Last month, health and productivity expert (and my good friend) Michelle Cederberg, CSP was our guest blogger, and she gave us many ideas on easy things to work into our busy schedules in order to get more exercise, eat healthier, and stay hydrated. Well, she’s back! And today, she has even more tips to boost your energy, particularly useful if you’re a leader with a full schedule and a long list of responsibilities.
Last month, I wrote about how you can ride the leadership roller coaster of success and stress by taking small self-care steps every day in key energy-generating areas of your life. I spoke specifically of the importance of exercise, healthful eating, and water intake. Today I want to talk about three more specific areas that you can focus on in order to feel your best, so you can do your best — on the job and in life.
Zzzzz’s please
I know you’re busy and there aren’t enough hours in the day but when did sleep become a luxury? While you sleep, your body restores itself and repairs from the stress of the day. Inadequate rest impairs your ability to think, to handle stress, to maintain a healthy immune system and to moderate your emotions. With the work you have to do, you need to be on your ‘A-game’ all the time, and you can’t do that in a sleep-deprived state. Most of us aren’t getting enough sleep and we’ve become a nation of working tired holding on for dear life, hoping to make it to the weekend. Why not make your rest a priority for a few weeks and see how you feel?
- Get to bed thirty minutes earlier at least three times a week
- Wind down your busy work at least two hours before bed
- Before bed, avoid computer, television, video games, and work related phone calls that stimulate the mind and make it difficult to relax
- Do your best to stick to the same sleep schedule
- If you have trouble getting to sleep, try slow, deep breathing or relaxation techniques like stretching or meditation to calm your mind.
If you’d like a bonus sleep article with strategies for creating a sleep routine and improving your sleep environment, then send me an email at info@michellecederberg.com and mention this guest blog!
Stress less for success
We’re connected 24/7, we work longer hours with less sleep and physical activity, we don’t eat as well and it’s taking its toll on our stress levels and overall health. Stress is something that we’re so used to that it doesn’t occur to us that we could live without it, or at least live with less. But it’s a vicious cycle that can be stopped with a small-steps approach.
- Become aware of your stressors and your emotional and physical reactions to stress.
- Recognize what you can change, and take small steps to regain control in those areas
- Reduce the intensity of your emotional and physical reactions to stress. Pause, breathe, count to ten. To react in the instant will only add to your stress
- Build your physical reserves (Think about the ideas I gave you last month)
- Maintain your emotional reserves. Talk it out. Have a confidante. Ask for help
Lead by Example
You want the best for yourself and your team. Success in business and in life requires productivity, and productivity is fueled by good energy. Good leaders lead by example. Do as I do. Period. Be the leader that not only supports a healthy workplace but demands it. Health, fitness and the resulting energy are the foundation for success in work and life. Healthy employees have higher energy levels, lower rates of absenteeism, higher levels of self-esteem and confidence, and greater fulfillment on the job. That’s who you want working on your team.
Leadership is certainly a roller coaster ride, but you do it because you love it and you’re good at it. Ensure your continued success, and climb to new heights of success and fulfillment with these energy-boosting tips you can prioritize every day. Charge!
Michelle Cederberg is a health and productivity expert who helps people with full schedules and a long list of responsibilities maximize their personal energy so they can optimize their productivity and success. As a highly accomplished speaker, author, educator, fitness professional, life coach and entrepreneur, she equips people to feel their best so they can do their best – on the job and in life. Her new book, Energy Now! Small Steps to an Energetic Life will be available at bookstores everywhere January 2012! Visit www.workLIFEenergy.com to learn more.
Well, do you have any ideas to add to Michelle’s great list? Please, share and tell others leaders what you’re doing to boost your energy on the job?