How to have a good day

The first in a series of short articles on how to work with your brain to help you have a good day at work, something I've been working on a lot with my clients recently.

What is your PFC?

Your pre-frontal cortex (PFC) is dedicated to focussing, problem-solving, making decisions, reasoning, discipline and self-management (how we respond to emotions and managing stress).

3 facts about your PFC

1. It has limited capacity
2. It gets tired easily
3. When its energy is spent, the limbic (a.k.a emotional /fight or flight) brain takes over

What does this mean for having a good day?

We need to build in time to RECHARGE, rest and recover throughout our day and at the end of the day. Otherwise we become over-emotional, reactive and can't think logically.

So... build in smart breaks into your day (for instance a quick walk outside), say yes to a proper meal break, no to back-to-back meetings and have strong boundaries: when you leave work leave the emails there with you.

Further reading: How to Have a Good Day by Caroline Webb - it's brilliant.

What would help you have a good day at work? What might you say yes to? And what will you say no to? What would having better boundaries give you