Life can be jam-packed, and I don’t mean that it goes well with peanut butter. My life can easily become focused on succeeding at work– all of the tasks and meetings quickly fill my agenda. There will always be something else I can be doing at work. For all the checked off boxes, I will still feel run down and perpetually on the verge of getting sick. Let’s talk about committing to health, even at work.
Health in the Workplace
Admittedly, I have a job that necessitates long hours, bringing my work home with me and getting emotionally invested. In this society, that might just describe every job out there. I can instantly tell when I need to give myself a break when I have a week of feeling ‘almost sick’. During my brainstorming session on how I can better manage my own health, I came up with a few ways to bring health back into my job life.
Work Health Tips
Physical Health
Some professions breed sickness. Nonetheless, we can still be smart about our health to avoid the weekly cold.
- Nutrition. Yup– those long hours = being too tired to care about what I eat. Combined with the fact that my husband is an emotional eater, this can mean perpetuating the problem. Know your own weakness and exploit it. I am a chronic muncher, so I have to keep a stash of healthy snacks on hand.
- Alcohol. Certain days at work can make you feel like having a drink, even if you never touch the stuff. This isn’t necessarily the worst response, but alcohol should not be your go-to coping mechanism. Alcohol should also not be your first response to a bad day.
- Caffeine. Oh yeah. My coffee cup doth floweth over with goodness, friend. I will say, though, that I make sure it is never the first thing on my stomach or the way I wake up first thing in the morning. I also set an amount of coffee I consume every day (like a high-functioning, recovering alcoholic).
- Emergen-c. I keep this stockpiled at my house for those brutal work days.
Emotional Health
As an introvert whose very job is predicated upon talking and interacting all day, I have to make sure I keep my emotional health, high. Some noteworthy ways of keeping me happy at work:
- Sanity Moments. Sadly, I must admit that I am that awkward hermit who sits alone in her classroom and eats lunch alone. No, I have no qualms with my co-workers. I simply know that I need those 30 minutes of no talking and simply…. being. They keep me sane and sane people do better work than insane ones (excluding homicidal rampages).
- Compartmentalization. Boom! Yeah, I could have used a smaller word, but that one is so magnificent. I try my best to get all of my work done at work. If I can, I don’t actually do anything at home related to my job. This is vastly different from last year, when I scheduled 2 hours a day to focus on my job. Stuff happens, and sometimes this rule isn’t followed. I’ve noticed a huge difference, though in not making room in my personal life for work to prevail.
Mental Health
Your brain can only be pushed so far before thinking becomes beyond comprehensible. Here are my ways of keeping my mind fresh:
- Planner. I always use pencil, so I know that anything can be rescheduled. I’ve also learned the fine art of assessing priority. “This has to be done today.” Does it? Does it really?
- Overbooking. My free time at work alternates. On one day, I have no planning period, and I have additional duties at the end of the day. The next day, I have double planning periods on no extra tasks. I know to keep the busy days completely open and free from my post-it notes and pencil scribblings. In an emergency, I can get something done, otherwise, it can wait.
- Escapism. I try to learn things that have nothing to do with my job by reading and watching documentaries. And not only about teaching or world history, although I try my best to improve at my job, too.
- Goals. In learning new things and keeping my passion high, I try to stay focused on my long-term goals and learn things that relate to them.
What about you? How do you try to stay healthy at work? Let me know in the comments below!
