The stereotype of the high-earning businessperson is someone who works endlessly, struggles to separate work-life from home-life, and eventually drops dead from a heart attack after a life of stress and late nights.
This stereotype is gradually changing as the modern businessperson is a little more aware and a little less blinkered, but there are still millions of people working themselves to death in order to keep their careers afloat. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some ways that you can switch from one lifestyle to another and ensure that your hard work is not the death of you.
Stay Away from Drugs
There is nothing wrong with a little (or a lot) of coffee every now and then. If that gets you through the day then so be it. But if your idea of surviving is to spend the day hyped-up on cocaine and the nights relaxing on alcohol, like some 1980s Wall Street trader, then you’re going to burn out very quickly.
It’s time to get sober and get smart. There are programs that can help you to do this all over the country, from specialist sober living in Missouri that will help you discreetly and quickly, to expensive facilities in New York and Los Angeles. There are many options these days and no excuse to keep punishing your body and your mind.
Once you get sober then you’ll realize that there are other ways you can clear your head and deal with whatever stress and responsibility that the working day throws at you.
Meditate
Meditation can help to settle your mind. It has a notable impact on stress and anxiety, but it can also reduce blood pressure and if practiced constantly it can significantly increase your life span. A little daily meditation can work wonders, which is why many workplaces and co-working spaces now have meditation rooms.
You’re never too busy to meditate, and just 10 minutes spent in mindfulness meditation can have a hugely positive impact on productivity as well as mental and physical wellbeing.
Exercise
Regular exercise promotes health and wellbeing, and this is true whether you’re doing daily yoga sessions, going for a run every morning, or lifting weights a few times a week. Just make sure that you’re doing something, getting your blood pumping and your endorphins rushing.
Regular exercise like this will also improve your health, keeping conditions like high blood pressure to a minimum while also preventing muscle cramps and blood clots from those long hours spent behind a desk.
Be Positive
A positive attitude can work wonders for your mental health and may also impact on your physical health. Simply looking at the positive in everything and treating others with respect can drastically improve your mood and your health. Instead of getting angry because a colleague or employee didn’t do what was asked of them, take time to try and understand things form their perspective, embrace their apology and give them another chance; instead of getting depressed because a competitor is edging ahead, use the opportunity to acknowledge that your business needs to move forward.
Countless studies have shown that the simple act of smiling can improve mood, even if that smile is forced, and the same is true for positivity. It doesn’t matter if it feels forced, because the benefits will still be there and eventually the negative will go and the positivity will become natural.
Move Around
If you sit behind a desk all day then you’ll be tired, fatigued and stiff. Your mind will also suffer as it’s forced to remain in the same place, staring at the same computer and telephone.
Try to mix things up. Walk around for at least a few minutes every hour to get the blood flowing and to get some much needed exercise. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, pace up and down when you’re on the phone, go out for lunch—just take the time to be more active, even if it means going out of your way.
If you can, you should also try to change your office space every now and then. If you work in an office this won’t be easy, but if you’re self-employed you can take your computer with you outside, to a coffee shop, a bar or a park. You can also try a co-working space, which provides a number of amenities in a bright and relaxed setting.
Decorate Your Space
Just like smiling and being positive can trick you mind into feeling better and being more productive, adding a lot of greenery can trick it into think it’s outdoors. Scientists have found that we’re considerably more creative and productive around greenery. This is great news if your office is next to a window and looks onto a garden, or if you have the ability to work outside, but don’t worry if this is not the case as it works with indoor plants and landscape paintings as well.
The mind works in weird ways, so exploit it. If you can’t work outside or get a bucolic view, grab yourself a picture of a calming natural scene, pickup a house plant, and turn your dull office space into a mini jungle.
