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Filing fit: Push the pace this SA season

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12th Jan 2016
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The looming end of January deadline forces many to swap the gym for extended slumps in the office. If this sounds like you, don’t forget to take care of yourself while you take care of the tax returns.

For many, scaling the mountain of tax returns amounts to the total exercise many accountants participate in during the stressful SA period. Plunging fitness levels will have an adverse effect on your concentration and resilience making it across the SA deadline finish line.  

AccountingWEB has not been the same since our fitness oracle Rachael Power defected to BusinessZone. Although she is no longer around to cheer-lead you across the finish line, Rachael’s fitness advice still remains to motivate in our health and wellbeing discussion group.

Rachael told AccountingWEB: "Small business owners and accountants both need to take care of themselves during self assessment season. To avoid burnout, take some time out of your day to yourself, whether it's for a walk, a gym session or just a quick breather." 

Here is some of Rachael’s advice to kick start your SA fitness regime: 

Healthy eating

Feeling lethargic? It’s easy for accountants cooped up in their office to order take-away or snack on comfort food in order to cope throughout the day. However, accountants can resist the urge to gorge on sugary treats, and save money, by forward planning.

Bulk cooking alleviates the lunch time scramble for convenience food. If you’re stuck for ideas, spend a few minutes planning the next day’s meals. Consider alternatives to munching on crisps; instead, pack fruit, nuts and grains to snack on. The change4Life app has over 100 healthy meal ideas to choose from.

Quick Workout

Fitting in your routine gym sessions can be difficult when you are strapped for time. The seven minute workout app gives you a quick fitness burst without taking up too much time. The high intensity work out consists of 30 second spurts of press ups, crunches, lunges and squats, which you can complete around your desk.

Desktop and virtual yoga

AccountingWEB.com’s desktop yoga series will help you reduce stress by tackling the stress points (shoulders, neck and feet). A simple exercise you can do in between stretching for the next tax return is lifting your shoulders.

Desktop yoga proves that you don’t have to sprawl across the floor, contorting your body, in order to enjoy the stress-relieving benefits.

Get in the swim

Take a break from drowning in tax returns and visit your local pool. Swimming uses more muscles to overcome the water’s resistance. Even 20mins floating will relax and stretch muscles that may have cramped up after sitting for hours in front of the computer. If a lunch time paddle isn’t possible you can still head to the pool for an early morning wake up dip.

The speedo fit app comes with a collection of swimming challenges to fuel your aspirations.

On yer bike  

By making cycling part of your daily commute, you can keep your fitness levels up, and also reduce your commuting stress by weaving inbetween the traffic clamped vehicles.

The cycle to work schemes will get you a tax-free bike. The strava app lets you track your rides with GPS, set personal records, join challenges and compare results with friends.  

Calm down

Taking time out to rekindle your energy and motivation can help enhance your positivity levels. Plug in your earphones and listen to the calm app and website, and bask in the serenity of trickling water sounds and bird songs.

The app also guides you through a series of yoga-like awareness exercises to release anxiety. You can find inner peace while still file tax returns.

All about the abs

The abs workout app provides users with a set of work outs and accompanying videos to demonstrate each exercise. The sit-up exercise requires eight minutes to craft your Herculean physique.

Are there any other quick exercises you can suggest to avoid a self assessment fitness slump? 

Replies (1)

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By carnmores
13th Jan 2016 11:30

some of us don't know what a gym is
I suppose desktop or virtual yoga is more our thing, is that similar to laptop yoga?

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