The monsoon has made landfall and so has our yearly ‘Monsoon Dilemma’. It is during this time that we often find ourselves in a fix, unable to make a choice between work and chill. When it’s pouring outside and chilling inside, the heart yearns for some hot and comforting chai with piping hot Maggi, while you are rolled up inside your warm and cozy blanket. How does one then gather the will to continue with the monotonous work?
Surely the emails, deadlines and boss’s Zoom meetings aren’t going to let you enjoy your monsoon fantasies. You are soon required to jump back into reality and get moving on with your work. Being productive during such wonderful weather can be a task but with the right approach, you can do both, enjoy your monsoons and also continue to stay productive.
Let’s start with dressing right. Since we all have been working for home for a long time now, chances are that we have ditched formals for pyjamas and oversized Ts. If your homewear is of colours that make you too comfy, switch to wearing brighter colours like Red, Royal Blue, Yellow, Leaf Green, Baby Pink, Orange. These colours help the mind in staying active unlike the colours like Grey, Sky Blue, Peach, Pearl White etc. Wearing bright colours reduces the chances of feeling lazy.
Eating right is always essentials. Make sure you increase your intake of fresh salads and fruits in your daily diet. Since they are rich in nutrition they work well against lethargy and improve gut health.
Exercise can never be cut off the list. A cozy environment can motivate you to ditch your workout, but slip into your gym clothes and think about the dress/shirt you want to fit into or the ‘body goals’ you want to achieve.
Stay hydrated. Drinking a good amount of water helps is flushing out toxins from the body thereby keeping the gut health in good condition. When that happens, the body, as well as the mind, feels fresh to get things done.
Besides working on yourself, try changing your surroundings as well. A well-lit-up room with bright lights go a long way into changing the mood. Dim lights won’t help at all. The more bright lights in the room, the better.
To get your horses running, put music to some help. Listen to pop and fast songs to pump up the mood instead of playing your usual favourite romantics or ghazals.
You won’t like this, but you can voluntarily take up some house chore. Believe or not, house chores activate the mind in ways that even your caffeine won’t. Choose to either organize a section of your wardrobe, dust your furniture, check if all your electronic valuables are functioning (an essential activity every monsoon), declutter your living room or the area where you usually work. The list of house chores will never exhaust so pick your most preferred one if not your favourite.
While you do all this to get your work done, don’t also forget to sit back in the evening after wrapping up work, with your loved one/s, play that Kishore Kumar classic and sip on the hot chai with some pakoras, because hey! some things should never change!
