Food is fuel and sometimes it takes a lack of healthy options to realize you need to change your habits. When people work full-time, especially in an office setting, it is not unusual to snack throughout the day or eat unhealthy lunches. If you find yourself letting go of your healthy habits, it’s time to change. The types of food you eat greatly affect your mood, sleeping patterns, and overall health. Just one week of fast food can make you run-down, irritable, and exhausted. Don’t have time to go out every day if you work from an office? Take the time to pack a lunch, or consider asking your office manager for healthy snack options.
8. Get Enough Sleep
The numbers of hours required for a “full night’s rest” varies greatly from one individual to the next, but the chances are, you need at least seven. Listen to your body and get to rest when you are run-down. Don’t over-exert yourself when you know you have a full day of work the next day. Get on a schedule and try to turn off all gadgets, including TV, social media, and internet at least 30 minutes before you go to bed.
One of the most critical things that we as humans need to thrive is exercise. So why is it so often left on the backburner in terms of healthy priorities? Exercise is an effective stress reducer. It pumps feel-good endorphins through your body. It helps lift your mood and can even give you increased energy levels!
10. Turn Off Your Gadgets
There is a reason our gadgets have off buttons—use them! Start to commit to reducing the amount of time you spend with technology after getting home from the office/finishing up your work for the day. Staring at a computer screen for 7 hours a day has incredibly negative effects on your mood and energy, take a step back once you have a moment to breathe. To get started, do it in phases. Don’t bring your cellphone to the dinner table. When you are on vacation, be on vacation.
11. Pace Yourself
One of the greatest lessons to learn as you grow through your career is to pace yourself. At times, you will need to set the fast forward button to get you through a challenging task or time. Other times, you will need to slow down, even take a few steps back to really concentrate on your current responsibility. Self-awareness is crucial. Doing so will help you enjoy the journey as much as the destination.
12. It Doesn’t Have to Be Perfect
The chances are, you have a perfectionist amongst you at the office. This person doesn’t try to stress out over every little thing, but from a young age, they learned to put their all into what they do. This is positive in some cases, but will eventually drain the energy of most workers. It’s easier to maintain that perfectionist habit as a kid, but as you grow up, life gets more complicated. As you climb the ladder at work and as your family grows, your responsibilities begin to add up. Perfectionism just no longer is an option. It is unrealistic, will cause stress, and will put unnecessary pressure on all teammates involved.
13. Make Time for Hobbies & Passions
Make time for hobbies, passions, and relationships outside of work. Consider keeping a list of things you would like to do (just for fun) and start checking them off this week! Set aside a certain number of hours per day or days per week that you are going to commit to your passions and making yourself a better person.
Apply these 13 tips to your own life and see what positive changes come from it. Always remember—you can only be your best self if you are taking care of it. Don’t let work or home-life go by the wayside—both are critical in making you a happy and healthy individual.
