are:
‘there are no guarantees’
‘life is not fair’ and
‘the goalposts always move’.
These might sound negative, but they are fundamentally true. There are no guarantees that carrying the boxes wouldn’t result in a wrist injury. It’s definitely not fair that I got hurt doing that. However, by accepting those truths, I was able to not get upset by things, be stoic, and work out a plan of dealing with it. This sounds silly, but I struggle a bit mentally if I don’t do any exercise for a few days. I use it as a stress reduction tool. So I moved the goalposts, and got on my indoor bike, and prioritised stretching instead. I’ve cycled every day bar one, stretched twice a day, and feel great for it.
I realise that this week’s blog has been rather different than usual, focusing on mental health, and some little bits and pieces that I use in my own life to help. I hope you’ve found it interesting, and maybe even look up that book for yourself?