Posts by Thea O'Connor

Whether aiming to excel at work or simply survive, breaks are essential. Famous historical high-achievers, such as Brahams, Napolean and Churchill all demonstrated that the secret to work success isn’t just about whether you can go long and hard, but whether you can also let up.  They all had a habit of taking an afternoon…

Listening to your body is one of the most powerful and fundamental skills of Body Intelligence.  It helps you live each day in balance, while also preventing the development of longer health problems.  But what does it really mean?  And how can you start listening  to your body well before it starts yelling and screaming…

When I encourage people to create a work ethic that is more in tune with the design of their bodies, I present a diagram that shows how our biological rhythms change over a 24-hour period. It shows how precious the morning can be, for it’s in the morning that our mental alertness and our capacity…

Recently, when I was researching an article on meetings for the Law Society of New South Wales, I came across this finding:  worldwide, workers nominate ‘ineffective meetings’ as the biggest culprit when it comes to wasting time and zapping productivity. That was according to a Microsoft survey of 38,000 workers. Could it be that it’s…

We often hear people talk about sugar as being addictive, and maybe you have felt that yourself. Health professionals are often reluctant to say you can develop a true addiction to this sweet substance. However this may change, as neuroscientists learn more about what happens in the brain when we eat high-sugar foods. A new…

Last week, when bike-riding up a hill, some loose gravel on the road caused my tyres to slip a little beneath me. It was enough for me to fear losing my balance so I put my foot down. The problem was, it wasn’t so easy starting again. Being half-way up a steep incline, I wasn’t…

Self-Monitoring Increases your Chances of Success Are you planning or hoping to develop a lasting health habit? If so, what strategies will you need to adopt to stay the course? While there’s no single answer to health behaviour change, there are some essential ingredients you don’t want to leave out. One is learning how to…

Getting support when cultivating a new habit increases the chances of long-term success Have you ever tried to quit smoking or give up alcohol, when your partner, family or friends continued the habit? Or tried to make healthier food choices, when everyone else is tucking into takeaways and soft drink? And what does it feel…