Positive Habits to Pick Up in Your Personal Life That Will Benefit You Professionally
What we do outside the workplace can benefit our motivation and productivity in the workplace. Your personal life can very much affect your job performance. No matter in or out of the office you want to be sure you are living your best life and that you do so in a positive, healthy mind frame. If you cultivate healthy habits outside your work environment, you will reap its rewards.
Here are five healthy mind freeing habits, if cultivated regularly, which have worked for me that could help you with decompressing at the end of your workday on the home-front for boosting your success professionally:
Clearing Your Mind and Relaxing Your Body
Your after-work habits can set the tone for how your next day at the office will be, so it’s important you get them right. Some office days’ workloads can be extra heavy between pending deadlines, calls and emails pouring in. By the end of the day this can make you feel burnt and stressed out. If something unexpected arose at work that has upset you it’s important once you leave work to not dwell on it. If you have already handled the situation and don’t like how it went, learn from the experience and move on. Once you leave work, you should be able to de-compartmentalize to give your partner, family, friends or even your dog the proper attention. Take a few deep breaths, take a nice warm shower or bath or even try to meditate to get yourself in a better state of mind and decompress from the stress of your workday.
Never Count Out a Good Night’s Rest
Lack of sleep can not only affect your work productivity and make you feel irritable but also impair your thinking and concentration. Additionally, it can lead to daytime fatigue among other not so positive effects. Surveys show that 40 percent of American adults get less than the nightly minimum of seven hours of sleep recommended by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the National Sleep Foundation and The National Institutes for Health estimate that between 50 million and 70 million people do not get enough sleep. While many of us like to run against the clock, we need adequate sleep to perform at our best. For the most part, I have regimented myself to get at least eight hours of sleep each night. Of course, sometimes unexpected situations arise, but for the most part, I always make it a point to get a good night of shut-eye. Consistency is key to a good night’s sleep. You should aim to get disciplined on what time you go to bed and what time you awake each day to establish the best routine that works for you that also provides you with the right amount of sleep.
Do Something for Someone Else
Personally speaking, some of my happiest times are when I am doing something to benefit others. Research shows that carrying out altruistic services can make us genuinely happy in a number of different ways. According to a survey by the United Health Group, 96 percent of people who volunteered over the last 12 months said volunteering enriches their sense of purpose. In that same study, 78 percent of people who volunteered over a 12-month period said they felt that their charitable activities lowered their stress. So how does happiness correlate to work productivity? Human happiness has positive effects on employees’ self-esteem, outlook on morale and productivity.
Power Down Your Technology
When you are out of the office, try to make a conscious effort to put away your laptop and minimize your time on your phone. If you have thoughts or ideas relating to work that you may want to express simply jot them down with a pen and pad instead of doing it by computer and bring your notes with you to work the next day. After a certain time at night a time you feel is appropriate, turn off push email notifications and consider putting your phone in a ‘do not disturb’ mode. This will allow you to disconnect properly and enable you to check your notifications on your own time instead of being bombarded by them and feeling obligated to review them as they come in. Switching off your electronics and limiting work chat while at home will enable you to be more present with your family your and relieve your brain from work mode so you can “recharge your batteries” and concentrate on aspects of your personal life.
Pencil in Family Time
Work shouldn’t impede on your family time. Be sure to always check in with friends and family during your downtime. If you have been more busy than usual because of your work schedule set up a time to do something fun with loved ones or to go to your child’s baseball game. Reserve fun activities to do on the weekend. Having great weekend can set you up for a good week.
While we are only human and often get caught up in our work responsibilities, it’s important that we find time to decompress from our workday stress and that we do not neglect our personal life. We all need to make sure we are investing the proper level of attention in both our personal and work lives for achieving our maximum potential at home and work since the personal healthy mind frame and distressing habits we do at home have such an influence over our performance and successes professionally.
