Are you looking after yourself?

When you’re career orientated and ambitious it’s easy to put everything in second place.  Do this for too long and before you know it your health suffers and your social life is non-existent. 

When you put career and business first it can be easier to feel stressed.  If you’re not eating properly, keeping active, or getting regular sleep you can feel more tired and lethargic.  You don’t take time for relaxing or spending time with family and friends. 

Are you looking after yourself? It’s easy to get into a routine that could be detrimental to your health and well-being.  It becomes the norm. Particularly when we are young some of us take our health for granted.  It’s not something we have to consciously work on.  We get away with some bad habits.  Skipping meals, irregular sleeping patterns, drinking a bit too much alcohol, or eating far too much fatty, salty and sugary foods.

Health and well-being

Health is the most important aspect of your life.  Your health should be a priority.  Health covers physical, mental, and social well-being.  When you are career orientated or run your own business it’s important to factor in looking after your health. 

If you want to reach your full potential it’s important your health comes first.  When you are super busy in your career or business it’s important you have lots of energy and stay alert.  That’s one of the reasons you’ll need to focus on good nutritious foods.

Keep active

There are so many benefits to keeping active.  Weight management, mental health, and social well-being.  I love walking.  I pretty much walk every day.  It gets me out of the house and gives me that natural break in the day.  I love taking photos of my walks into Town and I get social interaction which is important when you are self-employed.

Socialize

Spending time with partners, friends, and family is really important.  It tends to be the first to suffer at the cost of coping with high workloads or tight deadlines.  You’ll spend some of your evenings catching up or that odd Saturday morning answering emails or sending out invoices.  This is where you need to be disciplined with your time management.

Here are 5 ways to look after yourself:

1. Prioritise a healthy nutritious diet: Reduce the number of processed foods you buy and eat.  Try to prepare meals from fresh ingredients.  This is where you’ll need to utilize your planning and organizing skills.  Plan ahead, get organised, and have fresh nutritious foods available.  It’s easy to eat high-sugar snacks when you are short of time and eat on the go.
2. Produce a work and life schedule: If you are like me and love a thing’s to-do list and a calendar, then you’ll love producing a schedule.  A schedule that takes account of work engagements and social appointments.
3. Make time for family and friends: Meeting up with friends and family rarely just happens.  You need to book the time in your diary.
4. Regulate your sleep pattern: I’ve been guilty of taking the odd afternoon nap.  When you are working all hours and don’t eat properly, the highs and lows in the day can be difficult.  Sugary snacks help short-term but give it a few hours and you’ll feel that crash.
5. Take time to relax and unwind: It’s important to switch off from that ever-growing things-to-do list.  Pick something that is totally different from your work.  Last year I attended a painting workshop.  I’d never painted before and I couldn’t believe how relaxing it was.  The concentration you need allows you to switch off completely from everything else.

Personal experience

I was one of those people who put their careers first.  I was and still am highly driven and results orientated.  However, I now factor in the aspects of my life that are really important to me. 

My health and well-being are incredibly important.  I also recognise without my health I cannot achieve the things I want to achieve.  Without my health, I don’t have a successful career or business.

Watch out for my new website: FitFab50plus.com