Want to feel calmer, more productive, and enjoy your workday? At Lewis College, we teach Personal Development and PA Skills to help students create more positive, balanced workdays — and we’ve seen what works.
Drawing on Sue France’s The Definitive Personal Assistant & Secretarial Handbook and years of student feedback, we’ve rounded up five simple strategies you can try today to bring more positivity into your work life.
1. Go to Bed Earlier 🛌
Better mornings start the night before. Studies show that being asleep by 11 pm helps you get the highest quality, most restorative sleep. Start winding down around 10 pm so you can drift off naturally. You’ll wake up refreshed, sharper, and ready for the day.
2. Get Up Earlier ☀️
Ever feel rushed from the second your alarm goes off? Try waking up 30 minutes earlier. This gives you time to ease into your day — whether that means a relaxed breakfast, time for exercise, or just a calmer commute. Our students report that this single habit makes the biggest difference in reducing stress.
3. Prep the Night Before 🎒
Spend 10 minutes in the evening getting ready for tomorrow:
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Lay out your clothes
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Pack lunches or snacks
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Make notes on key work tasks
This small routine helps you wake up knowing you’re already ahead — no frantic searching for missing items or last-minute stress.
4. “Park” Your Problems 📝
If you’re stuck on a tricky work issue, don’t force it. Write it down and set it aside for the night. Your brain keeps processing it in the background, and you’ll often wake up with a fresh perspective. This habit helps avoid rushed decisions and leads to better solutions.
5. Take a Real Break 🍽️
Working through lunch might feel productive, but it drains your energy and focus. A guilt-free break — ideally with a short walk outside — helps you recharge, make better decisions, and get more done in the afternoon.
At Lewis College, we encourage our students to experiment with these habits and notice the difference. A few small changes can transform a stressful week into one that feels calmer, more productive, and more positive.
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28 responses
I find that talking to people helps you to remain positive about the things that may be getting you down. This can help, not only by getting someone else’s perspective on a problem, but also by helping you to vent your worries. Sometimes, having a chat with a friend can help you see that the problem or worry is not as big or as bad as it seems leading to a more relaxed and more positive you!
We are all guilty of staying at our desk to complete just one more task. Not having regular breaks tires out both our brain and our eyes leading to frustration and negativity. Getting up from my desk refreshes me, allows me to concentrate better and increases my productivity. At the end of the day I leave work feeling more positive.
I have been guilty of all of the above! Since starting the Personal Development course with Penny it has really helped me to break some bad habits. Sue France’s book “The Definitive Personal Assistant & Secretarial Handbook” has so many really helpful hints and tips that has made my working life a lot better. Well worth a read.
This information has really helped me over the past few weeks, as I was sitting completing my coursework for hours. When what I should be going is having regular breaks.
I like to get to work a little bit earlier so I can relax and prepare myself for the day. I usually turn on my PC and make myself a cup of tea. This helps me to get ready for a busy day.
I find getting up half an hour earlier each day to meditate for 10 minutes clears and relaxes the mind before a busy day ahead.
Good advice about parking your problems – it’s true that our thoughts can be muddled if we try to tackle things straight away. I agree about lunch breaks. Where I work most people eat at their desks but we only have 30mins break and I always take this and get some fresh air. I recently spent time in France and for them lunch was really important, and it made me realise that we shouldn’t feel guilty for taking this time and eating properly. Au contraire..!
Great advice. It’s true about lunch breaks. Where I work most people eat at their desks but we only have 30mins break and I always take this and get some fresh air. I recently spent time in France and for them lunch is really important, and it made me realise that we shouldn’t feel guilty for taking this time and eating properly. Au contraire!
I also feel routine really helps me stay positive, I am such a planner and this helps to keep me organised and stress free! The book by Sue French is turning out to be a great read and really thought provoking. It has really made me think about myself and what i can do to enhance my lifestyle and my daily routine, because change can really put a fresh spin on things and the book I feel has supported me to embrace change better instead of avoiding it.
I also a feel a good diet keeps me positive as when i eat healthier, I feel better and more energised in myself which keeps me going for longer and helps me concentrate and study.
I think it is great though that everyone has lots of different ideas to share and gives others hints and tips to feel more positive in their working day, so thanks everyone!
Thanks for sharing.
Great tips for a perfect positive day!
Vita
Excellent advice especially about Parking and Prepping
Mindfulness is a key which, in a way, is also the point Nr. 5. Being present at this moment & avoid any sort of influence from other situations & people.
Permanently “parking” isn’t going to solve the problems; “sleeping on it” may bring a new solution though.
Having read this article a couple of weeks ago, I’m really making a conscious effort to take a proper lunch break. I’m lucky enough to work in a beautiful office (a converted barn nestled at the foot of the Sussex Downs) and have been making sure that I step away from my desk and take advantage of the surroundings by walking a mile up the lane and back most lunchtimes. Not only is this enabling me to get away from my work, clear my head and refocus but it’s also helping me to up my daily steps and move more!
A good night’s sleep and continuous hard work for a positive mentality sets the wheels in motion for a productive day at work!
Amazing tips!
Having enough sleep is so beneficial, not only for your health in general but a great deal for your mental health!
And I also love your tips on prepping which I should really try my best to do this to avoid feeling rush in the morning especially when I have a train to catch!
Can’t deny most of us are guilty of NOT having breaks during lunch or do what we call a “working lunch” – though I must say during the summer months, it is especially great when the sun is out as I take this opportunity to have a walk and de-stress.
I totally agree with the tips recommended. I have tried to go to sleep by 10 pm and wake up early in the morning. My day starts with ease and refreshment. It affects to my working day – i feel more positive and more smiling with workmates and people surrounding. Communications among departments and groups are much better and help bring productivity.
Lunch break is also important. It is when you can recharge yourself with enough food and a cup of coffee. Or taking a short 20-minute nap is also a good advice before getting back to work.
These are great tips! I am always looking at finding less stressful ways to start my day in the morning. I find myself in work in the morning all stressed out before I have even turned my monitor on!
After reading this, I think I might take a lunch break instead of working through it.
Thank you for the wonderful advice, I agree with all of it. I also find setting positive intentions when I get up (early) in the morning and visualising the day running smoothly and joyfully also really help me to start the day.
Great advice and an interesting article. We are all guilty of not taking enough breaks, but they really help especially if you are working on a difficult task. I also think working in the right environment helps with a positive working day. Just sitting by a window really helps my mental health.
These are 5 great ways to help you have a successful day- in work and family life. I like the positive encouragement to remind us the reasons why these will help.
Amazing advice 🙂 I personally never take enough breaks but find even taking 5 minutes really helps clear your head.
I really valued the point about parking a problem. So often in today`s society we feel pressurised to make decisions quickly and this may result in the wrong decision being made and having to take time to resolve the situation. I think it is much better to take longer and come to a clear conclusion, feeling you are happy and are sure of what to do rather than rushing and being stressed over a problem and taking the wrong decision. This is positive for both you and others.
Excellent advice and tips. I think we are all guilty of not knowing when to stop and have a break as we are eager to get things done. Definitely time to stop feeling guilty and look after ourselves.
I found this blog post super helpful – especially the parking point. Often I will try to solve issues as soon as they happen but sleeping on it is great advice!
I also rarely take breaks but they are so important! Even five minutes is beneficial.
Thank you very much for these tips, they helped me a lot. We need such tips to relieve work pressures and we always need to take a sufficient rest.
5 great actionable tips. Thanks for sharing !
Thanks for sharing these great tips. I am guilty of N°1, 4 and
5. After reading Sue France’s book, I have been practicing sleeping on problems I can’t solve and I must say that this one practice has changed my life.
Thank you for sharing all those tips. I find point N5 particular useful