Make the most of every day and step out of routine-living
Anyone’s version of work-life balance is going to vary based on the individual. What is the first thing that you think about when you finally get home after a full day of being in the office? You probably just want to relax and plop yourself on the couch. What about the next day? You may start the day thinking about all of the productive things you could do after you get off of work, but you may find yourself feeling stuck in the same monotonous routine.
The following general tips can be implemented to help balance the scales for the sake of your own well-being. The balancing act is between work and lifestyle. Between an individual’s careers and ambitions it can be difficult to find time to take care of yourself in the meantime. Keep up your creativity and productivity by incorporating these tips to exercise your mind and body outside of the office.
- Make lists. Think about getting things that you need to get done during the week, such as doing laundry, getting the car washed and going to the grocery store. Creating a list the night before can be a useful way to help you sleep better by physically writing down the things that are floating around in your brain. Dr. Gail Matthews, a psychology professor at Dominican University in California, did a study on goal-setting with 267 participants. She found that you are 42 % more likely to achieve your goals just by writing them down. The act of writing things down will also allow your brain to free itself of these thoughts so that you can have a restful night’s sleep.
- Assess what is draining your energy and eliminate it. This could be identified as a person, place or thing that may be draining you. It is important to identify exactly what is taking away from your well-being and what could be pulling you away from pursuing your goals. These bad habits aren’t always identifiable, but they can take away from your time and emotional well-being. Do yourself a favor and keep asking yourself the question “Is this the best possible use of my time?” numerous times throughout the day and you may be surprised to find how much time has been spent with an undesirable focus.
- Educate yourself about a topic that interests you. This differs from going on the internet and surfing about topics that interest you. For one, the internet has a massive amount of miss-information. Secondly, you are likely to distract yourself. Go to the bookstore and pick up a novel about a topic that interests you. It may sound more appealing to binge watch a series on Netflix, but think about the value you can add to your life by filling your brain with new and interesting information. A study at the University of Sussex found that participants who were stressed needed only six minutes of reading for their heart rates and muscle tension to subside. Reading has the ability to reduce stress levels by 68%, which shows that reading could be an important addition to our lives.
- Implement new habits. If you find that you are having trouble with staying awake at work, turning to caffeine to finish up what you need to get done for the rest of the day may be tempting. An evening cup of coffee may seem like the only option to stay awake to take care of the kids or run errands, but you are sacrificing the balance of your internal body clock. Instead, try to drink coffee or tea in the morning and set an alarm to get ready for bed at the same time every night to ensure that you have the most productive day as possible. Studies show that drinking a large, cool glass of water in the morning can boost your metabolism, flush out toxins, hydrate you and help boost your brain power.
Nova Medical Centers specializes in occupational health. We care about the all-around health and well-being of our clients in addition to providing the best possible service.
Written by: Jessica Hurd
Sources:
https://30sleeps.com/5-energy-vampires-and-how-to-deal-with-them-a4b2db8407f7#.hq75bwmvk
http://www.dominican.edu/dominicannews/dominican-research-cited-in-forbes-article
