Where Business Meets Health – 4 Key Tips for Staying Healthy and Productive- Guest Post
We have a bonus guest blog for you this week from guestwriter Anne Harris! As busy business professionals, whether you are a businessowner, manager, entrepreneur, or even a busy employee it is a hard balance tomanage your time between work and health. Some things we don’t realize in thejourney to success in the business world are that working long hours for yearswithout a vacation will eventually lead to burnout while focusing too much onyour private life during your work day will run your business into the ground. Therecipe for a balanced and productive life is somewhere in between.
In this article, our guest writer is going to present fourtips that we find crucial for improving your performance at work as well asyour overall health and wellbeing.
1) Don’t skip your breakfast / Eat your breakfast
A large number of people skip breakfast. For instance, TheDaily Meal reportedin 2015 that more than 50% of Americans skipped their first morningmeal.
Some busy people don’t eat in the morning because they worklong hours at night and then can’t get up early enough to eat at home.
Others have children so it’s complicated for them toorganize a meal at home in the morning. Also, they know that the kids will eatat school.
However, if you skip breakfast, you won’t be able to startyour engine properly at the beginning of your workday. In other words, youwon’t provide enough energy for your brain, which might result in lowerproductivity.
You might kick-start your brain with coffeeon an empty stomach. Still, it could have a negative effect on yourhealth if you already suffer from any intestinal issues.
Therefore, we suggest having a proper breakfast beforeleaving home.
You can read more about all the benefits of having breakfastin a poston our blog.
2) Get more sleep whenever possible
There was a period of time when media were crazy aboutpeople who claimed to sleep less and work more. As a matter of fact, such alifestyle was largely supported by some CEOs of large companies, as well.
While there are business owners who would like theiremployees to work as much as it gets, they’re still a minority.
In the last few years, more and more scientific magazinesand journals stress out the importance of proper sleep.
For instance, the Harvard Business Review published an interviewwith Marc Effron, president of the Talent Strategy Group. In thatconversation, he claims that sleep is extremely important for great performanceat work.
Apart from him, numeroussuccessful entrepreneurs, from Jeff Bezos to Bill Gates, say thatgetting a good night’s rest makes employees more productive.
However, many regular people can’t sleep those seven oreight hours a night for many reasons. Some of them have just become parents.Others take their work home with them.
That’s why it’s important to fall asleep whenever possible.For instance, taking a nap on a commuter train or on your sofa before the kidscome back to school will help you regain energy for that day.
Of course, you should get the largest chunk of your sleepduring the night. Therefore, avoid late dinners or gigs during the workweek.
3) Make a weekly workout schedule
It goes without saying that the lack of physical activity isbad for many different reasons.
And yet, even though everybody knows that leading asedentary lifestyle can ruin their health, many people still defy common sense.
On the other hand, there’s a certain number of people whotry to make a change but they fail every time they start a workout routine.
In order to succeed in this, it’s important to choose one ormore activities that generate the least amount of stress for the person inquestion. For instance, if you weigh 300 pounds and you start running, you’llfeel both mentally and physically weak.
But if you start with longer but slower walks and then moveon to brisk walks, you’ll be able to jog after a few months.
The same recipe goes for any other physical activity. It hasto be a mentally pleasant activity in order to keep you inspired.
By establishing a regular pleasant exercise routine, you’llinvigorate your body and refresh your mind. As a result, you’ll have moreenergy at work and for your private stuff.
No matter what activity you go for, read HarukiMurakami’s quotes about running and apply them to your activity.
4) Stay at home when feeling sick
This is a burning issue in many companies mostly becausesome enterprises don’tallow for paid sick days.
If you work for such a company, you should either fight foryour rights or find another job.
To cut a long story short, coming to work when you have fluor high temperature is counterproductive.
First and foremost, the issue can spread to other employees,which will reduce both the manpower and work productivity.
Apart from that, you’re running the risk of deterioratingyour condition. That would eventually cost you and your employer much more.
Not treating flu and other medical issues properly over along period of time can cause some severe issues.
Because of that, it’s strongly recommended that you stay athome when you have flu or any other similar condition. Employed people who liveon their own should think about ensuring shortterm care to get well as soon as possible and get back to work.
Also, make sure that you visit a doctor so that you canbring a note to work. That way, your managers will know that you really weresick when you were absent from work.
Conclusion
Our recipe for a successful and healthy lifestyle containsthe following ingredients: a regular and balanced diet, enough sleep, properworkout, and fast recovery when being sick. Each of these features is mutually connectedwith others, which is imperative to place all of them on your agenda. Apartfrom that, we strongly recommend that you don’t waste time in a workenvironment that prevents you from leading such a life. The more you appreciateyourself and your health, the more satisfied you’ll be with your life. As aresult, all these things will lead to higher productivity at work and betterorganization of your private life.
…
I hope you enjoyed this fantastic guest post and would loveto hear your feedback or any tips you use to improve your overall productivityat work and take care of your health and well being!
Wishing you a week of health, wellness, and productivity,
–Ricci-Lee Hotz, MS, RDN
Denver’s Dancing Dietitian
A Taste of Health, LLC
“Improving Quality of life one bite at a time”
AuthorBio: AnneHarris is an HR specialist working for londonlive-incare.com. She eagerly shares her knowledge with her audience on various blogs.When she isn’t writing or attending wellness conferences, she likes to pack herrucksack and ride her day away on her bike or spend time with her friends.