Balancing Work and Well-being: How to Nourish Your Mind, Body, and Spirit
“Get some rest.” seems to be the most common piece of advice that everyone gives whenever anyone mentions that they’ve been feeling tired or overwhelmed at work. Then you take a day or two off and then you get back on the cycle of grinding at work until your gears start to feel rattled — then it’s another day or two off of work again. Sure taking a day off can give you a quick recharge but that’s not an efficient way to maintain optimal mental and physical health that can stay maintained for long periods of time. Your life outside of work is just as important to nourish so that your quality and attitude towards your occupation do not degrade.
- Stay physically active! Staying physically fit will help you sustain your energy for longer periods of the day and keep your mind sharp. Now we’re not saying you need to look like an MMA fighter, but exercise decreases blood pressure, increases the supply of oxygen in the brain, and releases the pleasure hormone dopamine. Overall a regular exercise routine will help you feel good in general, the looking like an MMA fighter is just an added bonus after doing so for a while.
- Take on some kind of hobby. Having a hobby can keep your morale up throughout your week, giving you something to look forward to regularly. Explore different creative outlets that have piqued your interest. Regularly engaging in an enjoyable activity can reduce stress and boost your mood.
- Nourish your social life! Seeing co-workers, employees, and business partners does not count when having a full social life. Yes, these are people that you interact with but in the end, they are part of your work life. Take time to continue building your relationships with your family and friends so that you can let loose and be yourself around others instead of always having to keep a professional front.
- Breathe. Find time within your days to sit and center yourself. You’re moving from one thing to the other and turning your attention and focus onto so many different aspects of your life. Don’t forget to point your energy back to yourself. Set an intermission every day to take deep breaths, reflect on what you’ve done, and reflect on what’s coming. This is not the same as analyzing and planning! Give yourself a pat on the back for what you’ve conquered and the opportunities that you know are coming — all in one deep inhale and exhale at a time.
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Keeping your physical and mental well-being in check is imperative to not only your personal life but your work quality as well. It’s easy to think that the efficiency of your labor decreases due to a lack of days off, which in some ways is true but a sure-fire way to keep a constant boost in your stamina is to supplement your life outside of work. Nurture and nourish your mind, body, and spirit so that you can stay sharp and keep a positive perspective on situations that come your way. Yes, “Get some rest.” is a simple solution to get a recharge and reset but instead of a cycle of taking days off after large timespans of work, find some ways to integrate rest, activity, and creative thinking into your schedules so that your work mirrors your full self.
