There are certain times in the academic work year when staff often find themselves so hard-pressed that it can take a serious toll. The end of the admissions period and Clearing, crucial marking and reporting deadlines, and the Open Day season are just a few of the typical crunch periods.
To keep yourself and those around you from crashing and burning, make sure you keep high-energy snacks on hand in a desk drawer. It’s far better to have something slow-burning that will stick with you, rather than a chocolate bar grabbed at the last minute from the vending machine. Food is where your energy comes from, so eating smart is probably the most important thing you can do when work pressure really bites.
Make sure that you and others on your team stagger schedules so that everyone gets a chance for a break, whether that’s for lunch or just to stand up and move away from the computer. Encourage your blood to keep flowing by building in some exercise—even something as simple as walking a few file folders down to the second floor can make you feel refreshed when you’ve been sitting in the same spot for hours.
If you find yourself working late in the office, music can make a difference (with headphones if necessary).
Many hands can also make lighter work. If you’ve been doing a repetitive task at breakneck speed for hours, see if you can swap with a colleague for an hour. Her filing may seem less of a chore than your data entry, and vice versa.
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