Implementing and sticking to a healthy mental and physical lifestyle is tough, especially if your schedule is overflowing, or if you don’t love your job!
Many careers often spill into our personal lives, leaving us with too few hours left in the day. The demands of work often come first, leaving self-care to fall by the wayside. But when it comes to your own health, you have only yourself to answer to.
So whether you need to find some easy health-boosting routines to fit in around your current job, or need a radical career rethink, here are a few tips to help you find the right work-health balance.
Stay Hydrated
The key to fitting healthy habits into your crammed routine is scoring easy wins when you can. Drinking water is the ultimate way to boost your health profile without spending any more time, money or energy.
Staying hydrated offers countless benefits, from helping your body to function optimally, keeping you alert, and promoting weight loss.
Try to establish a hydration schedule that is independent of thirst, at least until you the habit is so ingrained that you realize when you are thirsty and drink accordingly.
Fill a big bottle of water and make it your goal to empty it several times a day. You could even try using a drink-water app to help you keep track. You’ll be surprised what a huge difference keeping hydrated can make!
Save Time Online
When you’re struggling to stay on top of your responsibilities, it can be challenging prioritise health or wellbeing errands that demand extra time out of your day.
So why not take advantage of online shopping for your health essentials? Many medical specialists, such as physiotherapists offer consolation via Skype, so you needn’t put off getting the care you need until you can take time off work.
If you feel that your job is having an on-going negative impact on your wellbeing, maybe you’re already thinking of switching careers. Finding the time to re-train can be a stretch, so why not look into a university that offers online MBA programs? Learning online is cheaper, offers more flexible hours, and can help you move up into the career you deserve.
Take Scheduled Breaks
You really do have to take breaks. And it might seem counterintuitive. If your schedule is packed, how can you find time to take a break? The answer is in planning, and in examining what kinds of breaks actually refresh you.
Think about the little bits of unproductive time you have on and off throughout the day: aimlessly checking your Facebook page, grabbing a snack when you’re not hungry, scrolling your phone for no reason or playing games.
You do these things because your body and mind need rest. But stimulating your mind with social media, TV or carrying out repetitive tasks, is not necessarily giving you the rest bite you so desperately need.
Rather than wasting random bits of time and never feeling refreshed, put fifteen minutes aside morning and every afternoon for a scheduled break. Go for a walk. Stretch. Meditate. Listen to some calming music. Whatever relaxes you.
Or – and this is pretty radical – try doing absolutely nothing at all.
Ten minutes: just lie on the grass or on the floor and…do nothing. This is all the time you need to refresh, recharge and find peace, and research suggests it is actually the most effective way to ‘take a break’.
And there we have it! If you’re in the right job but are strapped for time, take care of yourself in these small ways and see some excellent results. If your career is really taking its toll, no need to suffer on – look into retraining and see if you can find a more fitting vocation.
