As virtual assistants, we are able to work with clients all around the globe. Yes, it comes with a lot of benefits – you get to beat the traffic, be with your family at home while earning, save your money on the taxi, work independently without anyone micromanaging you, etc – however, it also comes with a cost.
The ability to work with a remote client also means you have to adjust to the client’s working schedule. With US clients, our time difference is close to 12 hours or more. While everyone’s getting ready to go to bed in the Philippines, our clients in the US are just getting started with their day. It can be a tough call to manage especially because our body clock is used to being at rest during the night. If you fail to stay awake during your shift, it can cause your client to lose customers hence, loss of revenue and possibly your position. As a virtual staff, it is, therefore, our responsibility to be productive during the times our client are paying us to work and to not fall asleep during our shift – that includes during break time.
Although our break time is not paid, it is highly advisable to keep yourself awake to avoid the risk of falling asleep longer than you intended to and unfortunately many VAs have found themselves out of job because of this.
So to help cope with this problem, we have gathered 25 tips on what to do to avoid napping during your break-time.
- Go outside. Have a walk and get some fresh air. This will give you the chance to have a breather after being in front of your PC for long period of time.
- Grab something to drink. Make yourself a cup of coffee or tea. Caffeine can be good to keep you alert, however; it is not advisable to take it when it’s towards the end of your shift already as you might have difficulty going to sleep after.
- If going outside is not possible, you can read interesting articles online. Huffington Postdelivers the latest breaking news and top stories in politics, entertainment, sport, travel etc. You can also check Buzzfeed for some interesting finds.
- 30 minutes is enough to exercise your brain. There are some free apps you can install on your smartphone that has a variety of games to stimulate your brain and they are entertaining as well. You can check this linkfor the 5 best brain-training apps.
- Write a blog or a journal. If you are having a hard time keeping up with your blog entry because you sleep during the daytime, then your break time should be the perfect time as your brain is in work mode.
- Clean up your desk drawer or organize that shelf beside your work table. We can easily take these things for granted even though they don’t take so much time to do. Your break time should be more than enough time to stack those papers away and clean your workspace up. A clean workspace is a clear mind.
- Browse through social media platforms like Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram. Read interesting posts from the groups you have joined in. Chances are, you might discover something helpful – like a free course or a useful tip about something you’ve been struggling with for some time.
- Create your to-do list for tomorrow. You can save some time during the day if you can do this on your break time instead.
- Take the time to list down your goals in life. This will not only motivate you but will also inspire you for the rest of your shift. This quick goal setting session will fuel more energy for you to work harder.
- Why not pour your thoughts into the “thought room”? An original concept and can be stress relieving for the heavily burdened.
- Or have you tried doing nothing? Like literally nothing. For all of us city dwellers, we’d love to be someplace where we can just sit back and listen to the sound of the waves – so why not do just that? Click on this link to give it a try. You can also try calmsoundfor more options on relaxing nature sounds while resting.
- Is learning a language your goal for 2017. Well then, practicing 30-minutes a day can make a huge difference. Here is a full list of the best free language-learning apps you can use – Languages.
- Watch a Ted talk. If you have to spend your 30-minute on something, might as well spend it on something educational and inspirational.
- Keep a non-work related book by your side table and read some chapters during your break time!
- Create a 1-week recipe plan so you wouldn’t have to worry what to prepare every day. Top sites to go to for finding the best recipes areBBC Good Food, com and Panlasang Pinoy for some local Filipino dishes.
- Reply to personal emails and text messages. As you are probably asleep during the day, chances are you haven’t replied to your friend’s or your mom’s messages yet. This is the time to connect with them and let them know how life is on your side of the world.
- Research for Do-It-Yourself projects that you can do during your upcoming rest day. The best websites to look at are DIY Network, Instructables, Do It Yourself. By doing this for 30-minutes everyday during weekdays, you’ll never run out of things to do on your weekends.
- Doodling is an art of scribbling creatively on paper. The good news is, it actually helps improve your focus and memory according to this study. You can also color. Adult coloring books are all the rage.
- Are you fond of reading but don’t have paper books at home? Don’t fret as there are lots of free resources online for interesting reads. You can check out the wide variety of reading materials in Ebook Directoryand Gizmo’s Freeware.
- The internet offers endless possibilities to an eager student. This linkis a huge list of free resources online categorized in different topics that you can choose from depending on the expertise you want to learn.
- Listen to some music in Spotify and organize your music playlist.
- Listen to podcasts. Top 3 favorites – Invisible Office Hours, Good Life Project, and Jess Lively.
- There are a lot of amazing benefits meditation can bring you and because you work during the quietest time of the day, meditation is a perfect thing to do during your break time. Here is a guided meditation for starters.
- Read our favorite blogs. If you don’t have any yet, there are hundreds of blogs to explore in Pinterest.
- Immerse yourself with the gazillion variety of content in YouTube.
So there you have it – a huge list of helpful and easy to do tips for keeping yourself awake during your break time.
Whatever you chose to do, make sure you set a timer or alarm so that you can report back on time. It is easy to get lost in a task and let the time slip away, but doing so may mean your opportunity may slip away as well.
If you want more tips on productivity, don’t forget to check out our blog at HireSmartVAs and follow us on Facebook – https://web.facebook.com/SmartVirtualAssistants/
