Look after yourself

Self-care is a must

How are you doing? Are you okay? Do you look after yourself? We so often ask these questions and yet, do we really listen to the other person? Probably not!

Even in a year that should have put empathy at the top of our social skills, it doesn’t seem like it. We hear some horrible stories between manager and team members. It’s heart breaking.

We need to do more to look after ourselves and practice self-care!

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10 Tips for your wellbeing when working from home

10 wellbeing tips

How to create and maintain your very own wellbeing

Are you now working from home? How is that transition going for you? For many individuals, it’s a new way of working while for those in international teams may already been used to it. If there weren’t also everyone else in the family at home, too. The government announced that schools will be closed until the end of the school year. Depending on your kid’s age, you may find juggling everyone under the same root stressful. Potentially also feeling overwhelmed, it’s now more than ever important for you to look after your own wellbeing.

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Coping with stress when moving house

Make moving stress free

Over the last 2-3 weeks, we’ve been supporting a few client move. While they’ve stayed in the same city, they decided against doing it all alone. They’ve valued their time more and outsourced the stressful parts – to us (more to come in the next few weeks). We understand not everyone can afford this. Here are our top tips to keeping you sane when moving.

  1. Start early.

Often, we get stressed when we are facing tight deadlines. Give yourself ample time to prepare for your moving day. Will you make it a DIY move or will you have professional movers pack, load and unpack the boxes for you? Or will you a combination of the two, where you let professional movers carry the heavy items like furniture?

Take some time to also declutter all those pieces you no longer want, need or use. If possible, sell or donate them so someone else can enjoy them. Don’t just throw them away, like we’ve seen when college kids are vacating their dorms.

Decluttering reduces the number of boxes you’ll need and can lead to quite a bit of saving in the moving quote. For our clients, it’s also the relief of not having to take all these postponed decisions to their new home. They can start fresh without the items that have been weighing them down for months and years.

Home is where the heart is moving home stress

  1. Keep a project plan for your move.

It always seems like 100 thousands items need to be arranged. Some are dependent on others. For example, you can’t move out of an apartment until you’ve disconnect the electricity and have received the final bill.

Have a note book handy or write a list where you write down all activities with the due dates. It lets you keep track of what you need to complete without missing one. Include phone numbers, contract numbers and the name of the person you’ve spoken to. In case you’ll need to reach them again, you may be transferred to that very same person.

  1. Decide what to pack and what not.

There are some items you don’t want have packed up. Your passport, degree certificate, marriage licence and your jewellery are just a few. Medicine which you take on a daily basis needs to be carried in your luggage. One trick is to put everything you want to keep or move yourself in one room and lock it. The movers won’t mistakenly pack any of these items and you know where they are.

Knowing what is where will help you handle the mess that you’ll see when the boxes piling up. As you pack, use a box only for items from one room. This way, you’re not going to mix items from your bedroom with items. We recommend that you write on the side and on the top of the box what’s in it, e.g. “Kitchen – Pots”. It’ll make it easier should you need to open up a box and when you’re unpacking in the new home.

  1. Eat out on moving day.

Cooking causes stress on most days. Add the additional chaos in your kitchen and it may end up in complete chaos. That’s not what you need! You need simplicity for your food and drinks.

Taking your family to a restaurant for breakfast or dinner gives you some physical space to all the moving action in your home. You can treat yourself to some delicious and healthy food, giving you the feeling of being on holidays. You can also take this time to go through your project plan and create an “attack plan” for the next few hours without hearing another plate being wrapped in thin china paper.

If you haven’t budgeted for eating out during your move, consider ordering in. While you may not get away from the moving action, at least you’re removing one more stressor.

  1. Stay in a hotel.

Especially when moving across countries, moving can be extremely complex. It’s normal to be a bit anxious about an upcoming move. This stress can impact your sleep quality. You may wake up numerous times during the night or not feel rested in the morning. A night in a hotel room can help you chill and may be just what the doctor ordered.

Check out offers and discount prior to your move date. The Entertainer has options for multiple nights in hotels and during the summer, many hotels are offering special rates for UAE residences.

Peace of mind Brian Tracy moving home stress

  1. Do a fun activity.

This one is for you. This may be running or working out in the gym, reading a book in a quiet space or getting a massage to relax. This time for you will allow you to switch and focus on what you need to recharge your batteries.

If you have family, find something all of you enjoy. During this heat, it may be going to a swimming pool, jumping on a trampoline at Bounce or listening to a book reading in the library. Whatever you choose, let it be a fun activity that won’t create more stress and anxiety for you.

Over to you, what tip did we miss? What was your biggest stress relief when you moved homes? Looking forward to reading your comments below

Until next time,
Agni

Why you need a break aka a holiday

It’s time to book your holiday

Last year, we urged you to do nothing for an entire weekend. Today, we’re asking you to take it further: Take a long break aka a holiday!

We did exactly that. Over Eid, we decided to go away and what a beautiful holiday we had. We were able to catch up with friends, enjoy good food and simply relaxed. When was the last time you went on a proper holiday?

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Ramadan Kareem – Try something new

Ramadan Kareem Try New

Try these 3 activities this Ramadan

Ramadan, the Holy month for Muslim, has started today. During this month, local businesses reduce their working hours by 2 hours. It’s a wonderful chance to use the extra time and to try something new. If you are a non-Muslim, you may even see it as a part-time or mini-sabbatical without losing any income. Don’t miss out this great opportunity and try out these 3 activities!

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12 Days of Christmas

Christmas is on 14 days away

This year, we’re taking it super easy with Christmas. There won’t be any presents, just a trip for a few days with the loved ones (guess that’s a gift in itself). We won’t have to worry special meals or special entertainment. It will be very relaxed and we’re looking forward to it.

Still, we understand not everyone will have it this relaxed. If you are expecting the in-laws or want to enjoy your beautiful home without the clutter during the holidays, we have the perfect solution for you:

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Why you should get up before sunrise

Why you should get up before sunrise

See a sunrise just once

Have you ever had this? A bad dream or thoughts racing through your mind keeping you awake at night? I unfortunately experienced one of those nights recently. It sucked!

From 2 am, I was awake, finally dozed off, just to be woken up 5 minutes later. By 5 am, I’ve had it and went for a walk along the beach. My first intentional walk before sunrise!

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5 small changes to a healthier you

5 small changes to a healthier you

Living a healthier life

A healthier you? Of course, you want this! After all, how often have you told yourself: “Today/this week/this month/this year, I will eat more vegetables, work out more often, look after myself.” And how often did you fall into your old habits? We encourage you to make small changes and become the healthier version of yourself.

Before you start, ask yourself how a healthier you looks like. By picturing and defining the future version of you,

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