“In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different.” —Coco Chanel

Healthy Work Habits, Part I

Walk This Way

Welcome to Part I of Healthy Work Habits. It is amazing what working in an office 8 – 9 hours a day will do to your body. Have you ever actually thought about how much you sit at work? And then if you add in any commute time? There was a time in my life when I thought getting 10,000 steps a day was almost impossible without going for a run. Now, it is rare that a day passes that I do not get 10,000 steps.  “How is that?” you ask.  Because I walk.  The girls at work and I go on two walks a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.  When we began, our walks were short.  Over time and as we started walking quicker, we increased the distance.  Our current route is approximately one mile.  And, I am only away from my desk for 15 – 20 minutes.  We like to call it our “health break.”  There are so many benefits of walking, including maintaining a healthy weight, preventing/managing various conditions, including heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes, strengthening your bones and muscles, improving your mood, and improving your balance and coordination.  Plus, it’s a teambuilding activity, gets you away from your desk, and allows you to rest your eyes.  I don’t know about you, but staring at a computer screen all day is a killer on my eyes. Taking these small breaks throughout the day can actually increase productivity. Physical activity helps you increase blood flow to areas in the brain that are necessary for focus and attention. Some people even say that sitting is the new smoking. Now, as with anything, you have to be flexible and remember your priorities. If you have a meeting at the time of your walk, you’ll need to change the time of the walk or skip it that time. I don’t think saying you skipped the monthly staff meeting to go on a walk would fly 🙂

Tip: If you wear heels to work, leave a pair of flats at your desk.  They do not have to be fancy, but you are more likely to go walking in flats rather than heels (speaking from experience.) 

Back to Work Outfits – Dresses

When I first went back to work after being on maternity leave, I had no idea what to expect.  I had a handwritten list of what I thought would be my “mourning routine,” but the babes didn’t (and still don’t) always abide by my schedule.  I quickly learned I needed to have some “go to” outfits for the mornings when I was super rushed (which probably meant the night before I was super exhausted and didn’t choose my next day outfit.)  If you’ve followed me for a while, you know I’m a dress girl – throwing on a dress with heels is just so simple and takes two seconds.  Also, most of my work pants didn’t fit when I went back to work.  I’ve pulled together three “back to work” outfits as I’m calling them.  Yes, I was pumping.  No, these are not nursing or maternity clothes – the company I work for has dedicated ‘mother’s rooms’ where you can lock yourself in from the inside and do your business. 

Below each set of pictures is a widget of items that are either the clothes I am wearing or something similar.  If you click on the image that you like, it will redirect you to that item’s website where you can purchase if you so feel the need.  Enjoy!

Look #1

Literally the easiest. I bought this Ann Taylor dress on sale and paired it with nude pumps. Note: when buying at places like Ann Taylor, Loft, J. Crew, etc., keep in mind there will always be a sale…..always. If you want your inbox to be blasted with sales and deals, sign up for these newsletters. Also, if you live close to an actual store front, they do 40% off ALL items ALL the time. This particular dress is completely sold out, but I have found very similar styles

Look #2

Having a basic black dress (like this one from Target) is a must in your closet. I have a collection of scarves that I love to incorporate into my outfits, which also act as a fun accessory. A dress like this can be dressed up, dressed down, worn with flats, heels, leggings – the options are endless. Also note, this is second day hair, which equals some spin on a ponytail/bun.

Look #3

Tartan. Classic. Not only for the holidays. Yes, we tend to think of wearing tartan only in December, but you can actually wear it outside of the month of December as well. This dress is pretty much out of stock, but J. Crew has a lot of other options for tartan – basically plaid’s classier cousin.

Misc.

January 19 is Popcorn Day. Grab your favorite popcorn and get lost in a movie or series – recent faves include Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Dirty John, and I did watch Birdbox – I’m still undecided how I feel about it. I think I’m one of those who watched it just to say I watched it and would understand what all the memes and social media posts were about. If you don’t like popcorn, try this ice cream instead. Believe me, it’s worth it.

This is too good to be true – Magical Dessert Bar. Think unicorns, magical colors, rainbow kabobs – who even knew there was such a thing? I have a feeling little girls and older girls will be excited alike when this place opens in Houston in February.

IF you are in the Houston area and planning on running the Chevron Marathon or Aramco Half Marathon, please please please keep up with the weather this week – but I know as a runner you are already obsessed with weather and know what I am about to tell you. The temp is supposed to drop it like it’s hot Saturday night – be prepared for this. Like in the 30’s at start of race time and windchill in the 20’s. This is for you, too, spectators.

This concludes the second edition of The Monday Post. Next week I’ll continue my Healthy Office Habits discussion and do a little baby talk – products I LOVED when the twins were teeny tiny babies. Have a great week, get your steps in, and I’ll leave you with this question: Where are you on your new year goals and what are you doing to accomplish them?

Cheers – MP