Thursday 19 March 2015

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 If you have Outlook you can spend an hour or two throwing away old saved e-mails that are completely out of date now.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

Tuesday 10 March 2015

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