HSW 24: Rewiring Our Shift Working Mindset with Dr Laurence Tham.

laurence-tham

Healthy Shift Worker Episode 24:  

In this week’s episode Audra chat’s with Chiropractor, International Speaker and Business Coach Dr Laurence Tham, on all things to do with improving our shift working resilience – from a mindset perspective.

Whilst it’s not a topic often discussed, Laurence shares some of his “mindset wisdom” on how we can improve our health and wellbeing both in and out of the workplace by simply changing our mindset along which includes adjusting our ‘filters’, in other words, how we see the world.

Some of Laurence’s Golden Tips from the podcast include:

Knowing what you can change, and what you can’t, as outlined in the Serenity Prayer:
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Make sleep your priority. It needs to be valuable to you.
Taking care of yourself FIRST.
Be responsible for everything!
Laurence’s Top 3 Favorite Books as mentioned on the podcast:

‘Originals’ – by Adam Grant

‘Love Yourself, Like Your Life Depends On It’ – by Kamal Ravikant

‘The Obstacle Is The Way’ – by Ryan Holiday

HSW 13: Gratitude For Your Shift Working Job with Leonie Waterhouse.

Today I'm Thankful For.. sign with a beach on background

Healthy Shift Worker Podcast Episode 13:

Working shift work is a tough gig, and it certainly comes with a price – be it physically, mentally and/or emotionally.

But it’s not all bad, and this week Audra chat’s with Qantas Customer Service Agent Leonie Waterhouse who has had a pretty tough journey over the last 15 years or so, both in and outside the workplace.

However despite these challenges, Leonie maintains a mindset of gratitude for her shift working job, which is so refreshing and truly inspiring!

It’s Time For A Change!

change3It’s time for a change!

After much deliberation, I’ve decided to undergo some rebranding and revert back to the original name of my blog – ‘The Healthy Shift Worker’, which I set up way back in 2009.

Wow – it’s hard to believe this blog has been humming along for that long, but don’t worry – the content is still going to be the same as I share some of my ‘shift working wisdom’ on all things to do with shift work including sleep, immunity, nutrition, mindset and movement.

I’d love to tell you the BIG reason for the name change, but it’s a bit top secret at the moment (although super exciting!)

Hope you’re having a great weekend – whether you’re rostered on or off!

Audra x

Frustrated Shift Workers – Two Simple Things That Will Help You To Beat The 'Shift Work Blues!'

If you’re a frustrated and dissatisfied shift worker searching for a way to ‘Beat the Shift Work Blues’ then you’ve come to the right place. As shift workers we certainly work crazy and irregular hours which can make it very difficult to achieve a happy ‘work/life balance’.

But don’t worry – there is a solution!

I am going to share with you exactly how to ‘Beat the Shift Work Blues’ and become much happier at work.

Firstly I will tell you, that I am a shift work veteran of the airline industry where I worked for 15 years as a very frustrated shift worker. So I know EXACTLY what it’s like to get up in the dark, to constantly feel tired, and to miss out on family time because I’m either in bed or working on the weekends.

So what did I do to help me to ‘Beat the Shift Work Blues?’

Well I decided to take 100% responsibility for my life and to do 2 things:

1. I changed my mindset which allowed me to accept what I can’t change, and to change what I can.

2. I made a conscious decision to ‘not mind shift work’.

You see, shift work can be incredibily tiring and frustrating. To be honest if you’re a shift worker, then you’re a lot tougher and stronger than most of the general population because shift work isn’t easy, and not everybody is cut out for it.

There are certainly so many things that can add to your fatigue and frustrations. But the day that I decided to “… accept what I can’t change, and to change what I can” – literally changed my life.

Now if you come to work everyday and you say to yourself “… I hate my job, I hate working shift work, woe is me …” then that’s exactly what is going to happen. In simple terms, your thoughts will attract those things.

However if you start to take charge of your shift working life (and not the other way around) and begin by changing the way that you think, this mental shift can be very, very powerful.

You see the key difference is the thoughts that we think. You can choose what you think about and what you focus on, and you can also choose who you listen too. Keep away from negative people and certainly don’t be one yourself!

So come into work with a smile on your face, be friendly and don’t take life so seriously. Learn to laugh again because laughter is contagious. When we smile, people smile back.

Isn’t this the sort of work place that you’d like to be part of?

The Positives Of Working Shift Work

As many of you read that title – “The positives of working shift work” – you’re probably ready to throw something at me!

But you know – there really are some positives … like no traffic jams, time off during the week to go to the beach or see a movie, finishing work at lunchtime, no standing in queues ….

You see – I told you there are some positives!! So don’t just groan about all the bad stuff – concentrate on the good stuff too because it will help change your mindset and make you feel that little bit better when that blaring alarm clock goes off at 3am!!