It’s happened again, yet another heatwave has descended upon us. We all know how unbearable the office can become when mercury hits new heights, so we decided to compile our top tips on how you can stay cool in the office.
Disclaimer: If you don’t have access to Ice, you may struggle with keeping cool – sorry about that!
Create Your Own Air Con
Who doesn’t love being creative? We’re not all lucky enough to have air conditioning facilities in the office, but fear not, you can make your own.
For this you’ll need;
- A Fan
- A large bowl/container
- Lots of ice
It’s very straight forward. Fill your bowl/container with ice and place it directly in front of your fan. Hey Presto! You have yourself air con. Just don’t blame us when an office fight breaks out over who gets it first.
Iced Coffee
Coffee, the staple of every office, the elixir of life. Even during a heatwave the temptation to make one of your caffeinated saviours is high. Don’t worry, we would never suggest ditching coffee altogether, that would be uncalled for. Instead, treat yourself to a nice iced latte instead. You get the best of both worlds, a nice, refreshingly cool drink, with the unbeatable taste of coffee!
Freeze Your Water
Now this one is pretty obvious but we feel it has to be said. Simply taking a bottle of water, or juice if that’s your go-to, and putting it in the freezer will make a huge difference.
When you take your freshly frozen drink out of the freezer and take that first sip, it’ll be a moment you cherish for the rest of the day…..until your next sip anyway.
Wear linen/breathable clothes
This is another obvious tip, but one of the most important. As much as we all love to wear all black, it’s just not a logical move during a heatwave. We understand that some companies will have a dress code that you have to abide by, but even so, that doesn’t mean you have to be warm.
The ideal situation is that you can wear shorts and a t-shirt, preferably something that’s made from linen. However, if you have to wear something more formal, make sure you stock up on breathable materials! Remember, you don’t always have to have large amounts of skin on display to keep cool.
Keep the blinds or shades closed
It’s super tempting when the sun is blazing to open all of your blinds/shades and throw the window open as wide as it will go. But trust us, the best thing you can do is keep the blinds down and windows open a tiny bit, if not completely closed.
This might sound counterintuitive but having the blinds closed and the windows closed helps stop the warm, humid air from outside circulating inside the office. Leaving a small crack in the window will help prevent the office from feeling too stuffy (or smelly) and the fans will keep the air cool.
Keep the lights turned off
Realistically, if there’s a heatwave outside, you probably don’t need the lights on anyway, but, some offices may be a little darker and need additional lighting. However, if you can, keep as many lights as possible turned off. Having lights on will create unnecessary heat. We imagine it’s the kind of feeling an ant gets when someone points a magnifying glass at it!
Apply ice to your pulse points
Another one for those of us lucky enough to have access to ice. Taking some ice and placing it directly on your pulse points gives you instant relief from the heat. Don’t ask us exactly why this is the case, it’s something to do with science. Although we do know that the blood vessels in these areas are closer to the skin, therefore helping cool you down much quicker.
Turn off unused electricals
Think about it, in an office, how many things are plugged in all around the place? A lot! If you were to actually look at everything that’s plugged in and turned on, you’d probably find a fair few things that really don’t need to be on. Not only can this be a health and safety concern, turning off anything electrical items that aren’t used will help reduce the heat in the office, potentially quite a lot. Plus, you’ll be helping the environment at the same time, that’s a win-win situation right?
So there you have it, our top tips on how to keep cool in the office. We’re hoping these help you out and make working in an office during a heatwave a little more bearable.
Bonus Tip: If your office doesn’t have a freezer….keep begging for one!