9 ways to get over the mid-afternoon slump | #hrmanagement #hrexecutive

Let’s face it: We all have moments where we just aren’t feeling that great about the rest of the day. Perhaps you had a bad night of sleep, or maybe you are worn out by work without a vacation. Maybe there are life stresses that are causing you to lose your energy, or perhaps you haven’t been eating that well lately and it’s now showing up in your energy. Whatever the case, we’ve all run into days of the week when suddenly we don’t seem to have the energy to get through to 5:00 (much less errands, appointments, and dinnertime).For many of us, coffee seems to be the answer. That burst of caffeine can keep us going—but it can also keep us going too much and cause us to not be able to sleep at night. And that, in turn, can end up adding to the problems of energy loss, when late-night jitters make it so you aren’t able to get the rest you need.

But before you turn to the coffee pot or the high-priced drink from the local coffee shop, there’s another option. In fact, there are a lot of other options to help get you out of your mid-afternoon slump and regain your energy to face what’s left on your to-do list. For starters, if you haven’t left your desk all day, you might need to just get up and get outside to get some fresh air. That light can help your brain realize that it’s not time for you to go to sleep yet. If you have the time, you can also make sure that you get in even a little walk. Just ten minutes more than equals any jolt you might get from a cup of coffee and it also helps to fight overall fatigue.

If you can’t get outside, perhaps you can plug in your earphones and turn up some energizing songs; that, too, can help you get past the mid-afternoon slump. Want some other tricks to try? This graphic offers some good ones to help with your mid-afternoon blues.