We take a holistic approach to our careers advice here at Coach, which means alongside things like productivity tips and hacks to make you happier at work, we’ll also advise on how to avoid assholes in the office. And, of course, because many people’s residences now double as their office, we have advice for making the most of working from home, including our picks of the best standing desks and advice on how to improve your desk posture if you do prefer to stay seated.

It’s easy to underestimate the amount you moved when you had to go to an office every day. During the COVID-19 pandemic much of that movement was lost, and many people are still working from home more regularly. In addition, often that work is now done on a laptop while sitting on a sofa, bed or kitchen chair, rather than at a desk that has probably had a safety assessment and been set up to be as comfortable as possible.

This change risks all manner of posture-related problems – so we spoke to Rachel Brammer, physiotherapist and clinical lead at Vitrue Health, to get some advice on how people can adjust their working from home routine to be as healthy as possible.

What extra problems can working from home cause compared with going into an office?

It’s the amount of daily activity you do. If you commute by train or bus you’re walking to your stop. Then later you may leave and walk to get a cup of coffee. Perhaps you have to print something and walk to the printer, or you go and have a chat with somebody at their desk. The overall amount of activity you’re doing is much less when you’re working from home, and you end up taking fewer breaks. No matter how amazing your desk set-up is, unless you move around regularly, remaining in any one posture for a prolonged period of time is going to cause you aches and pains.

What problems can arise from a bad home working routine?

The big thing that people are reporting is lower-back pain. That’s from being in a seated position for a long period of time, and maybe not getting the best back support from their chair.

The next one is neck pain, which is to do with the screen height. You want it arm's length away and level with your eyes.

Another thing is wrist pain. That can come from not having a separate keyboard and mouse, so people may be keeping their wrists in one position for a long period of time, or they can get repetitive strain injuries.

Then there’s tension in the shoulders – when working from home, perhaps not in the best set-up, people are using more of their shoulder muscles so they get tightness.

Another thing people may not associate with their desk set-up is headaches and migraines. A lot of people are getting headaches because they're not getting as many breaks away from their screen. And again, if your head is bent forwards because of your screen height the tension in your shoulders can also give you headaches.

What are the key things to look out for in your desk set-up?

You want your chair to be height-adjustable so your feet are flat on the floor and your knees are bent at 90°, and it should have some kind of lower back support. If you don’t have that you can use a towel or pillow behind your back so you sit up straight.

If you are using a laptop there are lots of things you can do to raise the height of your screen, so you’re not tilting your head down and forward which puts strain on your neck and shoulders. Either pile some books up, or get an adjustable riser. You will have to use a separate keyboard, because you don’t want to have to bend your elbows higher to use the keyboard. You want your elbows bent at 90°.

Buy a separate keyboard with a wrist rest, so you’re not causing any repetitive strain through your wrists. Get a separate mouse as well and move the side your mouse is on once a day, so you have half a day with it on the right-hand side, and half a day with it on the left. Try and become ambidextrous to give one side a bit of a rest.

If you can, try to use an area with good natural light and airflow. Not everyone is able to have that with smaller spaces, but it helps to have a separate area, a separate brain space.

Can a standing desk help?

There is certainly lots of literature to support them, but it’s about making sure that people do what’s right for them. Some people are able to stand for 45 minutes to an hour, but if you have someone who’s not used to a standing desk, standing for that long might result in a posture that’s not advantageous.

If you’re new to standing desks, take it slowly. Start with five minutes and then sit down again. Build it up over time and listen to your body. Using a standing desk to change your posture regularly can help break up the day.

What can you do apart from sorting your desk set-up?

If you have an amazing work set-up and you’re still getting pain, get up and move. It can be as simple as setting yourself a challenge of doing 10 squats after every meeting. Make sure you have breaks scheduled into your diary, and you set time aside for your lunch. If you can have it in another room you’re getting some movement and a new environment.

You can make your set-up more productive too. Make sure you have light – have your curtains open! Sometimes in a meeting I see people with their curtains closed so there’s no reflection on the screen, but natural light is so important to us. Take a walk during work to get light, fresh air and movement – at the moment it’s freezing, but even opening a window just for an hour to get some fresh air into your space can help.

If you have a fitness tracker that reminds you to move every hour, how much can that help?

We get very stuck into our work and anything that prompts you to get moving is good. “Little and often” is important when it comes to movement. Even just resetting your position. When working you might only realise after an hour you’re curved over into this horrible C shape like the hunchback of Notre Dame. Set that reminder on your tracker or whatever works for you, even if it’s just to reset your position and look away from the screen for 20 seconds. All those little things you do have a cumulative effect. So doing neck stretches and forearm stretches throughout the day is useful. Quite often we do them for a day and then forget, so those little reminders are brilliant.

More Helpful Advice

• How To Make Sure Working From Home Doesn’t Result In Back Problems
• The Best Standing Desks And Why You Need To Try One
• Use This Posture Workout To Combat The Effects Of A Sedentary Lifestyle
• How To Prevent And Treat Back Pain

If you work in an office, the chances are you will have received some guidance from your company regarding the best way to set up your desk to ensure good posture. You might have even had a visit from someone in HR to help you, or requested a special chair to better support your lower back.

If you have, you might well be worrying about the effect of the current long spell of working from home during the COVID-19 lockdown. There are no home visits from HR posture experts, after all.

Fortunately, the importance of maintaining perfect posture throughout the working day may have been overblown.

“The idea of good posture and bad posture is a complete myth, it’s not borne out by the evidence,” says Claire Small, clinical director and specialist musculoskeletal physiotherapist at Pure Sports Medicine, Canary Wharf.

“We can’t say there is such a thing as a good posture, and in part that’s because everyone’s body is different. What works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for someone else.”

So there you go. However, there are steps anyone can take to keep yourself in good shape while working from home. Here’s Small with more information, starting with a question that is very close to our hearts.

Is it bad to sit on your sofa all day when working from home?

A lot of the ideas about what is good and bad posture are societal things. Take what looks acceptable in an office environment. If you see someone sitting slumped on a sofa or in a chair, your assumption is they’re slacking off. In the medical profession, we thought you had to stand or sit in a certain way to avoid putting excessive amounts of stress on the spine especially, but we’ve learned that’s not true. So if you’re comfortable slumping on the sofa, that’s absolutely fine.

The biggest thing is that our bodies are made to move. If you just walked around with your fist clenched all day, it would start to hurt. It’s the same thing with our spine if we just sit in one position all day.

You need to move more than just during your daily exercise, then?

Anecdotally, people are going out for a run, or doing their specific form of exercise they’re allowed to do in lockdown, but the rest of the day they’re pretty much sat in one position. When we’re working we walk to the station and catch the train, or bike to work, go out for lunch, walk to meetings – we’re moving around a lot more. It is all about movement and variation. So if you’re comfortable sitting on the sofa, do that for a bit, and if you’re comfortable on your bed do that for a bit.

Find what feels comfortable for you. I’m staying at my parents’ during lockdown and my mum had this old office chair that I sat on for a couple of hours one day and I had to get rid of it because it was so uncomfortable. I’m more comfortable sitting on a dining chair. That’s one of the myths, that an office chair is going to be the right thing for you. It’s what feels good.

See related 

• Essential Exercises To Help Manage Back Pain
• Exercises To Relieve Back Pain That Are Safe, Simple And Office-Appropriate
• Simple Ways To Improve Your Desk Posture
• The Best Standing Desks And Why You Need To Try One

What problems can arise from an uncomfortable set-up?

Lower-back pain, and some people get pain in their hips. The other thing we see is neck and upper-back pain, between the shoulder blades. That may be due to the fact people have their laptop too high, so they’re raising their shoulders and holding them in one position.

What can you do to prevent and alleviate this pain?

A lot of the pain and discomfort people get can be alleviated by movement and stretching as soon as they start to feel those aches and pains. And ideally try to move before you get it! You don’t have to move for very long – stand up, bend sideways, touch your toes, twist around in your seat, stretch your neck sideways, roll your shoulders. Just get your body moving. If you’re taking a call, take it walking. When you go to make a cup of coffee, don’t stand there waiting for the kettle to boil – do some stretches, bend over.

One of the advantages of working from home is that in an office environment you usually can’t get up from your desk, lie down on the floor beside it and do stretches to loosen up your lower back. In the privacy of your own home you can do a hell of a lot more.

People may also need to do things like putting their laptop up on a couple of books so it’s at a better height for their shoulders. It’s all about comfort. If people feel like their laptop is too low and they’re craning their head forward or dropping their head down, then try lifting it. Experiment. Find what works and what feels comfortable. And make sure you have stuff close to you so you’re not having to reach too far. Then, if you are still struggling, that’s when you should consult an expert.

Can you still see a physio at the moment virtually?

Absolutely. It’s been interesting – patients have been surprised by how much they’ve got out of virtual consultations. You can examine someone, see how they’re moving and do a lot of education. Education is such a key aspect of treating people.

Step 1

Turn to a blank page in your notebook and write down every single thing you want someone to know about you. Don’t hold back – you’ll edit it down later. If you’re feeling stuck, ask yourself questions like: how do you stand out in your field? What benefit would you like to bring to the world? How will your current skills and experiences lead you to where you want to be?

Step 2

Now take what you’ve come up with and try to fit it on a square sticky note. This forces you to choose what information to prioritise and determine what’s not crucial to share in a first interaction. If you’re having a hard time narrowing it down, a good framework to use is simply: your job title + company + what that means in layman’s terms + why you love it.

See related

• How To Get Organised At Work And Get More Done
• Learn How To Say No At Work
• How To Manage Tech Distractions And Focus On Work

Step 3

Read it aloud to make sure it sounds like something you’d say in a conversation, not something you’re reciting from a piece of paper. And cut the jargon! Lofty industry phrases like “strategic insight” and “leveraging influencers” won’t help your case here. Find a simple, straightforward way to describe what you do so it’s relatable and easy to understand.

The New Rules Of Work (£9.99, Crown Business) by Alexandra Cavoulacos and Kathryn Minshew is out now

A higher level of life satisfaction or a happy disposition will, according to recent research, make you better at your job, more likely to get a promotion, and less likely to quit. One study from the University of Warwick found that happiness led to a 12% jump in productivity and caused a threefold increase in creativity.

Of course, being happy at work is easier said than done. So if you’re one of the majority of people who aren’t exactly tap-dancing to work, here are some ways to boost your levels of on-the-job happiness from Happiness Hacks author Alex Palmer.

It’s not about the money

Whatever meaning you are drawing from your job, one thing is for certain: doing it for money won’t bring you happiness. Studies have found no correlation between higher salaries and higher levels of happiness. A survey of thousands of twins found that income accounted for less than 2% of the difference in their respective levels of well-being. Researchers have found that once a person earns an average of £55,000 per year, they experience a “happiness plateau”. Those making millions may be able to buy nice things, but they don’t enjoy a higher level of happiness commensurate with the higher salary.

Takeaway tip Stop putting so much importance on making more at work. A fatter paycheck is not going to make your smile any wider.

Track your progress

Viewing your activities as part of a long-term goal improves your mood on a chemical level. Participants in a study were asked about personal and family goals, rated their mood, and assessed the relevance of their current activity to these goals during the day, every three hours over a week. At each check-in, subjects also provided saliva samples so their levels of cortisol – known as the “stress hormone” – could be measured. Activities that participants identified as furthering their goals correlated with more positive mood ratings and lower levels of cortisol in their saliva, suggesting that goal-oriented behaviour is important to mood and stress management.

Takeaway tip Make a daily goal chart and track how each step forwards is moving you closer to accomplishing a long-term goal.

See related

• Six Happy Habits To Adopt Today
• Three Mindfulness Exercises To Try On The Way To Work
• How To Avoid Assholes At Work

Take a break

Long live the coffee break. Researchers at the University of Toronto say that frequent breaks improve creativity because our brains have a limited amount of energy, requiring them to be frequently recharged. But just taking a break is not the solution – it’s what you do with it that counts. To recover from work, you need to use your break to do activities that “stop the demands associated with work”. That means engaging in what the researchers defined as “respite activities” – involving either low effort (napping, relaxing or sitting quietly) or a preferred choice (reading a book or spending time with friends).

Takeaway tip Avoid filling your breaks with more work (even if it’s different from the work you are paid to do). Use your respite to recover fully and get your energy back for when you return to the desk.

Happiness Hacks: 100% Scientific, Curiously Effective (£9.95, The Experiment) by Alex Palmer is released on 1st October.

Pre-order from Amazon | £10.99

Mindfulness exercises can help clear the head and combat stress, so what better time to try them than on the way to (or indeed from) work? Travelling as part of the hordes with a full eight hours ahead of you is one of the most stressful times of the day for many people, so building a few mindfulness techniques into your commute can be a wise move for your wellbeing.

It doesn’t take much to take your mind away from the worries of your working day, and the more you practise the following three techniques – shared by Dani Binnington, yoga teacher and founder of healthywholeme.com – the more easily you’ll find a bit of respite.

The first thing to try is taking in more of your surroundings on your way to work, focusing not on the day to come or something from the past, but the present.

“This happened to me after I practised yoga,” says Binnington. “I realised I was suddenly aware of little things. Usually you’re on your phone or thinking about where you’re going next. Your mind is usually not in the present – we’re rarely tuning in to what we’re doing now.

“While walking is a good time to do this, because it can be difficult to sit quietly and meditate when at home, but when we’re walking we can put our phone away and think, ‘What can I hear? What can I see?’

“Then when you arrive somewhere, you’ll feel really relaxed. You’ll realise you’ve given your mind a break and we don’t usually do that.”

The next exercise is simply focusing on your breathing.

“Try inhaling for a count of six and exhale for six,” says Binnington. “You fall into a rhythm –runners do it very naturally. Or inhale for four and exhale for six. It’s another way of keeping your mind engaged on what you’re doing right now, rather than the washing you’ve got to put on or the meeting with your boss.”

The final technique Binnington recommends is to practise gratitude. This can be done at any time, but it’s especially useful when you’re feeling down or angry about something in particular.

“I sometimes do it when something really annoying happens, or when I’m really angry, or I think life is unfair,” says Binnington. “Practising gratitude is a really good way of bringing you out of those negative feelings, because there is always something you can be grateful for.

“It will be very different for different people. It could simply be that you’re well enough to stand and make a cup of tea, or that you’ve got lovely friends. It doesn’t have to be something major, but you will instantly feel better.

“I’m not saying forget or push away why you are angry, upset or sad – they are equally important feelings – but it’s good to recognise both because sometimes our minds pull us towards the negative things. It’s a tendency many people have – to dwell on the same conversations or arguments – so breaking that habit to practise gratitude is a good way to level things out.”

More About Mindfulness

• Why You Should Give Mindful Running A Try
• How To Use Mindfulness To Beat Your Cravings
• Mindful Eating Explained
• How Mindful Drinking Can Help You Keep Your Boozing In Hand

Keep the greenery

If you can keep it alive, of course. Research suggests that keeping a plant at your desk can boost well-being at work, while being around the colour green can improve creativity. If you’re looking for something low-maintenance that will grow with minimal light, think peace lily or philodendron – they’ll also offer you more of a screen from snack-hoovering colleagues.

Lose your ‘stuff’ pile

Unless there’s a pressing need for you to have it to hand, file it – it’ll only distract you, and research published by the American Psychological Association suggests that “task switching”, or rapidly shuffling from one job to another, can make you up to 40% less efficient. If you’ve got several projects on, break up your time into 30- to 60-minute chunks so you work on one thing, then another.

Keep Post-it notes

Feeling stressed? A to-do list will work: willpower researcher Roy Baumeister reports that simply writing down goals can reduce the cognitive stress of unfinished tasks. Keep it short, but focused: “emails” or “pitches” isn’t effective, but to-do lists that focus on concrete, achievable tasks to tick off will allow you to ride the momentum of a few easily-achieved tasks and stay productive throughout the day.

See related 

• How To Be More Productive
• How To Get Organised At Work And Get More Done
• 6 Very Quick Productivity Tips

Lose the laptop

Yes, it’s OK to be the only one in the morning meeting who doesn’t haul in a shiny MacBook Pro. In a 2016 study published in Psychological Science, researchers found that test subjects retained material better when they took notes by hand – probably because they were more likely to summarise and paraphrase than try to get everything down verbatim. By “encoding”, you’re more likely to remember what was said.

Management expert Robert Sutton had a global best-seller in 2007 with The No Asshole Rule, a guide to identifying and eliminating the troublesome elements in every workplace to create harmonious and productive work environments. But in the following decade, he heard so many stories about difficult and bullying colleagues that he came to realise you can never truly banish them from the office for good. This led him to create The Asshole Survival Guide, suggesting strategies for coping with the inevitable asshole workers everywhere are forced to deal with every day. Here are his tips for spotting and steering clear of them so you can maintain a calm frame of mind and get on with your goddamn day.

Start by Googling them. Check respected sources of ratings and rankings, sure – but be aware that Glassdoor’s list of the ten worst workplaces or the Sunday Times “100 Best Companies To Work For” won’t necessarily match the experience you will have with a particular department, group, person or client.

Reliable gossip is gold. Who do you know who works with them now or has in the past? What can they tell you about the people and the place in general, and what insight do they have about the particular work you will do and the people you will deal with?

Past victims or enemies. Seek out those people who left because they were unhappy or got fired. If they worked with the group or person you are considering, the information will be especially instructive.

Exposure to other assholes. Have they worked with or been trained by known assholes? That's a red flag. Assholes attract and breed more assholes.

Bad first impression. When you exchange emails, messages or early phone calls, are you getting any hints that they might be jerks?

Bad second impression. During initial meetings or interviews, how do they treat you? Do they make you feel respected? Do they care? Or do they already show signs of being hostile, rude or demeaning? If so, things will only get worse.

Damn with faint praise? Listen carefully to how underlings and peers talk about people in power. After all, if you are a stranger, they aren’t likely to bash their bosses or team-mates. Do they say the right words… but without a hint of warmth or excitement? Do they change the subject quickly when you ask about leaders or other powerful people? Anything short of total enthusiasm is another red flag.

Signs of a superiority complex. Listen carefully to how people in power talk about others. Is everyone else an idiot, traitor or loser? Do they seem to bad-mouth or be dismissive of just about everyone except for those who kiss up to them?

How do they treat each other? How do people with more power treat those with less? Watch how peers interact – is it a Lord Of The Flies situation? Beware of aggressive teasing, rude interruptions, pained facial expressions and glum silence.

Dip a toe in the water. Find out if you can start with a small commitment rather than a big one – a small project for a client, or perhaps an internship or trial period. That way, you can learn if there is an asshole problem before you sign up for the long term.

The Asshole Survival Guide: How To Deal With People Who Treat You Like Dirt by Robert I Sutton is out now, RRP £12.99 (Portfolio Penguin)

Monday mornings back at work are hard enough, not least when you’re feeling under the weather – and coughs and colds are certainly rife at this time of year. But what if we told you that it’s not necessarily a winter bug that’s making you feel poorly and that perhaps you’re one of the millions of Brits that’s allergic to their workplace? Yes, it’s possible! A 2012 report from leading national charity Allergy UK found that over 5 million people in the UK could be allergic to their office.

Allergy symptoms are typically very similar to symptoms of a cold and can include sneezing, itchy eyes and a blocked or runny nose. Doctors refer to this as allergic rhinitis; put simply, inflammation of the inside of the nose. Allergies are actually an immune response to a usually harmless substance and not everyone suffers to the same degree, but, in general, indoor allergies are on the increase. The report suggests that by 2015, 50% of Europeans will have some form of allergy.

What’s to blame?

“The reason why allergic reactions are becoming more common remains uncertain,” says Dr Sarah Brewer, GP and author of Cut Your Stress. “But likely culprits include: over-cleanliness, which reduces your exposure to bacteria that prime immunity (especially in early life); exposure to house dust mites; being overweight, which promotes inflammation; reduced intakes of omega 3 fish oils, which dampen down allergic reactions, plus over-consumption of omega-6 vegetable oils, which promote allergic responses; and climate change, which encourages trees and grasses to release more pollen.”

The trouble is, some of the most common allergens that provoke a reaction – dust mites, pollen, pet dander (skin flakes) and mould spores from plants – are airborne allergens, so there’s no getting away from them, particularly in a communal workspace. And while 95% of the people surveyed by Allergy UK said they had experienced symptoms of allergies in the workplace, 27% said the symptoms actually got worse at work. Given the amount of time we spend in our work environments, this is a worrying statistic.

What can we do?

In its survey, Allergy UK found that in the 12 months prior to being surveyed, 42% of workers had taken time off due to their allergy, which undoubtedly has a knock-on effect on overall productivity. So what’s the answer? Here’s how to limit your exposure to the most-common allergens.

House dust mites: These tiny little creatures are found in bedding, soft furnishings, carpets and outer clothing. The mites don’t actually cause a reaction, it’s the proteins in their droppings which cause us to react. To limit your exposure to them, Allergy UK recommends keeping your desk clutter free and damp dusting twice a week. Solid flooring where possible can also keep mites at bay, although we realise this is something you’re unlikely to have control of.

Mould spores: Plants can harbour mould, which releases allergy-provoking spores into the air. To avoid mould, plants must be regularly watered and their top soil removed, or they can be covered with pea shingle. Alternatively, why not try swapping out potted plants for fake flowers to avoid this altogether?

Pets: The allergens from pets are not found in their fur, but in their saliva, dander and urine. As animals regularly groom themselves, they coat their skin and fur with the allergen, which then dries and releases into the air and is easily transported via other people’s clothing. This means that if you’re working alongside someone who has pets, they will probably be carrying allergens on their clothing that could irritate an allergy sufferer.

Pollen: Tiny particles of pollen are the cause of hay fever, typically at its peak in the summer months. Pollen settles easily on hair and clothing, so Allergy UK recommends showering after exposure to high levels of pollen. There are also hay fever remedies you can use. HayMax barrier balm (£6.99, boots.com) is a natural remedy, used for combatting allergies to pollen and pet dander. Applied around the base of each nostril, it traps the allergens before they enter the body.

Treating the symptoms

If those pesky allergens have already got the better of you, don’t despair – the symptoms can be treated. “One of the most effective ways to relieve nasal congestion is with a sterile seawater nasal spray such as Sterimar Hypertonic Congestion Relief (£7.99, boots.com).” says Dr Brewer. “You could also try white petroleum jelly, Nasaleze cellulose powder (£7.95, nasalize.com), Haymax Balm or Prevalin Allergy spray (£9.99, boots.com). Apply a barrier inside the nostrils so that pollen grains, dust mite and animal allergens are less likely to come into contact with histamine-releasing cells to trigger stuffiness and sneezing.

“Alternatively, vitamin D and probiotic supplements can help to prime the immune response against allergens. Finally, for an effective antihistamine that reduces allergy symptoms, try Benadryl Allergy Liquid Release Capsules (£4.99, boots.com).” 

For further help, advice or more info, visit allergyuk.org

This article first appeared in Women’s Fitness

If you live in a big city you might make hundreds or even thousands of first impressions every day, but only a select few hold any personal importance and those often revolve around your career. In situations like meeting with a new client, a major presentation or an interview for the job you’ve always wanted, it’s vital to impress from the off.

Naturally some of that will come down to what you’re saying, but if you don't also nail other important factors like body language and tone of voice, there’s a chance that what you say will get ignored no matter how great it is. As the great stand-up comedian Eddie Izzard once said, it’s “70% how you look, 20% how you sound, and 10% what you actually say”. Appear assertive and convincing, and you can sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” from start to finish without knowing the words.

For advice on how to make a good first impression we talked to Charlie Walker-Wise, client director and tutor at RADA in Business, which teaches the skills that the Royal Academy of the Dramatic Art imparts to both aspiring actors and people looking to make it in the business world. According to Walker-Wise, there are seven areas to focus on when looking to make a great first impression.

1. Leave Your Baggage At The Door

“One of the key mistakes that people make is that they’re not really aware of what they carry into a space,” says Walker-Wise. “You can get very caught up in worries like ‘it’s my first day, I’m really nervous’ or ‘this is a new client, it’s really big’, which you carry as baggage into the room. It’s only once you’re in the room that you look up and see the people and the space you’re engaging with.

“You need to have done that worrying beforehand. That requires stopping – literally, physically – before you walk through the door and asking ‘who do I want to be?’ and ‘how do I want to engage with this space?’”

RECOMMENDED: The Best Men’s Formal Shirts For Work

2. Take The Spotlight Off Yourself

“It’s not about you. That may sound ridiculous for a job interview, but actually if you can place your focus on the other people you’re interacting with, what they need becomes more clear to you,” says Walker-Wise.

“If you’re delivering a presentation then – in a weird way – you’re the least important person in the room. What’s really important is that other people receive the message. If you remember you’re in service of them, you take the pressure off yourself and you’ll feel better.

“When we work with actors, we teach that good acting is not about you – it’s about trying to affect the people you’re on stage with. In any conversation, you’re trying to make others understand your point of view.”

3. Keep Your Eyes Open

“It’s amazing how often people walk in with their eyes partly or even fully closed – they’re not really absorbing the information available to them,” says Walker-Wise.

“Make sure you can see the space you’re entering. That also makes you available to other people. What they see is someone coming into a room or stepping up to a projector who seems to be curious about what is going on in the room because, quite literally, they can see that person’s eyes.

“If you’re always aware that you need to be available to these people, you tend to focus on them – literally look at them more. I can spot a good relationship between two people, because they’re exchanging looks – that tells me something about the dynamics of the room.”

4. Breathe From The Belly

“How you use your posture is important,” says Walker-Wise. “Breathe low in the belly, which gives the appearance of credibility, authority and gravitas.

“When you’re panicked and stressed your breath rises up higher in the chest and becomes short. I do an exercise where I start breathing from my chest as I’m talking to people and I can see them get visibly uncomfortable immediately. I ask what’s changed about me and they say I look anxious. I ask how it makes them feel and they say they don’t feel comfortable – they’re holding their breath. As soon as I change my breath, other people react in the same way. If I appear stressed, it stresses out the people I’m talking to.

“The way you learn to overcome that is through practice. Start by trying to notice when your breath becomes shorter. Is it when someone barks at you at work, or bumps you on the train? What you need to do to relieve that is not breathing in, it’s breathing out. Release that breath in order to be able to take in a new breath, new energy, and get rid of the tension that has crept in.”

RECOMMENDED: What Shoes Should You Wear to a Job Interview?

5. Vary Your Tone Of Voice

“There are some obvious things like not speaking too quietly or loudly,” says Walker-Wise. “But the thing that people aren’t so aware of is how they use tone, pitch and rhythm in their speech to keep the listener’s ear engaged.

“If you speak with a very monotonous voice or get into habitual patterns of speech, it’s very easy for the other person to switch off. The brain thinks it’s heard it before, even if the content is different.

“You have a responsibility to the people you’re communicating with to vary your tone, pitch and rhythm so you can ‘surprise’ their ears as they listen. We can all do it – we speak very differently when warning someone stepping out in front of a car from when a child brings us a picture they’ve drawn – but in professional context it can be easy to forget to energise the ideas you’re communicating.

“One thing to start doing is training your ear. Start listening. Listen to newsreaders, who use a fantastic range of tone. It’s nothing to do with accent – it’s to do with the confidence to reach high or low in terms of pitch to express ideas more clearly. That shows the listener what is important.

“The other thing is to find out where your limits of pitch are. Practise at home by physically reaching high on certain words, or stretching in different directions, or making sudden movements. As the body moves the word will move as well. Obviously in a job interview you’re not going reach across the room but it become a physical memory. Speech is just movement, and if you want to move people with your words, you have to move your words.”

6. Stay Grounded

“It’s really important that you feel that you have a stable base beneath you,” says Walker-Wise. “We have positive language around this – saying someone is grounded or down to earth, or that someone has gravitas, which relates to gravity.

“It’s about finding the right balance between relaxation and tension. If you get de-energised you give in to gravity too much – think of stroppy teenagers slouching. If you get too tense, you become sergeant major-like, with energy shifting up into the chest.

“People often have locked knees when they’re stressed, which immediately disconnects you from the floor. Other people bounce on their heels, which means you are very disconnected from the floor, with tension sitting high in the body. Avoid doing things like this and you’ll release that tension and attain gravitas.”

7. Have The Confidence To Ask Questions

“You’ve got to be interested in them,” says Walker-Wise. “That’s really important. Be present in the moment. Hear what the other person is saying and be able to respond to it. If you’re not clear about something then have the confidence to ask them to reframe it, or say you don’t know that right now, but you will get them the answer.

“It can be worrying because you don’t want to lose face, but it can be very powerful. Be curious. Be fully physically and vocally engaged – that really matters.”

For more information about RADA In Business, radainbusiness.com

We all like a moan after a long, tiring day at work – but deep down we know that if were just a bit better organised, things wouldn’t be so bad. We’d be more prepared for the tasks thrown at us, more able to deal with unexpected complications, and less likely to panic when there’s a deadline looming.

Swedish business guru David Stiernholm knows this too, and that’s why he’s a struktör – someone who helps people get a handle on everyday disorder, allowing them to develop positive habits and better focus.

“The beauty of being structured is that even the simplest and smallest of changes often have great effects on productivity – not to mention the positive emotional and mental effects,” says Stiernholm.

He uses these principles in business, but they can apply to anything from creating a training programme to planning an event or writing a book. Follow his eight-point plan to replace chaos with structure.

1. Get Your Plan In Place

Improving your habits should be regarded as a project like any other. So your first task is to decide on eight half-hour time slots when you will work on your structure project – like meetings, just with yourself. The first slot is the one in which you schedule the next seven, so congratulations, you’re already on track!

In this first meeting, find a way to reward yourself as you progress through the programme. If there’s some gadget or thing you want, make a voucher, divide it into eight tokens and give yourself a token every time you complete a section. Or have a visible display where you mark off the points. One of my clients got a box of extra-large matches and wrote a sub-goal on every one of them. For every goal she attained, she lit the match and enjoyed the sense of accomplishment while the match burned out.

2. Choose Your Tool

Where do you record the tasks you have to do? Perhaps some of them are emails marked unread or flagged, with more on Post-Its or in a notebook, while still more are in some kind of to-do list app. This is a common mistake. The more places you have for your notes, the harder it will be to identify what you need to focus on right now.

Get a piece of paper and write down all the things you have to do as they come to your mind. Start with what you have to do today, this week and so on, and continue as far ahead in time as you feel is helpful.

Decide where you will keep all your to-do tasks from now on. It doesn’t matter if this is a digital tool such as Outlook, or a notebook, or even sticky notes on a board. Once all your tasks are in one place you will instantly know what needs to be done and when – and that you are not missing anything crucial or urgent.

3. Clarify Your Tasks

I once worked with a fashion entrepreneur who had originally been a midwife. One day a mother-to-be who had an unusual rash on her stomach visited her. My client thought, “We really should look into that” and wrote “Important! Belly!” on a sticky note, pasting it on the front of the patient’s medical record. After a few days she found that patient’s record in a pile. She had seen a number of other bellies and now couldn’t recollect what she’d meant. The devil’s in the detail when formulating to-do tasks.

Go through your list and formulate the details of every task concretely and thoroughly. If you first have to do one thing and then another before you can check a to-do task off the list, divide it into two separate tasks. Make sure that each task contains a verb, and beware of verbs such as “fix”, “make sure” and other ambiguous descriptions of what you intend to do – you could end up obscuring an entire project behind vague phrasing.

4. Create Your Categories

The value of having a single to-do list is clear. The downside is that looking at a long list of your tasks can seem overwhelming. This is where good structure comes in: by categorising, you will avoid being distracted by seeing tasks that you’re not interested in dealing with right now, and it will be easier to concentrate on the task ahead.

Where do you need to physically be in order to do the task? How long will the task take to complete? When does the task need to be completed by? For example, if 20% of your tasks can be done during your commute, you will only be looking at a fifth of the whole list when you check it on the train.

Digital to-do list tools let you categorise tasks by checking a box or using labels or tags. If your to-do list is in a physical format, you can use written symbols, split your notebook into sections using tabs or dividers, or simply use highlighter pens. Start by choosing just one way to categorise your to-do tasks, and add more categories gradually – otherwise you will perceive this method as difficult and complicated, and go back to remembering things instead of writing them down (because “it’s just faster that way”).

5. Take Time To Recap

Unexpected things happen all the time – and when they do, schedules and plans get disrupted. We intend to make a change and create an ambitious plan for doing so, but something unforeseen throws us off-course. Tasks previously considered to be priorities may suddenly no longer be as important as a newer, more urgent task.

The danger is that you feel discouraged instead of motivated, and conclude that your work situation is simply impossible to change. So you should do your best to expect the unexpected. Instead of a new structuring task, treat this slot as a “spare” one and use it as an opportunity to get back on track if you have fallen behind with any of the previous tasks.

6. Hunt Out The Millstones

Checking tasks off your list regularly lets you experience the rush of having taken another step and accomplished something. But most people have some tasks that remain on the list for days, weeks or even months. They just sit there, fermenting and brewing frustration, and I refer to them as “millstones”. Every time you see them uncompleted, you feel disheartened and the list loses some value. Plus the longer you put these off, the harder it is to get started.

Find your millstones and for each one, formulate the next possible step as a to-do task. Make it small, so small that you feel almost embarrassed to write it on your to-do list, and then it will be easy to do and you will be on your way, feeling motivated – which is much better than stuck and passive. You could even get such a boost that you feel like tackling one or more every day.

7. Time To Get Streamlined

There are lots of places you can store documents. If they’re physical, they could be in magazine files, hanging file folders, an inbox on your desk or just piles; if they’re digital, they could be on your desktop, on a shared file server, on a USB stick or in a cloud… or multiple versions of any of these.

You might know your way around them, but if you’re ever away or sick, no-one else will. The other danger is distraction – the more files or piles you have, the more likely you are to catch sight of one while you’re working on another and think of something else you need to do.

Choose one (or preferably more) of these storage places. Then choose three of whatever you are storing in that place. Then file it somewhere else or, even better, throw it away. You’re instantly more streamlined.

A study reported in the Harvard Business Review showed that in an eight-hour work day, approximately 70 minutes are lost to distractions. If you can decrease that time loss by only a tenth, you’re getting back the equivalent of 3½ work days a year.

8. Look Back To Look Forward

By doing this you will have realised a lot of things about the way you work and it will give you a very important structure tool: foresight. If you can create an ongoing routine that works for you, you’ll be able to anticipate upcoming events.

Decide how often you need to pause and review your list and categories, when to do this so it works best for you (Fridays so you can “close” the week and relax over the weekend, or Mondays to start the week proactively?), and schedule these slots in. Create a checklist of what you’ll go through during them. You’ll find this gives you more latitude – which means you won’t be caught out by imminent deadlines and you’ll be less likely to finish things at the last minute.

Super Structured: How To Overcome Chaos And Win Back Time by David Stiernholm is out now, RRP £12.99 (LID Publishing). Buy on amazon.co.uk

Killer Strategies For Mastering Your To-Do List

The world of work is changing, according to Alexandra Cavoulacos and Kathryn Minshew, founders of online careers hub The Muse and authors of The New Rules Of Work. Follow their advice to fast-track your career progress and find more time to do the things you love.

Winning the war against time isn’t about trying hundreds of online tools claiming to help professionals be more productive. Yes, those tools can help, but fundamentally, it’s about rethinking how you use time. And this starts each and every day with how you organise your tasks.

Employment network LinkedIn compiled a survey that revealed just how much our professional to-do lists are in need of a makeover. It turns out we’re great at listing the things we need to do, but not so good at actually doing them. In fact, almost 90% of professionals admit they’re unable to accomplish all the tasks on their to-do list by the end of an average workday. So if you’re sick of tackling the same stale to-do lists every day – and coming up short – here are four key strategies to change all that.

1. Keep A Single Master To-Do List For Work

Let’s be honest: if you wanted to get a complete view of all the tasks you had to get done for work right now, chances are you couldn’t find it all on a single list. Instead, you probably have a few Post-its here, a saved draft in your email there, notes jotted in stickies on your computer, and maybe a checklist app or two on your phone, right? But if the goal is to actually get everything done, having a single place for your work-related tasks is a must. So pick your method of choice, and start consolidating.

The list can be a handwritten one inside your trusty planner, a document you keep on your desktop, an app on your phone, or whatever else – this isn’t about the medium, it’s about the thought process.

Just make sure that whatever method you use, you can add to your list from anywhere. This means that if you use a desktop app, you’ll want to set up a system to capture to-dos that crop up while you’re away from your computer, such as assignments you get while in a meeting, or the phone call you remember during your commute home that you need to make tomorrow.

Our preference is to email these reminders to ourselves, then delete the email once we’ve transferred them to the master list. But simply writing them down on sticky notes and transcribing them to the file works too.

2. Follow The 1-3-5 Rule

One way we have transformed not only our own productivity but also that of our entire team at TheMuse.com is by following the 1-3-5 Rule, which Alex developed. Here’s the gist: on any given day, assume that you can only accomplish one big thing, three medium things, and five small things, and narrow down your to-do list to those nine items.

Sound scary? Well, it is, at first. But like it or not, you have only so many hours in the day, and you’re going to get only a finite number of things done. Forcing yourself to prioritise by creating 1-3-5 lists means the things you accomplish will be the things you choose to do, rather than those that happen to get done.

Of course, the number of tasks themselves can be flexible. If you spend much of your day in meetings, for example, you might need to reduce the number of tasks. Or if your position is one where each day brings lots of unexpected to-dos and assignments, you might try leaving one medium and two small tasks blank in preparation for the last-minute requests from your boss.

This doesn’t mean you need to limit your master to-do list to just nine things. Rather, you should keep two kinds of lists: one large “kitchen sink” comprehensive list of everything you have to do at some point (all in one place), and another that is shorter and gives you your marching orders for what needs to get done today.

We recommend that before leaving work in the evening, you take a few minutes to define your 1-3-5 for the next day, so you’re ready to hit the ground running in the morning.

Planning ahead like this also means you’ll be able to have more informed conversations with your manager when he or she drops something new on you that needs to be done right away, as well as the tools to re-prioritise your other work. For example, when a surprise presentation falls into your lap, try, “Sure, I can get that to you by 3pm, but the Q1 reports won’t be ready until tomorrow then, since I’d scheduled time to work on that today.”

3. Complete One Significant Task Before Lunch

This one can be tough, but it works. Take one of your big or medium tasks and tackle it first thing in the morning, even before checking email, if you can. Trust us, there’s no better feeling than crossing off a major task before lunch.

Motivation expert and author Brian Tracy calls this “eating your frog”, a nod to the famous Mark Twain quote: “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.”

Kathryn often identifies her “frogs” for the next day – the most difficult tasks or the ones she knows she’ll enjoy least – the night before. That helps mentally prepare her to tackle them in the morning, and it keeps her from putting them off until the next day, then the next day.

4. Block Your Calendar

If you find that you always overestimate how much you can get done in a day, try allocating time for each of your to-dos on your calendar, just like you would when scheduling meetings. Once you’ve defined the tasks on your to-do or 1-3-5 list, try scheduling them, blocking off the appropriate amount of time for each.

The important thing is to be realistic about how long each will actually take. Writing that important email to a client might take 15 minutes, for example, while preparing the Q1 strategy for your team may require a few hours.

It’s easy but dangerous to fall into the trap of letting critical work products be relegated to moments left over between meetings. As economist John Kenneth Galbraith once said, “Meetings are indispensable when you don’t want to do anything”.

Unless your job description is just to take meetings (and we are guessing it’s not), time blocking is a great way to ensure you’re making time for real work: the things that move the business forward and that clients pay the company to produce.

When you try this, also make sure you block time in your calendar for catching up on email, brainstorming or other important-but-not-deliverable-oriented tasks. If your responsibilities allow it, try blocking an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon to work through your inbox – and then discipline yourself not to spend the time in between handling emails, when you’d planned to be working on something else.

English coach Ben Ryan steered Fiji to their first ever Olympic medal when they won rugby sevens gold in Rio 2016. Use his sports field-inspired advice to negotiate everyday workplace challenges and achieve new levels of career success

Workplace Challenge: You Get Public Speaking Nerves

The Solution: Be Prepared And Make Notes

The first thing to make sure you do is get stuck in to your planning. That means there’s one less thing to get worried about. Create a crib sheet, where one word can trigger a whole ripple effect of different things you remember.

Make sure that you’re hydrated and have eaten so that your energy levels are high and you’re thinking with as much clarity as possible. The key thing is that being underprepared triggers nervousness, so that’s the number one thing you need to address.

Workplace Challenge: It’s Annual Review Time

The Solution: Get Your Point Across

You need to have plan and you need to have three or four key points that you want to get across. You also need to “up-manage” and make sure your boss thinks you’re dependable, focused and a team player.

Also try to be proactive and ask questions to show that you’re a good listener. When they answer your question, leave a pregnant pause after they’ve finished talking. You might elicit further information from them – and that’s likely to be the really tasty stuff that you can use to get your own point across.

The Challenge: You Miss Out On A Promotion

The Solution: Use Feedback To Get Stronger

Patience is definitely a virtue in this situation. You need to show some humility – get some good honest feedback from the boss, then thank them for giving it. You can say that you’ve taken the advice on board and that you still feel you’re good enough for the position.

Control what you can control – which means your behaviour and attitude. Act on their feedback and make sure that the next time it comes up you have a better chance of getting that promotion.

The Challenge: You’re Doubting Your Own Ability

The Solution: Understand That Everyone Fails

Always have perspective and know that no-one ever goes through life being endlessly successful and getting every win they try for. You can always learn something valuable from not succeeding.

It’s easy to think negatively about something that you could turn into a positive. If you look at the bigger picture, maybe they were right and you’re not quite ready to take on that task or that role. But the next time the opportunity comes along, you might be.

The Challenge: You’re Starting A New Job

The Solution: Listen First And Act Second

When you go into anywhere new it’s a good opportunity to take some time to observe and listen. Don’t make big calls too early. Get as much information as possible and learn what would be valuable for you to make the best impact.

There’s nothing wrong with pressing the pause button – take your time and you’ll make the right impression because you’ll be acting on a better portfolio of information.

There’s nothing clever about jumping in and trying to make an impression without having the information you need.

The Challenge: You Get Thrown A Special Project

The Solution: Focus On The Goal And You’ll Nail It

Set your goal and, whatever you’re doing, ask yourself: is this getting us closer to the goal? Try to keep it simple – if you don’t know where you’re trying to get to then there’s no way you’re going to get there.

Plan your work and then work your plan; share your vision and share your plan. Make sure everyone has bought in to your vision, then start to empower everyone around you.

You also need to have indicators that tell you if you’re on track and mechanisms in place that tell you if you’re moving away from the plan.

Ben Ryan, pictured left above, stars in Sevens From Heaven, an HSBC Sport film that tells the story of the Fiji rugby sevens team. You can watch it below

The world of work is changing, according to Alexandra Cavoulacos and Kathryn Minshew, founders of online careers hub The Muse and authors of The New Rules Of Work. Follow their advice to fast-track your career progress and find more time to do the things you love.

Managing your time more efficiently doesn’t only mean organising your to-do list. It also means learning to think differently about the value of your time. Often, this mind shift means knowing what not to do and what to stop doing. Saying no, giving yourself boundaries, and understanding whether all the tasks on your to-do list are really necessary or important can make a huge difference in your productivity – and your happiness. Try testing yourself with this list of five questions to make sure you’re investing your time well.

1. Are you “yes-ing” yourself to death?

Many people have a deep need to be liked. As a result, they say yes to almost everything that’s asked of them. The problem is, this makes it impossible to do everything well, and zaps their time and productivity. Take a look at the last ten requests you received (except assignments from your boss, which you may not have control over). If you said yes to more than half, it’s probably time to push yourself to start saying no.

2. Are you delegating enough?

Whether or not you’re a manager, there are opportunities to delegate to colleagues. If you’re doing everything yourself, and think “it’s just faster for me to do it”, you may be a delegatophobe. Take a good look at your tasks over the last week. Are all of those really your job description? If not, then you want to begin to delegate more.

3. Is everything on your to-do list necessary?

Don’t look at an endless to-do list as a challenge to get it all done but as a challenge to prioritise. If you haven’t tackled a certain task for weeks, or if you keep pushing it to a later date, that might be a sign that it’s not actually necessary. Use your manager and colleagues as sounding boards to try to remove unnecessary items from your to-do list, so you can dedicate more time to high-priority items that will move your goals forward.

Having trouble removing to-dos at work? Go through each one and write down the impact it will have (eg “revenue opportunity” or “user growth”). You’ll be surprised how many items aren’t aligned with your company or personal goals. If this is the case, let them go.

4. Do you really need to be at that meeting?

News flash: you do not need to agree to be at every meeting you’re asked to attend. Don’t think you have to be a slave to those people who inconsiderately add meetings to your calendar without asking (every workplace has them!). Know that you have permission to decline anything that isn’t critical to your job.

Set a high bar for giving people your time, and you’ll find that some questions can actually be sorted out more effectively via email or by picking up the phone in a small fraction of the time they would take to address in a meeting. Try, “Thanks for the invite, but I’m not sure this is the best use of my time, and I’m confident that the other parties can move forward without me” or “In the interest of time, why don’t we try hashing this out over email? Here are the next action steps on my end.”

5. Are you a slave to your inbox?

Speaking of things you don’t need to do: you do not need to answer every email. Give yourself permission to archive irrelevant and “FYI” emails you’re copied in on. And while you’re at it, unsubscribe from any newsletter you signed up for and don’t read. Trust us – if you don’t have time to read it now, you probably never will.

RECOMMENDED: How To Manage Tech Distractions And Focus On Work

Despite counting the likes of Winston Churchill and Bill Clinton among its advocates, napping has a bad rep, with most people preferring to push through drowsy daytime spells rather than catching 40 winks, but taking an afternoon power nap can improve heart health, according to the Journal Of Psychophysiology. And the key to a mid-afternoon mini-snooze is a well-timed cup of coffee, says Yann Le Meur, a sports scientist at the French Institute of Sport. Use his tips to make 40 winks work for you.

Set the scene

“Turn off your mobile phone and any other potential distractions,” says Le Meur. “If background noise is unavoidable, put on headphones with relaxing music.” Wearing an eye mask to simulate darkness is his final prep tip.

Have a coffee

The idea is that the caffeine kicks in just as you’re aiming to wake up again – about 20-odd minutes after you drift into slumber. “A caffeine nap will not only improve your performance but it’ll also lessen how sleepy you feel when you wake,” says Le Meur.

Set an alarm

Factor in the five or so minutes that it’s likely to take you to fall asleep, then add about 20 minutes to that time. “If you have a habit of pressing the snooze button and going right back to sleep, put your alarm on the other side of the room,” says Le Meur.

Get going

The power nap’s done – time to harness that power. Le Meur suggests a few sets of star jumps and press-ups to get your blood flowing. Bright light and splashing water on your face will also help to get you alert and back in the game.

RECOMMENDED: Try This Instead Of Coffee To Beat The Afternoon Slump

Why You Should Power Nap At Work

To learn about napping’s benefits, Coach spoke to Nick Littlehales, elite sport sleep coach for the likes of Manchester United and Team Sky, and author of new book Sleep. His first bit of advice was to ditch the word “nap”…

“Nap is a bad word. Napping is pipe and slippers, it’s for old people in front of their televisions,” Littlehales tells Coach. “We talk about controlled recovery periods [CRP] in sport.” Taking naps, or indeed CRP, is especially vital given the unusual and physically demanding schedules of sportspeople, but Littlehales says everyone can benefit from adopting the polyphasic sleep approach – where you sleep multiple times a day, rather than just at night – he recommends to clients.

“We used to use three natural sleep periods every day,” explains Littlehales. “We would sleep a shorter period at night, but also either at midday or in the early evening. It was only when the light bulb was invented that most of the world started sleeping just at night.”

Most people don’t have the luxury of a flexible schedule that allows nap breaks in the afternoon. However, taking a 30-minute break, even if you don’t actually sleep, at lunchtime is only likely to make you more productive.

“Just after lunch is a corporate graveyard slot in business,” adds Littlehales. “People fall asleep in meetings. If you go just semi-conscious for a while, you can raise alertness around 54%.” That figure comes from a 1995 NASA study on long-haul pilots that found that “a 26-minute nap improved performance 34% and alertness 54%.”

The good news is you don’t have to make it a big deal. No special sleep pods or soothing whale noises required. It just takes 30-minutes of zoning out, whether it’s at your desk with headphones on, or sitting on a park bench. “The most important thing is not to put yourself under pressure, just start the process. This is not something new. It’s not something a guru has created. It’s absolutely natural and designed to help us.” 

Between 1-3pm in the afternoon, and in the late afternoon/early evening (5-7pm), are the ideal times to schedule 30 minutes of shut-eye. You should be able to get 20-25 minutes of mental recovery, even if you don’t actually sleep. To avoid any post-nap grogginess, drink a shot of espresso just before the break. The caffeine should kick in just as your nap finishes.

Nick’s book Sleep, published by Penguin Life, £9.99, is available from October 27. Buy on amazon.co.uk.

Finding that balance between work and everything else can be a challenge. But don't fret, we've got you covered with these six tips from the experts over at our sister brand, Men's Fitness. 

Start The Day With A To-Do List

As soon as you get to work, write a daily to-do list with your top priority first. Subjects who do so have better powers of memory and recall than those who don’t, according to the Journals Of Gerontology, meaning they’re more likely to get them done. And use a pen and paper, not your computer or an app: research from the University of Stavanger in Norway found that writing by hand instead of tapping it out with just your fingers makes what you write more memorable.

RECOMMENDED: How To Be More Productive

Go For A Walk During Lunch

If you’re swamped and not expecting to do more than eat a sandwich at your desk at lunchtime, make time to get out and go for a walk. Research published in the Scandinavian Journal Of Medicine And Science In Sports found that people who went for a 30-minute walk three times a week for ten weeks reported feeling more enthusiastic, productive and relaxed and better able to cope with afternoon stress. And use your stroll to pick up a protein-packed salad instead of a sarnie.

RECOMMENDED: The Benefits Of Walking

Turn Off Email And App Alerts

Having 24-hour access to their work email account though a smartphone app was listed as the number one most stressful work-related problem in a survey of 2,000 people by the London-based Future Work Centre. The highest levels of stress were in those with the notification function turned on, sending them an alert every time a new email arrived. About 30% of subjects received more than 50 emails daily, costing them an hour’s work time every day.

RECOMMENDED: How To Deal With Stress At Work

Take A Screen Break Before Bed

The worst thing you can do when trying to forget about work is check your emails in bed. Around 95% of people now use electronics in bed, according to the Sleep Foundation, and reading an anxiety-inducing email before bed is a good way to give yourself a restless night. Even if your inbox is empty, exposure to the blue light from the screen will suppress levels of the sleep hormone melatonin, meaning you’ll take far longer to fall asleep, according to the journal Sleep Medicine Clinics.

Work From Home When You Can

Asking your boss if you can work from home one day a week, especially if you have a long commute, will boost your productivity and reduce stress levels, according to research published in the Journal Of Applied Psychology. A meta-analysis of almost 13,000 employees found those who could work from home had greater job satisfaction, less stress and less family conflict. There was also no negative effect on the quality of relationships with colleagues.

RECOMMENDED: Why You Should Power Nap At Work

Leave Work In The Office

It can be hard to disconnect from the day job, thanks to the internet, but here’s one way: if you ever have to work late, stay in the office rather than taking it home. Being physically detached from work at home lets you switch off more quickly and completely than when you have work-related things scattered around, says research from the Journal Of Occupational Health Psychology. If you do work from home set up a dedicated work zone where it all stays.

What’s been the most challenging job interview you’ve had? Perhaps you were asked something that caught you off-guard. Maybe there was one that simply went on forever, thereby sapping your will to live, let alone your ability to think on your feet. And who can forget the time you had to win them back after you’d started with a hug, rather than a textbook handshake? Rookie mistake.

But it’s unlikely you’ll have encountered a job interview quite like the one Columbia clothing is offering.

That’s because the US sportswear brand is recruiting for two new Directors Of Toughness (and no, that’s not corporate talk for “security guard”), with the positions open to UK residents for the first time.

And Director Of Toughness is no misleading job title: they’re looking for someone who will put Columbia’s performance products to the test in the most extreme environments on the planet, before telling the world. We’re not just talking about a light jog around your local park followed by a blog. Rather, Columbia products are tested in the most gruelling conditions that Mother Nature can muster. That’s because this is clothing that’s #testedtough.

For the recruitment process, a limited number of specially selected applicants will be sent to one of the most remote parts of the UK making this, as Columbia claims, “the toughest interview to get to” (rather than, say, a journey by Tube and a bus).

Instead of sorting through thousands of applications, Columbia will let the toughness of the environment find their new Directors Of Toughness. Panting and wheezing after 10 minutes? Sorry. Better luck next time. This is where CV stands for both Curriculum Vitae and Cardio Vascular.

You might be sent on an extreme hiking trail, to a secret fishing hole, or up a gut-busting summit to see if you’ve got what it takes to join the team. “The Directors Of Toughness have become integral employees, not only testing our products but also sharing compelling stories,” says Richelle Luther, Columbia’s senior vice-president and chief human resources officer.

Only two people will be hired (on a nine-month contract, which includes both salary and benefits) for what promises to be the experience of a lifetime. After all, if you end up being one of the chosen two, your new job will see you spelunking, climbing glaciers, taking photographs, travelling the world and, of course, putting Columbia to the test, all to the eye-wateringly high standards of the company’s “Tough Mother”, Gert Boyle. That’s because once you start working at Columbia, the extreme life is something you’ll experience every day. Small wonder the role has been described as “the greatest job on the planet”.

So whether you’re a passionate adventurer, an active type seeking a fresh challenge or a fan of the great outdoors who’s desperate to escape the daily grind of the office, the chance to become a Director Of Toughness is probably the calling you’ve been waiting for.

To apply and find out more, please visit: columbia.com/toughjob; #testedtough

Where there’s sweat, there’s brass. Health and fitness is big business, so Coach has interviewed clever entrepreneurs to find out how they found new ways to meet the public’s demand.

Will Dean, 35, is the founder and CEO of hardcore obstacle course series Tough Mudder. Since launching in 2010, more than 2.5 million people have participated in events.

Tough Mudder employs 150 staff who will produce 120 events in 11 countries with 500,000 people taking part this year. Will was born in Nottinghamshire and divides his time between London and New York with his wife.

What is Tough Mudder?

It’s not a race or a competition. It’s a challenge about teamwork, fun, camaraderie and overcoming your fears over 10-to-12 miles. The obstacles are physically challenging and mentally intimidating with the wow factor. It’s not a classic sport; there are no rules and it changes every year.

Where did the idea come from?

I did marathons and triathlons, but I found it boring. My moment of genius was realising when people take part in an event, it’s about personal accomplishment. It’s known that it makes you happier to spend £5 on others than on yourself. This is the macro version, helping others through the mud and over obstacles. We’re not curing cancer but we’re making a positive difference in lives.

What was the gap that you saw that Tough Mudder could fill?

If two of you run a marathon, one’s quicker, one’s slower and that’s two independent experiences. People want to feel part of something – the institutions of our parents’ generations are declining, as are sports clubs, rugby, football, cricket clubs, political parties, trade unions and church memberships. Experience is the new luxury. Lots of us have a standard of living where our basic material needs are met, but most of us have possessions we don’t use which are worthless. But you have memories you cherish, especially shared memories. It’s proven that people who spend money on experiences are happier than people who spend money on material goods.

How hard was it to get off the ground?

My professors at Harvard said there’s no way you’ll get 500 people to your first event because it’s untimed, and there are no winners. I drove my 15-year-old VW Jetta around, looking for a venue. I got lost, it was cold, getting dark, and when I got to the motor track, I realised immediately it was too small. A lady came out of a Portakabin office and said, “You went to Harvard Business School and this is the best thing you can think of to do with your life?” I said yes. She said with genuine concern: “Your parents must be very worried.” It was a low moment.

Eventually I found a ski hill in Allentown, Pennsylvania for the first event. A month after we opened the website, we’d sold two tickets. It was just me, my co-founder and two unpaid and glum interns. It was stressful. Then ticket sales took off…

What’s it like being an entrepreneur?

It takes courage – ploughing limited funds into no guaranteed income, the odds are against you. If you go into it for financial reward, you’ll be bitterly disappointed. It’s lonely. When there’s a problem, all the executives look at you.

What have you learnt from your customers?

If you stop listening to them, you’re dead. There’s a famous ’50s focus group, where women tested a vacuum cleaner. They all agreed it was wonderful and they’d buy it for $50. They were told they could buy it for $25, and only half took it. People will tell you what they think you want to hear. We survey customers after events, and we get great customer feedback.

Were you surprised by the success of Tough Mudder?

We knew we were on to something. But after the first one, we were exhausted. We underestimated how complicated it would be. We had to work out how to go from managing one event to 12 to 30 to 50 events.

What do you wish you’d known back then?

When you do things at scale with 2.5 million people, you have to assume that someone will do things differently than you intended. The Funky Monkey is monkey bars over water, but people will climb them and try and walk across. Why? I’m no longer surprised.

The level of engagement from customers blows my mind; 5,000 have Tough Mudder tattoos. In 2014, the T-shirts weren’t ready in time. You can’t just buy half a million T-shirts, so we had none for an event. People went crazy, we had to call security. As a business you have a responsibility trying to engage with that strength of feeling.

What’s the future of this aspect of the industry?

We’ve added events in Asia, and launched the Tough Mudder Half, and the 24-hour Toughest Mudder. Our Virgin Active partnership is going well, so we can do more in the training area.

What’s your favourite obstacle?

The King of the Swingers. You have to catch a trapeze bar and swing 12ft to high-five a bell, before hitting the water. You look at the bar and think you won’t catch it, but always do.

Tough Mudder Half London South, September 17; Tough Mudder London South, September 24-25. Visit toughmudder.co.uk

The world of work is changing, according to Alexandra Cavoulacos and Kathryn Minshew, founders of online careers hub The Muse and authors of The New Rules Of Work. Follow their advice to fast-track your career progress and find more time to do the things you love.

This is the age of distraction, and it’s ironic that the most common sources of our distraction are the same technologies we need to keep up with the new world of work. Whether you’re skimming Facebook, refreshing your inbox again or checking that chat message that just popped up, maintaining concentration is hard. But there’s no substitute for focused, truly uninterrupted time if you’re going to actually get things done. Here are some productivity tools and strategies to help you keep your self-distracting impulses under control.

Use an app like Strict Workflow

This Chrome plug-in is based on the Pomodoro technique, a proven effectiveness method that makes you take five-minute breaks after 25-minute focused work increments. Once it’s installed, a simple click on your browser bar starts the timer for a 25-minute, interruption-free work session.

Set your current task to full screen

Sometimes all you need to focus your attention is to hide everything else from your visual field. Whether you’re working in Word, Chrome or Photoshop, just open the file or tab you need and then enter full-screen mode.

Try a tech curfew

Sometimes the only way to free yourself from the distraction of technology is to cut yourself off from it. Alex once gave herself a challenge that terrified her at first: a tech curfew.

Though accustomed to answering emails well past 1am, she decided she would turn her laptop off at 11pm and stop looking at all screens until she went to bed. She forced herself to adhere to this, and even closed her computer on a partially written email more than once. Guess what? No-one died. No-one even panicked.

Giving yourself a hard tech cut-off time will help you regain control by reminding you that the world won’t stop because you’ve detached. Alex found her experiment made her more productive during the day, meant she had more time for other things like reading, helped her prioritise better – and meant she got more sleep.

RECOMMENDED: How To Get Organised At Work And Get More Done

In This Series 

• Staying Sober When Socialising is Part of Your Job
• Staying Sober When Socialising is Part of Your Job

James Brown

Editor and media entrepreneur, he quit the stimulants while at the epicentre of a hugely indulgent profession

For a lot of people heavy drinking and drug use is a professional no-go area, but for me it wasn’t just part of the job, it was a badge of honour. First I was a music journalist on the NME and then I started the hedonist’s handbook, Loaded magazine, the perfect job for the drug-taking alcoholic who wanted to stay up all night partying, meet people with great stories and write about it.

The booze didn’t just begin on the day I started work at the NME aged 21. I’d been drinking since my late teens. Skipping beer I went from cider at teenage parties to vodka and tequila on the road with bands to fine wine in restaurants with music PRs in the time it took my friends to get a degree.

In Vegas with U2 for The Sunday Times I drank so many screwdrivers with Bono my stomach lining actually fell out with alcoholic gastritis. Typical of my outlook on life, I quit the OJ, not the vodka. At the NME, drink, ecstasy, speed and grass was prevalent among the writers. At Loaded, cocaine and heroin users populated the office.

This excessive consumption became more visible and problematic when I joined the Savile Row-suited grown-up world of GQ. Staffed by well-schooled people with good manners and multiple-barreled names, my alcoholism stood out like a house on fire. Thankfully the head of personnel took it upon herself to try and save wayward strays like myself, and after a spectacularly stupid incident when a champagne bottle smashed my office window and a car windscreen below, she suggested I go to residential rehab.

I welcomed this but turned the residential side of it down. I didn’t think I’d be able to come back after a month away and manage the job with any credibility or influence. Also I wasn’t sure I’d want the job when I came out. Instead, I started seeing an addiction counsellor called Clive Meindl twice a week.

Going to the first session was terrifying. I ended up in the wrong place and felt like a school kid f**king up. I eventually made it in 30 minutes later but then never missed a session. The next six months felt like I was removing layers of concrete overcoats.

I came to think of his freelance rooms in rehab centres and private hospitals across London as safe houses. Places I could honestly discuss my consumption levels, triggers and feelings. That’s all we did, talk – no lectures or lessons.

I was still drinking, Clive had never asked me not to, and there was a cupboard full of company chablis and champagne to think of. At the end of every day there would be drinks in the boardroom and as GQ editor I was required or welcome to pop in. I tried to limit myself with a drink diary and a self-imposed usage target but that didn’t work. I was powerless over my intake and just bust right through it.

Then after five months of counselling, I got into a fight with a street dealer in America and then put in a massive order with a guy I knew who was associated with the Westies crime gang. Thankfully he never showed up and when I returned home my counsellor told me I sounded scared of myself. He was spot on. Every day come 4pm, drunk from lunch but functioning, I had no idea where I’d end up 12 hours later. Usually somewhere I didn’t want to be.

For the first time he told me I was an alcoholic and an addict, and described how bad it could still become. This was my “moment of clarity”. Clive described a potential future of “bottoming out” with a potential menu of anything from death, prison, rape, to losing my family, friends, status or house. (I know people who’ve been through all of that now.) I knew then I wanted to stop more than I wanted to carry on.

I’ve never drunk or used since but the first days and years were precarious. “You’re walking a dangerous tightrope,” Clive said when I continued to associate with users and drinkers. I wanted to still live my life the way I had but not indulge. I managed it but I wouldn’t recommend it. In later years when cocaine appeared it felt like a bully had walked into the room. I’d quietly leave, but early on I’d front it out.

I managed to stay clean, to most people’s disbelief. Many couldn’t get their heads round it. One MD would offer me beer at lunch, which I’d never drunk anyway. F**k knows why he was doing that: thick, insensitive, trying to test me…?

Temptation was everywhere, off-licences screamed “BOOZE!” I came to call the supermarket wine aisle the Valley of Death. I couldn’t sleep at night; huge lumps appeared on my gums as my body detoxed. It was challenging both emotionally and physically.

I learnt to say “No, I’m fine thanks” and when people challenged it I’d say, “I’m just not having any today.” I realised if I could get through a day at a time I was doing OK. I took to driving golf balls at a tatty driving range in Kings Cross. Other distractions included getting massages, buying ties at Richard James and eating Twirls.

Last week a good friend said, “I wouldn’t have given you 18 days clean, never mind 18 years,” but the truth is I just didn’t want to do it any more. I didn’t like the way it controlled my life. I was lucky to find a different way of life.

Written by James Brown, @jamesjamesbrown

In This Series :

• How to Deal with Stress at Work
• Desk Exercises for Those Who Never Leave the Office
• Reclaim Your Gadget/Life Balance
• Is it Ever OK to Have a Romantic Relationship at Work?
• Healthy Specimen: John Maloney
• Women at Their Best: Jenny Biggam
• Men at Their Best: Matt Scheckner
• My Fitness Fingerprint: Chris Good

Who do you most admire in the industry for their contribution to a positive workplace?

I think the IPA (Institute of Practitioners in Advertising) do a great job at inspiring all agencies to be better and more professional employers. An agency can’t even qualify for membership unless they meet strict criteria and the training and support systems they provide to members are outstanding. I think we should also credit the inventor of that great institution – the media jolly. Without his or her valuable input to the industry I don’t think I’d still be here. My industry contacts cross over into my personal life, and those relationships have been built through lunches and jollies, rather than meetings and emails.

Who has been a great example of handling pressure in the workplace and what did they do?

We work with a lot of entertainment clients – from Discovery Networks to Ministry of Sound. I have no idea how these teams deal with the constant pressure of multiple releases, channel launches, last-minute changes, talent demands and fast-paced pressure. In ten years of working with these types of advertiser I’ve never personally witnessed any major stress or meltdowns. I can only assume they adapt to their surroundings and get used to it. With regards to the7stars, we have an upcoming wellbeing week where we’ll be doing lots of yoga and healthy activities. We also have a gym membership for all employees, so if they want to go and relieve their stress, then we provide that outlet for them.

What’s the best advice you’ve received or discovered for yourself on stress management?

I think in an agency environment it’s the theory about prioritising important tasks over urgent ones. There will always be a big presentation, pitch, deadline or another urgent task. Sometimes, you need to prioritise longer term goals, and prioritise internal projects – like communicating to your team – instead of bowing to external pressures.

Who has helped you most with maintaining a satisfactory work/life balance? And how do you get your life back when you’re crazy busy?

I’m not sure I’m a great example of a good work/life balance, as I work very long hours, but I make sure I take plenty of time off to balance it. At the7stars we don’t count people’s holiday days – as long as the work gets done, people can take time off. That really helps as I don’t feel guilty if I take lots of long weekends or holidays.

Do you have any good examples of the best way of defusing tense workplace situations?

I'd have to say humour. Having good social and personal connections with the people you work with always helps the team to find something to laugh about together. Liam Mullins invented “prank week” here – a week dedicated to maximising mucking about. We did once get in trouble though, because we were having a bit of a fruit fight from our roof terrace and I think some strawberries got thrown at another competitive media agency, who were outside a pub drinking. We had our first prank week complaint...

Who has been responsible for the the calmest, most creative, or happiest office environment you’ve experienced? How did they do it?

Companies like Facebook and Google try very hard at this, and in a way they set the benchmark for everyone else. But equally we work with a lot of great creative agencies whose office environments are definitely not A-List. Nobody would choose to work at somewhere like Adam & Eve/ DDB solely because of their office environment or location, yet they are one of the highest performing and creative teams in London. Creativity and teamwork are created through leadership – not necessarily from loads of ping pong tables in your office...

Jenny will be joining the Coach Advertising Europe Week panel to discuss "Fitness, Health and Happiness in Media." Getty Images Stage, Thursday 21st April, 2pm.

We’ve all had our very own million-pound ideas. Usually, these brainwaves come just as you’re about to fall asleep at 11pm, in bed, where you decide it’s such a good idea that there’s no point in getting up and writing it down, because you’ll definitely remember it the next day. And then you don’t, and it’s back to work you go instead of spending the day yacht shopping or mansion building.

One man that’s reaping the rewards of acting on his idea is Tom Cridland. Seeing an opportunity to make, market and sell his own line of highly durable clothes back in 2014 has led him, a very short two years later, to dress A-list celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Craig and Ben Stiller, gain international press recognition for his 30 Year Sweatshirts, and open his first shop on London’s prestigious King’s Road.

We caught up with the 25-year-old to discover where it all went so right for this one-man fashion brand.

Your journey began with a £6,000 government start-up loan in 2014. What were you doing before that?

Before starting the Tom Cridland brand, I did a degree in modern languages at Bristol University, and from there I applied for loads of graduate schemes. I worked in an accountancy firm for a few months, but soon realised that line of business wasn’t for me. I decided that I wanted to focus all my efforts on developing my brand.

Why a fashion line?

Basically, it stemmed from just never being able to find the perfect pair of trousers. I also found that when I eventually did find garments I liked, two years later I’d have to look all over again for something similar because of the wear and tear. Constantly replacing staple items became a chore, and I was keen to do something about it. I guess the brainwave was, “This is such a staple garment that it should be easier for people to find”.

But a fashion line, with no previous experience?

Well, when I was 18 a friend and I decided to design T-shirts at school. In seven days we sold enough T-shirts to donate £3,000 to Médecins Sans Frontières.

Your most famous product is the 30 Year Sweatshirt. Why has that been such a hit?

I learned that many big fashion brands produce their clothing to systematically fall apart, creating a cycle of consumption and waste. I believe that a customer should return to a designer to buy a new product, not to replace a product that’s been poorly made. I wanted to create something more durable, something that really stood the test of time.

You’ve stated you’d repair any of your 30 Year Sweatshirts for no fee. Have you had any back yet in a bizarre condition?

We’ve actually only received one return for repair so far! No bizarre conditions as of yet…

What’s been the most unexpected challenge you’ve faced in your line of work? Something you never expected would be an issue in the fashion industry?

As the only full-time employee, I’ve found myself to be extremely overworked at times, so I looked to outsource some of my PR work. Thing is, that barely lasted more than a few weeks as traditional PR agency fees to promote my business proved to be a big financial strain. I found the best way to overcome this challenge was simple: to build my own PR agency.

You’ve seen your garments on some mega famous people – which individual are you most proud of dressing?

Nigel Olsson [Elton John’s drummer] is definitely the individual I’m most proud of dressing. I was delighted when he made Tom Cridland an official sponsor of Elton John’s concerts. He’s been so helpful and has given me such a boost in confidence along the way. I’m proud to say we’ve created some customised Nigel Olsson Navy trousers and stage jackets just for him.

What’s the best piece of business advice you’ve been given from someone you respect?

My dad is my business mentor, and the person whose advice I take on board the most. I couldn’t single out just one thing he’s said as I speak to him pretty much every day.

What was the last book, film or TV show that inspired you to do something amazing?

I'll Be Me, a documentary about the country musician Glen Campbell. It’s heartbreaking, but at the same time such a celebration of talent, music and family. It was truly inspiring and his song I'm Not Gonna Miss You is one of the most beautiful songs of all time.

What advice would you give to someone looking to start up a new business?

Never stop persevering. There will be times when you think you’re not getting anywhere, but your efforts will, all of a sudden, pay off. I would also advise not to be scared of approaching anyone, from celebrities to press and everyone in between. People are generally very willing to help.

What’s the end goal for you? Or the moment when you can sit back and say, “That’s it, I’ve done it!”

I don’t think I’ll ever find myself saying “I’ve done it” – there will always be more designs and concepts I want to focus on and bring to market. That said, when I start to see people valuing their clothing more, keeping them for longer and, if they want to get rid of them, donating them to charity shops rather than binning them, I’ll really feel like I’ve achieved something big.

Tom Cridland is now open at 340 King’s Road, London SW3 5UR

Gerry Vanderhorne and Greg Burridge take people from all backgrounds and train them to be larger-than-life professional wrestlers at the London School of Lucha Libre. They also run the wild and unpredictable wrestling show Lucha Britannia (luchabritannia.com).

Greg Burridge

How did this wrestling school happen then?

I used to be a photography assistant. The job was pretty cool but I hated commuting. I’d pay for my season ticket to stand on a train and look down at the floor. I thought, “I can’t do this for the rest of my life”. I ultimately got sacked. I was really bad at it. 

Haha opening a wrestling school would hardly be most people's next logical step though?

Life tells you being a wrestler isn’t worthwhile. Well why not? Life’s too short not to take risks. I went to America to teach photography to kids. I was walking about NYC and I had this intense urge to go into a pharmacy. When I came back outside, a truck had skidded off the road and crashed exactly where I would have been standing. It made me realise that life’s short. I decided to follow my dream to be a pro wrestler. I’d rather have no money and a lifetime of stories than be really rich and not have a chance to spend it because I was working too hard.

Garry Vanderhorne: 

Isn't wrestling fake?

You can’t fake gravity. If your body hits the ground from a height, it hurts. It’s not normal to do this. It’s training to be a real-life superhero. When you watch a movie, you don’t say, “That movie is fake”. You know it’s a piece of entertainment that requires a lot of skill in multiple directions to make.

How did you start wrestling?

I was severely injured in a fight - I had bad nerve damage in my arm and couldn’t turn my neck properly. And because I had time off work I started watching wrestling, and I was like, “How have these guys not got neck problems like mine?” Turns out they all did what’s called a wrestler’s bridge. I started doing it myself and it slowly got stronger and stronger and I was able to go back to the gym. I started rehabilitating and then I found a wrestling school. 

What's the best part about having your own school?

What we do is about making a difference to people’s lives – not about money. On the whole people’s lives are quite miserable and they’re quite unhappy with what they’re doing in their jobs, their relationships, their family lives. We’ve had couples meet here. One couple has got married and had a baby. You also get natural athletes who are quite bland. It’s our job to extract their special magic thing. Some people might be interested but think it’s hard to get involved - I can open that door. Our wrestling shows are like nothing else. Where else are you going to see a robot fighting a voodoo witch doctor? It needs to be seen to be believed. It’s ridiculous. 

What sucks about it?

I’ve broken a few bones along the way. I once did a dive in a venue where the ceiling was quite low. I couldn’t jump up as high as usual so I jumped forward instead but the people I was fighting were a little bit further away and weren’t quite ready. I tried to rectify my mistake mid-jump and land on my feet but instead I landed diagonally on one foot. I shattered my calcaneus [heel bone], broke my ankle and tore the tendons on the outside of my leg. My heel bone sheared in half and there were seven breaks in one half. I knew immediately that I had a bag of bones in my boots. Despite the pain I stayed in character. Breaking character is the worst thing you can do.

Your 8am americano is fine for a morning jolt, but by lunch you’re on your way to Caffeine Crash Town. This powdered green tea packs more caffeine but releases it slowly, meaning performance without jitters – or sleepless nights after a late-afternoon hit.

£9.99 bulkpowders.co.uk

Greasy hair is a giveaway that you’ve been out all night. A spritz of this shower in a can strips away oil and provides volume, so you look like you’ve had eight hours, not eight pints.

£2.99 boots.com

Low levels of this vitamins have been linked to everything from dementia to cancer and depression. Since it’s produced when sunshine hits your skin, most Brits are deficient. Pop a pill in the morning for a brighter outlook.

£17.99, hollandandbarrett.com

Frequent washing cracks skin for unshakeable hands. Undo the dryness with this hardcore mitt moistener, which promises it could cure the cracks in the Grand Canyon. Now you just need to work on how hard you squeeze.

£19, aesop.com

Whether you’ve lacerated your hands grabbing an overloaded barbell or a stack of razor-edged paper, just paint on this antibacterial liquid to speed up the healing process. It beats trying to dig out the always-empty first aid kit.

£15.50, amazon.co.uk 

Hot commutes mean shiny skin and the blocked pores that cause breakouts. Like stowing your bathroom sink in your desk drawer, these wipe away the horrors of early-morning trains, without any artificial gunk to dry out your skin.

£14.75, dermalogica.co.uk

Not for that. When an all-nighter (either at your desk or your local) leaves you looking like you’ve gone eight rounds with Manny Pacquiao, dab this on under your eyes to tighten blood vessels and send bags packing.

£6.29, boots.com