6 things to do during a long flight!

Even though you may never go on a long trip like 11 hours these tips are useful for shorter trips too. The reason I say 11 hours is that I am sitting on a direct flight from Copenhagen to San Francisco right now writing this and that is 11 hours in the air and I came to think of how to use all that time without going crazy.

11 hours is a long time – very long time and it is easy to get stressed out if you just sit still and think about it.

I played with the thought of what one can do in this situation. You are all squeezed like sardines in a tin and moving space is limited. And I came up with these 6 activities.

1. Eating. We were served two main meals and one small sandwich snack in-between. Even though the food is not super gourmet it is good enough. These meals makes a perfect time for practicing eating slow – enjoying every mouthful. That is an art well worth learning because that is good for your digestion AND helps to reduce stress.  Also it does take some time; it is almost an art in itself, to manage to open all little packages that come on the tray without spilling on yourself – or on your neighbors that are sitting so close. You almost need to take turns to move your arms.
   
   
2. Do some work. Even if space is scares you can set up your laptop or pad at least for a limited time. If you go tourist class, like I do this trip, you don’t get electricity so the fun will last only so long. And of course it needs to be things to do offline. But there is always a text that needs to be written, like I am writing this blog right now. And also it is a perfect time to do some tidying with your files. If you have Outlook you can spend an hour or two throwing away old saved e-mails that are completely out of date now.
   
   
3. Watch a movie. On long flight you are almost always offered to watch movies. Maybe they have a movie that you wanted to watch but never got to do while it was running. That happened to me the last time I was flying long distance. I got to see the movie Boyhood that only was up for a couple of weeks in my town. Made me happy to be able to see it and I liked it a lot.
   
   
4. Study other people. This is one of my favorites, not to watch others and judge but to just observe. I learn a lot about life and about my clients this way. It gives me a big “bank of situations and behavior” that is invaluable in my work.
   
   
5. Sleep. It is easy to get a bit drowsy by the sound in the cabin. It is a constant buzzing sound – you do get used to it but it affects your energy and concentration. Depending on the time of the day that you fly it is more or less useful to use the time for sleep. In any way you can’t sleep for 11 hours.
   
   
6. Walk around. This is a very healthy activity on a long distance flight BUT it is not much appreciated by the crew. They definitely want us to sit in our seats. But you can take a walk to the toilets at least a couple of times and if possible try to stay standing for some extra minutes. To get the effect you want/need from the walking around you have to do some moves with your feet and legs while sitting – shake them, wiggle as often as you can – preferably each 15 minutes while awake. This will also keep your mind more alert.
   
   

So now you know 6 activities you can do on a flight.

What is your best tip on staying sane on a long trip? Please comment below and share with me and my readers – I also love to get feedback and learn more.

To your success – and keep smiling!

About Author:

I am a medical doctor, specialized in family medicine and health promotion and strategies. I have been a medical doctor in the Public Health System in Sweden for 25 years. The last couple of years I have changed focus from disease to health and have specialized in health promotion, work assessment, systematic health environment and other business related issues to be able to get the whole picture for my clients.

For more information: http://www.askdrannika.com

6 good-to-know steps when planning big events!

Last Sunday we hosted our yearly Waffles Party. Yes, you heard me right – our yearly Waffles Party. It is a party to which we invite all our friends, relatives and closer work associates and we serve waffles with jam and whipped cream – that’s all – except coffee and tea too of course.

Around 60 guests found this a good idea and they came to the party. Most people ate 3 waffles each and with some simple math that adds up to around 180 waffles. That is an enormous amount of waffles! Waffles are baked in a special machine. They take each about 4 minutes to bake and we had 5 machines. Basic mathematics count to 15 waffles an hour in one machine – 5 machines make 75 waffles an hour. If you are super-efficient! And you are not …….. No-one can be super-efficient for so long in such a stressful situation. So, how is this possible to manage in a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon – and survive without getting totally stressed out?

The super-power word is PLANNING!

With good planning you can do a lot and still end up in good shape. I like planning big events; I would even say I am good at it. I have been to many big events during my working carrier and also to many big private parties. I have seen hosts that can enjoy their own event/party and I have seen breakdowns. And I have learned from both my own and other peoples mistakes.

This is what I do it when I am in charge for the whole picture in a big event:

1. When I know I have a big task ahead of me I find it extra important to take care of my physical health to be maximum fit. You know – eat, sleep and do workout/walks regularly. That will make me have enough physical energy during the whole process.
2. The mental energy I get from the planning in itself – I enjoy it and I try to always focus on solutions – not the problems.
3. I make a list of everything I can think of that matter in the event. I brain-storm with myself.
4. I put the list in front of me and then I go through the whole event in my mind, step by step, counting minutes like I did in the example above, counting other things that are involved to get a realistic picture of what is coming. I add in the list as I go along.
5. I have the long list of things to do and I make a time schedule starting from the end of the event counting backwards. Writing down what/who/where things are to be done. When everything on your list is in your plan you see when you have to start working.
6. Now it is time to look at the whole picture. Do I need to delegate? What services shall I outsource? And so on…..
   
   

 I use this process for ALL events – private and professional that I am part of. If you do a good grounding job the event will go smoothly and everybody will be happy and no one will be stressed out. The bigger event the more planning you need. Real big events might take a couple of days just to the basic pre-planning.

You might say that you outsource the entire job to someone else – BUT I INSIST – even then you need to do the first steps in the planning to know what you are going to outsource and to get the best deal. Because if you are the host you want to do only the best, right? And in the end this means you will feel less stressed and that will be good for your health in the long run.

To conclude on this year’s Waffle Party I did hire a friend of one of my daughters to do the waffle work. She was magnificent at it and everybody got as many waffles as they wished and no waiting time occurred.

On top of it all it was the first real sunny spring day for this season and it was just a lovely afternoon in good friends company.

What is your best planning tip? Please comment below and share with me and my readers – I also love to get feedback and learn more.

To your success – and keep smiling!

About Author:

I am a medical doctor, specialized in family medicine and health promotion and strategies. I have been a medical doctor in the Public Health System in Sweden for 25 years. The last couple of years I have changed focus from disease to health and have specialized in health promotion, work assessment, systematic health environment and other business related issues to be able to get the whole picture for my clients.

For more information: http://www.askdrannika.com

Are you staying awake at night because of stress?

End of January! Lots of expectations for the upcoming year. But also getting caught up with reality. Have I started off as I wanted? Will my business reach the goals? Why haven’t we heard from that client that seemed so interested? How will my economy turn out? It was supposed to be easier for each year in business – not harder!

Also in private life the questions start to stack. Will my kids succeed in school or will they be bullied? Will the older kids get any jobs and will my marriage last? Why does it seem like everyone else are so happy?

The questions in everyday life are endless. You want to scream:
“There is so much I want to do but I don’t know how and if it is even possible. The more I think about all this the more stressed I feel! How do I get out of this Rat race? I wish I could sleep at night! After a couple of hours I wake up again – each night! I am getting so tired! I feel like I am going crazy – and it is still only January! What can I do?”

You hit the nail perfectly in your shout out! You need to get your sleep back – since sleep is the source of life. The sleep gets you energy to tackle the other problems.

Let me give one effective tip for your sleep that I have used:
If you lay awake and your thoughts are tormenting you – start thinking of a mantra like: I am thankful for this nice and comfortable bed, I am thankful for this nice and soft pillow and I am thankful for this comforting blanket/sheet that tucks me in so nicely! Keep repeating that mantra and do your best to feel relaxed and comfortable as you say the words. If you keep doing this your brain will be occupied with these good thoughts and the threatening thoughts will be shut out. And that will make it possible for your brain to go back to sleep.

I learned this method when I was trapped in insolvency in one of my co-operations a few years ago. We lost a lot of money but even worse were the distrust in this affair. Nights were terrible with all and everything chasing me. But I decided to be a winner and that sleep was a prioritized subject. Helped me a lot and I did end up a winner.

Today I use this tip as a prioritized one in my mentoring. If you want to read more what I do please visit www.askdrannika.com

What are your thoughts on this? Do you have a good tip for your sleep? Do you have any good tips to share? Please comment below. I love to read your comments.
To your success – and keep smiling!

About Author:

I am a medical doctor, specialized in family medicine and health promotion and strategies. I have been a medical doctor in the Public Health System in Sweden for 25 years. The last couple of years I have changed focus from disease to health and have specialized in health promotion, work assessment, systematic health environment and other business related issues to be able to get the whole picture for my clients.

For more information: http://www.askdrannika.com

5 steps to keep your New Year’s Resolutions on track!

Halfway into January and with New Year Celebrations behind us, we have the rest of our life laying at our feet. And most of our New Year Resolutions are forgotten – or?

In most cases that is a fact!

We generally feel the euphoria of a new year – we see new possibilities – set new goals – make all kinds of promises – but then all of a sudden our daily life hits us and we are back in our old rat race. This is the life we know and it is easier to stay there than to do the changes.

Does it have to be like this?

No!

But why is it that it always happens? What is this all about? It is about your standards in life. You do your chosen rituals in life every day and you continue to do them the same way until you find a reason to change. 

It works like this! You first have to have a VISION – where do you really want to be – what do you really want to become? Then you have to have good reasons why you want that. You have to feel those reasons in your heart. You have to review and feel them every day!

It is about your standards – you don’t always get your goals but you always get your standards. That is the level you decide to be on. If you are stressed out, overweight, a smoker or anything else you might not want to be – but still always find excuses for not doing the change – that is the standard you set for yourself. 

So this is about raising your standards. You need to turn your “shoulds” into “musts”. Your “should stress less, lose weight, stop smoking or whatever” will never make any changes. You need to turn it into a” must” do these things. The “must” has to become a part of your identity – your new standard. 

We stay consistent on how we define ourselves – so if you can change the standard and stay consistent at the new level you can define yourself in a new way: ” I AM de-stressed, normal weight, a former smoker or whatever”. And you are not competing with someone else but with what you can be. What others can do is irrelevant. 

This is what you need to do:

1. Define what you want to improve?
2. Write down how it is today – what are the rituals that put you there?
3. How do you want it to be – be specific!
4. What are the rituals that will get you there – be specific
5. Start implementing those rituals and soon you will get to your new standards!

It is never too late to do changes, nor does it matter what you want to change. As soon as you start doing your new rituals other things in your life will automatically change and you will move towards the standards you want to have.

Next step is to tell the world what you are up to so people can hold you accountable for getting it done.

GOOD LUCK with YOUR new life!

What are your thoughts on this? What is a good life to you? What will your changes be? Do you have any good tips to share? Please comment below. I love to read your comments.

To your success – and keep smiling!

About Author:

I am a medical doctor, specialized in family medicine and health promotion and strategies. I have been a medical doctor in the Public Health System in Sweden for 25 years. The last couple of years I have changed focus from disease to health and have specialized in health promotion, work assessment, systematic health environment and other business related issues to be able to get the whole picture for my clients.

For more information: http://www.askdrannika.com

10 things to make 2015 and the rest of your life magnificent!

It is funny, isn’t it, that every New Year we want to make a new start. As if there is a start and end in the middle of life rather than life being just an ongoing process. Well, we humans need milestones in life to focus our story around and a new year is as good as any time for that purpose. I had been doing the same until I discovered that it didn’t matter when you make your promises to yourself – as long as you do what you promised. And I find it is easier to keep the promises if I make them in a context connected to the issue rather than to a fixed date.

The other day I heard about a study on longevity. It was based on the fact that more and more people are reaching the age of 100 years in Sweden and I found that interesting at a time when we are makeing resolutions for our own positive changes.

They had interviewed around 100 men and women about what they thought was the reason they had reached that age – what was the secret for each of them.

Surprise, surprise there is no mysterious secret sauce! It was much more modest – this is what they found out.

1. Don’t smoke / stop smoking
2. Be aware of your weight
3. Care for your social network
4. Care for your close connections
5. Laugh
6. Care about your sleep
7. Drink with modesty
8. Eat healthy food
9. Keep moving your body
10. Be positive

A 106 year old lady was interviewed about what she believed was the reason for her long life. With a smile, she replied: “Well, I have always cared basically about my health, no extreme fanatic things. I have cared about my family and friends even though many of them are dead now, but my memories are positive. I have been active and curious and I haven’t let hard times drag me down. When I have been ill, and I have had my issues, I have been careful to try to see it from a positive angle and I have always tried to smile even at hard times.”

As you see she is confirming the study on almost all points.

Some of you will disagree with this and that is okey. I am fully aware of the fact that genetics play a big part in longevity and health. Some people do all this and still get ill and die much younger. But I also know that 75 % of disease seen in a Health Care Center in Sweden is related to Lifestyle and only 25 % is from genetics. So, I see all of these facts as a chance to find the things that will help me as much as possible and contribute to a long and happy life. When my time comes I have at least tried my best and that is good enough.

Nothing above has been about stress, which is my main subject. But you know what? All of this is about stress. Taking basic good care of yourself is the best de-stress action you can take ever!

What are your thoughts on this? What is a good life to you? What will your New Year’s resolution be this year? Please comment below. I love to read your comments.

And what do you want me to blog about during 2015?

To your success – and keep smiling!

About Author:

I am a medical doctor, specialized in family medicine and health promotion and strategies. I have been a medical doctor in the Public Health System in Sweden for 25 years. The last couple of years I have changed focus from disease to health and have specialized in health promotion, work assessment, systematic health environment and other business related issues to be able to get the whole picture for my clients.

For more information : http://www.askdrannika.com