IT is exhausting to try and break an endless cycle of unhealthy habits. Come to think of it, you work long hours on weekdays that you’re so drained by the end of the week so instead of hitting the beach or trekking the mountains in some laid-back town to loosen up, you choose to sleep your way through that monotonous weekend. Before you know it, you’ll have to go back to that vicious cycle again, possibly a few times over.
More often than not, it is the logic behind people quitting their jobs as days are stressful with the workload pressure along with the lack of driving force to catalyze work efficiency. Based on the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) Labor Force Report in 2016, there were 440,000 total number of depression, work related stress, or anxiety cases in western countries and it is the root of 9.9 million lost working days per year.
If you find yourself falling in that category, you might want to reevaluate whether or not you are running your life earnestly. Here are five things to keep yourself physically and mentally healthy in a busy workplace:
Maintain a healthy lifestyle
The time and effort you dedicate for work is exemplary but it also means taking care of your most important investment: your health. Most of the time, people equate productivity with the amount of time a person spends in the office but looking after yourself, eating well, making sure to get 7-8 hours of sleep a day and setting aside a little time to exercise or pursue an activity that you enjoy is what it takes to be productive. When you are constantly running in emergency mode, your mind and body pay the price.
Develop a balance between “me” time and work
Everyone who has a job will understand you if you speak of stress with your job. Whether it is because of your heavy workload or self-generated stress, it is one of the inevitable dilemmas in the workplace. A little stress fix can help you perform under pressure and push you to do your best but too much fatigue can affect your productivity.
Make sure to avoid exhaustion and getting burned out by having the balance between personal time and work — leave work at work when possible. Reviewing your job activities and success factors can also help you keep up with the track. More importantly, don’t forget to reward yourself after every achievement. Weekend getaway, anyone?
Manage your time effectively
Most of the time, you spend long hours in the office for the mounds of work that’s beginning to pile up. This is not because the world has entrusted you all the work but you sometimes accept everything that’s asked from you. It’s important to learn to set your priorities and goals straight. Who says “to-do list” are for high schoolers? Work around what you value highly, enlist a good support system by delegating and learning when to say no. Being a superhero is one thing, a martyr is another.
Positive attitude
You know how people would say that everything will go smoothly if you give it a positive approach? That couldn’t be any more true. Anyone who radiates an optimistic vibe can perform effectively as disposition can greatly affect efficiency. Be open and honest with people, rather than hiding your thoughts and feelings. Negative impressions when bottled could blow up pretty bad when triggered so speak your mind and share your thoughts to fend off stress.
Enjoy your work
No matter how hectic your schedule is, if at the end of the day, you love what you do and it still boosts your creativity, then that is when you know you’re on the right track. Work doesn’t feel like work when being tired is satisfying and even serves as your drive to feed your fire in being the best than your last. Added info: there’s nothing like getting paychecks for something that you basically enjoy doing.
Balancing the demands of a busy lifestyle is not an easy thing to do, but is best managed by frequently reviewing and assessing your priorities. While it is ideal to prepare for your future, it’s also important to take care of yourself-that you live appropriately, so as not to defeat your purpose.