1. Recognise the signs of stress
Respond to the early signs of stress on your physical body, mood and mental functioning even if you don’t feel stressed. This is your body’s early warning system and ignoring these messages can lead to bigger health problems later on.
2. Remember the morning after starts with the night before
A good night’s sleep is critical to ensuring you can do your job properly the next day. Inadequate sleep will leave you struggling to function on a mental and emotional level, more likely to rely on sugary food or caffeine for energy and much less likely to exercise.
3. Treat food as fuel
Start every day with a nutritious breakfast and follow this up with regular snacks and meals to keep your blood sugar levels steady, prevent mood swings and unhealthy cravings. Plan ahead and stock up so you know that whatever you pull out of your desk-drawer is going to be good for you.
4. Maintain to sustain
View your career as a marathon, not a sprint and prioritise your health in helping you get there. Put together a weekly ‘maintenance programme’ that includes time for relaxation and recreation and organise your other commitments to fit, not the other way around.
5. Remind yourself it’s only a job
Remember the old saying ‘work hard, play hard’? Well, this is just another way of saying it’s important to keep your life in balance. Of course, you may love your job and it provides all sorts of useful things like money to pay the rent, lovely people to chat to during the day and some sense of purpose in your life. But it is just one part of your life and it’s really important to remember that.
6. Take your healthy habits on the road
Travel is hard on the body and the stress of being in a strange place, on your own and with little control over what you eat and where you sleep, is a real challenge. Plan ahead and take what control you can of the situation, especially in relation to exercise, sleep and food and make sure you compensate with extra maintenance before you go and when you get back to home base.
7. Repeat after me… time-out is better than burn-out!
Take your holidays and when you are OOO, be truly out of the office. Leave your phone at home and use the time to reconnect to yourself, family, friends, nature, beauty or whatever else you’ve been missing out on while you’ve been hard at work. Use this time to regain perspective, refocus your energies and allow your mind and body time to repair and replenish.
Take care of your body, it’s the only place you have to live – Jim Rohn
Author Bio
Tricia Alach is a Corporate Escapee turned Natural Therapist and Wellness Coach specialising in working with busy people who want to relax, rebalance and revitalise their lives! Visit www.flowmindandbody.com for more information or follow me on facebook