How to Incorporate Physical and Mental Health into Your Career Focused Life

Being career focused and having ambition is a wonderful quality.

If you are the type of person that sacrifices sleep when that idea hits that may catapult your business to the next level, you likely have incredible drive and unending passion for what you do, where you’re trying to go in your life and the success you’re seeking.

However, it’s imperative to realize that completely drowning in your career aspirations and goals, at the total expense of other parts of your life is ill-advised. Especially when such stresses and high demand may compromise your physical and mental health.

Your career might be destroying your health, so you need to make some changes in your lifestyle.

Think about it this way: if you finally amass the level of success that you’ve long been dreaming of, will it matter, count or be rewarding if your body is weak and decrepit or you’re suffering from high blood pressure or diabetes?

Ensuring that you take care of both your mind and your body, while you are out in the world positively crushing your career goals, is a crucial and necessary facet of life. That balance is essential to your ability to enjoy your success when you have earned it.

Here are some key ways to properly incorporate some health and fitness goals into your too-busy, hectic day that’s largely centered around your career.

How to Stay Healthy at Work

1. Drink more water.

This should be simple, right? Then why do we always forget about it?

Doctors around the world recommend drinking around 8 glasses (2 liters) of water every day. But most of us have a very busy routine and don’t have time to get up for a glass of water.

The solution? Keep a water bottle on your desk and sip from it during the day.

Be familiar with the benefits of drinking more water.

You can drink natural juices, too, just keep away from carbonated and sugary drinks!

2. Sharpen Your Time Management Skills.

You likely already have a good concept of time management, especially if you are relatively driven and successful. But using 60-80 hours a week to concentrate on your primary job while also potentially trying to get your side hustles and projects off the ground can leave you a bit heightened and wound up.

Carve out time for things that aren’t directly related to work. Because even if they don’t seem connected at the time, they will likely help to center and strengthen you in a way that will ultimately benefit your work.

Give yourself a minute to sit in gratitude and stillness at specific points of the day. This helps to manifest peace and strengthens the mind.

Try to spare even 10 minutes for meditation, and you’ll be surprised at how much clearer your mind will become.

In addition, you can consider counseling.

3. Squeeze in Exercise.

For someone with an incredibly tight schedule, you may look at the people who are running outside or taking a pilates class and think “how do they even have the time?”

Here are some helpful ways you can fit in exercise throughout your day without having to dedicate an entire hour or so to the activity.

  • Walk around when you’re on the phone. If you don’t have to reference something or take notes, get up and move.
  • Do ten squats every time you get up to use the restroom.
  • Keep resistance bands in your office. These leg workouts can be done as you’re sitting at your desk.
  • Use the stairs whenever possible. Unless you’re going to a high-level floor, opt for the stairs.
  • Stretch before you get in bed. Doing deep yoga stretches before going to sleep will help you quiet your mind and body as well as promote sound, uninterrupted sleep.

4. Lower your caffeine intake.

Some of us need a good cup of ol’ java to start our day, however consuming too much caffeine can lead to nasty symptoms such as insomnia, restlessness and a constant state of anxiousness.

Some people are more tolerant than others, so if caffeine affects you badly, you better choose other options, such as herbal infusions.

5. Clean Up Your Diet.

It’s unbelievably easy to grab terrible choices when you’re constantly eating at your desk. Or forgetting to eat and picking the first thing that you see, or that sounds good.

Bad food is entirely too accessible. Which means you have to be more mindful and aware of what you put into your mouth and body.

It’s also so easy to stress-eat.

Have a deadline that you need to be up all night for? Get another rejection letter from a useful grant that would have funded a project? Eating your feelings is something that happens with increasing frequency.

But these type of habits will only make you more lethargic, lack focus and create health complications.

Plan your meals as well as you can. If things like meal planning simply take up too much time, opt for the most nutritionally sound meals when you order takeout.

Stick with protein and veggies, stay away from carbs. Opt for healthy fats like olive oil, avocado, butter, and wild salmon.

6. Take regular breaks.

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We are usually too busy to even contemplate taking a break, but it’s highly recommended that you take several during the day.

Take advantage of that time to energize yourself. Eat some fruit or yogurt, have a short power-walk, stretch your muscles or just talk to your co-workers.

Your mind needs periods of rest to maintain productivity and your body needs to change positions every once in a while to keep the blood flowing.

7. Sit properly.

Choose a chair that has lumbar support, arm rests, and is the appropriately high for you. And even if you have a great chair, you might need some help with your desk setup.

If you use a laptop at your office job, it might be a good idea to invest in a good laptop stand to achieve ergonomy.

You can find cool desk accessories to help improve your posture and give some style to your workspace.

8. Don’t Sacrifice Sleep All The Time.

You desperately need sleep. Your body will only function for so long without getting its necessary levels of rest.

Yes, sometimes having to get some shuteye may seem bothersome and irritating. But the cost of continually sacrificing sleep is much higher than you may realize.

Those who don’t get enough sleep tend to have more health issues, a compromised immune system and an inability to handle mounting stress. If you happen to get lousy or insufficient amounts of sleep a couple of nights in a row, you must catch up.

Having healthy sleeping patterns will improve your overall health and better serve the demands of your business and career.

9. Take a deep breath.

Seriously, a nice, deep breath, one that fills your tummy and makes your chest feel it’s big enough to house a flock of doves.

All the cells in your body need oxygen and deep-breathing can even help you feel more relaxed and reduce stress.

You don’t need to get a yoga mat or do some weird asanas, just close your eyes for a moment, breathe deeply four or five times, and continue with your day. Your mind and body will appreciate it.

10. Get a home DNA test for health.

A simple and relatively cheap way of checking for any underlying vulnerability to stress is by testing your DNA.

Your DNA can give you a better picture regarding health factors that might lead to bigger/smaller vulnerability to stress.

After shading light on this, you would be better equipped to deal with stress. With several on the market, be sure to check out the best DNA test for health available for your cause and purpose.

The results spectrum varies between the many service providers. In this way you would make sure which one is the most fitting to your cause.

11. Start your day right.

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Given the often hectic nature of the commute to work, many people arrive to work already in a state of some stress.

Having got the kids ready, dropped them off at school, and weaved in and out of traffic, allowing no time for a proper breakfast, your stress levels are likely to worsen throughout the day.

Planning your day and starting with good nutrition in the morning can be a small step towards keeping stress levels low throughout the day.

12. Avoid conflict.

Conflict in the workplace can sometimes be difficult to escape. However, it can impact heavily on our emotional state.

Simple ways to avoid conflict in the workplace include:

  • Not voicing strong, controversial opinions
  • Not gossiping about others
  • Try to avoid telling jokes that may cause offence
  • Try to avoid argumentative or reclusive colleagues
  • Avoid making fun of people

13. Stay organized.

Even the most disorganized person can make small steps to improve their organizational skills. This can even be started by clearing clutter off your desk or sorting out your drawers.

Timekeeping is also important. If this isn’t currently your strong point, make a conscious decision to arrive everywhere 5 minutes earlier than you planned.

14. Abandon multitasking.

Everyone likes to think they can multitask, but why bother if it’s causing you so much stress?

Instead, try sticking to a schedule and completing one task at a time.

This allows for a greater level of focus and removes most outside interferences which seriously hinder our ability to concentrate. You’ll be surprised how much this raises the standards of your work.

Read also: 5 Signs of Good Mental Health

15. Listen to music.

Studies show that music can really impact our mood. Listening to chilled out music either before work or during work can help you to de-stress, and put you in a more positive frame of mind.

That said, try to avoid listening to anything too heavy or aggressive, as this is likely to have the opposite effect and may impact negatively on your ability to focus and concentrate.

About The Author

Lidiya Kesarovska

I'm a blogger, author, course creator and the founder of Let's Reach Success and it's my mission to share my knowledge in lifestyle design, blogging, business and personal development with you so you can manifest all your desires and serve your purpose as a business owner.
I've been named one of the top 10 course creators and experts to watch in 2021 by Yahoo! Finance, have written for TIME magazine, have been featured on Thrive Global, Disrupt Magazine, and more, and quoted on publications like Entrepreneur, Fit Small Business and Fundera.
After turning my blog into a full-time online business, I now teach others how to do the same because financial freedom doesn’t need to be just a dream.
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