How to Relax Like an Engineer

Lithon puts its people first, valuing genuine care and prioritising relationships inside and outside of work. Part of this involves supporting our employees’ wellness journeys, and recognising the interconnected relationship between a healthy body and a thriving mind. Rest is a big part of this.

During this season of rest, you might be curious if engineers apply their systematic thinking to relaxation too. Here are some engineer-approved relaxation techniques that might just inspire your downtime.

Learn to Debug Your Mind

What’s a software engineer’s nightmare? A computer loaded with bugs, or worse, viruses. The human brain is a bit like a computer. It often does us a world of good to unplug and let the mainframe reboot. But how? Sometimes just unplugging from social media and email can be helpful. For engineers, debugging the mind involves anything that is distinctly non-engineering. It might even mean taking up gardening or painting, where the only problem-solving required is choosing the right colour palette or plant species. Other practices which help to calm the mind and reset include mindfulness, yoga, meditation, and breathing exercises.

Reverse Engineer Your Relaxation

Prolonged stress creates fatigue. This is true for both structures AND people! Engineers love meticulous planning, so this step involves creating a personalised relaxation plan. Relaxation is unique for everyone so you must get to know what helps you to relax. One way to do this is to analyse what truly brings you joy and peace. Discover the activities that make you feel rejuvenated instead of drained. They could be something as simple as reading a sci-fi novel, tinkering with a car engine (just for fun), or enjoying nature’s solitude on a hike. These are the joy-sparking activities you need to allocate more time in your daily life. Schedule them in on the relaxation plan, and put them into action. 

Conduct a stress test on Your Sleep Schedule

Sleep is so important to everyday health. It could even be likened to the foundations of a building. If you’re getting enough, and good quality sleep, then the building is going to stand tall. If you’re spending the majority of your holiday napping on the couch, chances are that your normal sleep schedule needs an overhaul. Are your sleep foundations solid enough to hold up the weight of your day-to-day responsibilities at work? A good place to start is to strive for 7-8 hours of quality sleep nightly and prepare for rest by powering down digital devices well before bedtime. Here are some more handy tips on how to improve your sleep schedule. 

Calibrate Your Social Interactions

Socialising might fall by the wayside during peak project times, but like any well-oiled machine, our social lives need regular engagement (and calibration) to run smoothly. Whether introvert or extrovert, socialising is as important as quality sleep and regular relaxation for human beings. Take a cue from Lithon engineers who plan their social adventures with the same meticulous precision as they do their projects. We certainly know how to have fun and that’s not by accident. We are purposeful with the planning of our team-building and social events, and this ensures that everyone gets to relax and have fun.

Innovate Your Downtime

Purposefully doing something different than usual with your downtime can help you destress. 

Delve into personal projects that stir curiosity without the stress of deadlines. For us engineers, it might be building a model rocket or miniature steam train in our living room. Then there’s Lithonian, Luzé Kloppers-Mouton, who makes earrings out of recycled plastic for fun. And accounts administrator, Cherecé Roussouw, who adds to her growing shoe collection during her free time. One thing’s for sure, the Lithon family knows how to wind down in style.

Lithon Takes Charge, You Sit Back and Relax

We pride ourselves in delivering quality work that sets our client’s minds at ease. While we love our downtime, our passion for engineering solutions is never off-duty. As we recharge for the new year, we’re gearing up to tackle all the new challenges that come our way. 

Get in touch with us at info@lithon.com, to discuss your future engineering ventures.