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One of the most difficult transitions to make when going from college – where a day may not begin until 11:00am and end until 2 or 3:00am with very little structure in between – to the Real World is adjusting to the 40-hour work week. And the truth is that only through patience and pure repetition will you ever get used to working full-time but these tips might help make the transition a little less painful:

1. Take frequent, short breaks. Try to take a short break regularly – maybe 45 minutes on than a 5 minute break – and look away from your work. Send a friend a text, get a sip of water, juggle, check your favorite RSS feed updates (link), etc. but regardless, take a few minutes to do something else.
2. Do not eat lunch at your desk. Even if it’s only the conference or break room, go somewhere other than your desk for lunch; even if you packed a bag lunch to try and save money, eat it outside. Getting away from your office at lunchtime makes the afternoons fly by and you’ll return to your work after lunch feeling revitalized.
3. Take advantage of your lunch hour. Seriously. If your work won’t suffer or go undone and your contract says you get an hour lunch break, than take a full hour lunch break! I realize that this is easier said than done but adjusting to 40 hours of work a week is hard enough, why willingly make it 45 hours?
4. Take all of your time off. Again, easier said than done, but taking a random day off here & there or stretching a 3-day holiday weekend into a 4-day weekend could be the key to a successful transition.
5. Get up in the morning. Allowing yourself plenty of time in the morning to relax, eat a hearty breakfast, maybe check your email or Facebook, or even stretch, go to the gym, run or do some yoga, will help you conquer your day better than if you’re rushed, stressed and tired. The bottom line is – the more you relax through the work week, the faster it will go by.

What do you do to make the week go by more smoothly?

(image by lostinthought)

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