Brain breaks will be one of the most essential coworking perks of 2023. Brain breaks are short time intervals during the workday when employees can take a break from work and focus on recharging their minds. It is essential for employee productivity and well-being, as they help to reduce stress and prevent burnout. Coworking spaces should prioritize providing comfortable and inviting spaces where employees can take breaks and refresh themselves. Employees can stay energized and productive over the long term with the proper brain breaks.

1. Libraries - Reading can help us focus better and give our brains a much-needed respite from distracting visual noise. Creating a library is one strategy to promote reading among coworking participants. If you're short on funds, consider finding used bookcases and placing them in your breakout areas.
2. Deep breathing and yoga - Deep breathing can boost energy, reduce stress, and promote good posture in seconds. If you operate a coworking space, think about setting up an open-access bank of resources for deep breathing that members can use as needed. The practice of yoga has long been popular among coworkers, and it can sometimes be led in person.
3. Local walks - It is well known that prolonged inactivity when working at a desk can cause physical and emotional exhaustion. By directing members to the closest green spaces, you can encourage them to incorporate activity into their daily schedule. Why not make a printed or digital map highlighting all the ways to green spaces?
4. Imaginative prompts - Activities that require workers to utilize their intellect for something else at work may also give the brain a different kind of break. Creative prompts may offer worker relief from repetitive or, opposite, highly conceptual activities. Consider starting a collective writing project that participants can work on while taking mental breaks. Write the first sentence of a story in a notebook and place it in a breakout area so that others can add to it as they are motivated.
5. Coloring books - The fact that adult coloring books are non-competitive is one of the best things, especially in the workplace. Take your time; people can work as swiftly or slowly as they like and complete as much as they like. Moreover aware, coloring encourages the individual to pay attention to the moment.

Source: https://allwork.space/2023/02/the-most-important-coworking-perk-of-2023-brain-breaks/

From the host Denise Swafford: I love where I'm from. I grew up in Small Town USA. During times of recession and not to mention a pandemic a lot of hometown communities took a very hard hit. Small towns have helped build our great nation and to be honest, where would we even be without our hometowns? I'm going to put a spotlight on these hometowns and encourage you to go and explore everything they have to offer. These amazing places you may have never seen are full of fun, history, shopping, amazing food, good times, and most of all incredible people! I will give you just a taste to encourage you to come to spend the day, the weekend, or even weeks traveling through the backbone of America. The TV Show “My Hometown America” is more than just a show, it's a passionate desire to keep our hometowns flourishing. Watch the preview and find out more about sponsorships and even being featured on the show! Myhometownamerica.com

Members - don't miss your chance for your business to be featured in our next newsletter.

Joni has been a registered nurse for 25 years with experience in the emergency department, outpatient surgery, clinical nursing education, medical surgical floor nursing, cath lab, and cardiac rehab. She served as Fitness Supervisor for Total Health and Total Fitness Aquatics for nine years, managings 20+ employees, community membership, business, and fitness programming. Along with providing group fitness instruction for 16 years and coordinating employee wellness biometric data collection events, she has been a health and wellness educator for nine years, planning and presenting health and wellness programs within the hospital system and throughout the community. As an avid health and wellness promoter, Joni was featured bi-monthly on a local radio program sharing information about optimal well-being for much of 2020 and 2021.

She completed training with the Integrative Nurse Coach Academy in 2020. Then she obtained certifications: Board Certified Nurse Coach through the American Holistic Nurses Credentialing Corporation, Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach through the American Medical Board of Examiners, Certified HeartMath Practitioner through the HeartMath Institute, and Board Certified Cardiovascular Nurse. She has further training in End of Life Coaching and Trauma Sensitive Coaching.

Joni started her own nurse coaching practice, Coach Joni O, in January 2021 and currently works with clients one on one, in small groups, and is a presenter and keynote speaker. She also works with a nationwide virtual wellness company providing small-group coaching to hospital employees. Her specialty is Inviting Calm and Managing Overwhelm.

Many people have heard of the fight or flight response but need clarification on the details. She helps people understand both sides of their autonomic nervous system and their power to activate their rest and heal response. When our parasympathetic nervous system is activated, we have a greater ability to be present, aware, and manage our thought processes. Clients learn how to activate their rest and healing response, create an emotional shift and see their brain in a way that separates them from the immediate intensity of their emotions. They learn how thoughts, feelings, and actions interact to create results and gain techniques and strategies to make choices from an authentic place that leads to the results they are seeking. For most people, this includes the desire to feel calm, competent and/or confident in their relationships, work, performance, and life situations. When we feel calm and confident, our ability to lead, interact and connect with others improves tremendously. She works with a wide variety of clients and has helped many people find peace, calm, joy, and success in their lives over the last few years, regardless of their circumstances.

She lives in Stillwater with her husband of 31 years and daughter. She has two grown sons and two fur babies!

Established in Stillwater, Oklahoma in 2013 by chef/owner Sarah Ramsay, Good Little Eater is a restaurant and catering business offering delicious, scratch-made meals for dine-in or takeout. Our menu changes monthly and we prepare a variety of cuisines, including Mexican, Italian, Indian, and Asian. Our pastries and desserts (cookies, brownies, pies, cakes, tarts, yeast breads, and more) are all made in-house and are what we love making the most! Orders for our casseroles and desserts are accepted throughout the week. We have an ever-changing selection of soups, casseroles, and desserts in our freezer available for purchase. Visit soon at 106 1/2 W. 10th Ave, just one block south and across the street from WorkIT!