Are you looking for ways to maximise the hours in your day using tips for productivity? Trust me, as a busy mum of two, General Manager of a global beauty brand, strategic marketing consultant, household manager and studying my Master of Business (Marketing) – I understand the challenges that women face when it comes to the balancing act of life.
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Working women are some of the busiest women on earth. More women are providing for the family, both in the office and at home, and sometimes, those commitments mean that focusing on your wellness slips down the list of priorities. But in order to juggle life’s various challenges, your health is integral, because if we don’t have our health, we don’t have anything.
Eat for energy and stamina
The best place to start your journey to wellness is by assessing your diet. It’s easy to succumb to the temptations of your co-workers treats (we’ve all been there), but if you have a sedentary job, it’s important to consider what you eat and how easily your body will be able to digest it. Jobs that require you to sit for long periods of time slow your metabolism, so packing yourself a healthy, balanced lunch is key to avoid binge eating Tim Tams in the afternoon.
The key to feeling satisfied at work is to make sure you’re getting enough of the three main food groups: carbohydrates, fats and protein, which function together to ensure that you feel full, satisfied and energised.
For example, a large salad for lunch with salmon or chicken and lots of colourful veggies and a bit of healthy fat, such as an avocado, contains all three key food groups to keep you going. Dress it with olive oil, balsamic vinegar or lemon.
To switch it around, incorporate the salad into a wholemeal bread wrap. If a salad bores you, how about some rice paper rolls, sushi, or a small bowl of stir fried meat and veggies? If you’re craving something a bit warmer for the winter season, a chicken and vegetable soup is always filling and nutritious.
It’s wise to break up the three main meals with regular snacks and natural is best. Processed foods, even those labelled as “low fat” or “fat free” are full of sneaky additives like sugar and preservatives, which actually lead to weight gain rather than weight loss. Pack yourself some fresh fruit, protein balls, muesli bars, nuts, or hummus with celery or carrot sticks. A good strategy is to buy a stash of snacks to leave work so you never get caught out and have to resort to the vending machine.
Organisation is your friend
Sure, this may be something you have heard before, but may not have been able to put into action. At the end of the day all it takes is a few minutes’ preparation at the start of the week – cook your meals for the week ahead on the weekend and you’ll be laughing. The key is organisation!
Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!
It’s also vital to stay hydrated throughout the day. People often report a 3pm slump in energy, but many don’t know that this often has to do with dehydration. The daily recommended water intake for women is two litres – the equivalent of about eight glasses. You have eight hours at work – challenge yourself to drink one glass an hour. This will also help you feel full and keep you from over-snacking.
Incorporate exercise into your working day
It’s important to move throughout the day as well. I can’t reiterate enough that sitting for long periods of time leads to a slower metabolism, so make an effort to move a bit each hour. If you can, go for a walk at lunch. Getting out of the office to move is refreshing and energising. You’re not going to be the only one in the office with fitness goals; find a walking buddy and encourage each other to get moving! If you don’t have time, park further away to force yourself into a short walk each morning and evening and commit to taking the stairs instead of the lift.
And of course, away from the office, getting to the gym is a great way to de-stress. However if you hate the gym – don’t force it on yourself! Find a physical activity that you actually enjoy – whether that’s running, joining a sports team or maybe even hip hop dancing – and you will be able to stick to it.
Listen to your instincts
Finally, the most important tip is to be self-aware. You know your limits better than anyone else. It’s beneficial for your health to take time off work, whether it’s a staycation or a trip to an exotic destination. Getting your mind off of the happenings of the office to focus on yourself will help you to remember what life is all about – and reset your goals and expectations.
We only have a few hours each day, and when many of them are spent in the office, you have to re-purpose your work hours to fit your health goals as well as your career goals. Eating better, moving more and focusing on your mindset will help you to seize the day with energy and passion.
About
Karina Francois is a leading Australian naturopath, health educator and public speaker with over 14 years experience running her own clinic in Melbourne, Infinite Health Practice. She is also an international author, releasing her first book, Clean Food, Clear Thinking in 2015. After visiting a naturopath who assisted her back to health following a period of illness, Karina was inspired to help others to achieve optimal health, and pursued a career in naturopathy.
This is not a trick question. I promise. Many of us think of health as separate to our career, while others think how we feel underpins our jobs but is this really the whole truth?
I would suggest that our internal health is intermingled with everything we do in life, from caring for our loved ones to relaxation, work, play – everything really. When we feel good on the inside, we’re at our most optimum with everything we face.
How the Health Ideal evolved into a full time job
I’ve been blessed to have been born into a family that takes health extremely seriously. My mother never gave us any food that wasn’t fresh or cooked from scratch and served immediately, even during her three job work week. I know, Power to Mums!
My father received a soccer scholarship into the most prestigious university in India, so taking care of ourselves has never been a passing phase in our family, health (both internal and external) means business.
I’ve been working in the family business since I was in my early teens, my father establishing our company in 1997. I can thank my parents for my obsessive love for health and turning it into a full time career for introducing me to the importance of being healthy and how it truly impacts every stage of your life.
Though health is definitely my passion, being the best entrepreneur you can be or even an inspiration in whatever you do (whether it be a position in a corporate environment or being the greatest example to those around you as a stay at home mum), relies heavily on how you face the challenges you face daily.
How Health affects your Performance
Apart from the obvious reasons poor health affects our employment, feeling lethargic or generally under the weather reduces our productivity, a place we definitely don’t want to be!
Though organisations may have a predominantly financially motive in keeping you healthy, your good health is particularly important to your loved ones and most imperatively, yourself. No one feels good about not being able to do the things we love, even if that is a 7am start on a Saturday morning to take the kids to rugby practice.
Being healthy ensures that you’re at your best all the time, every time, which is exactly where we want to be.
How do we stay healthy in this fast paced modern environment we live in?
Organic products may give us a little bit of a helping hand
There’s a reason organic products are all the rage nowadays, and the fad doesn’t seem to be declining any time soon.
In a society reliant on products including preservatives, chemicals and GMOs, many of us are making a very conscious decision to get back to our roots. Taking a leaf out of mother nature’s book, cooperatives and health food outlets are mushrooming up around all of us for one main reason – there’s a need they’re satisfying.
Though not all of you will be diehard fans of the organic concept, few of us can deny the incomparable nutritious value of eating fresh vegetables, fruits, fish and meats. My friend’s mum just recently retired and has had the time to cook more fresh food at home. Over the weekend she was reciting the staggeringly great effects she has noticed in her health from eating more freshly made home cooked meals.
“I feel more energetic!” she exclaimed over a cup of tea, and even I noticed how vibrant her hair looked. Admittedly, she’s also been exercising a lot more frequently (not crazily, just a forty five minute walk a day), so I would suggest that an adequate combination of exercise, good food and relaxation is quickly turning her into a better (nearing best) version of herself.
Some of you may be thinking about pressing the Back Button on your browser right about now but just stop for a moment.
I’m not telling you to go all gung-ho on your new health routine, baby steps are the way to go. Commit to making three fresh meals a week, or say you’ll only eat out twice a week, start exercising three days a week and if it feels good (and I have a sneaking suspicion it will), increase your workout to four or five times a week. If you can, get a family member or friend on board to take the journey with you. Suffer and celebrate together! Maybe you could share the cooking and get a fresh meal inside your and your family’s belly more than three days a week – bonus!
A combination of good food and exercise is sure to brighten up the way you approach your day. Remember, a positive outlook will surely result in positive outcomes.
Now it’s your turn!
So are you convinced to make that health change? Maybe your commitment to good health resulting in a more improved general life has just been reinforced. Whatever your takeaway from this article, I’m sure your fellow Leaders in Heels would be thrilled to hear about the way you plan (or the way you already have) to make health a priority in your daily activities and the results you may have already achieved.
You know what they say; sharing is caring, so let us know in the Comments section.
About
Mituri believes you never stop learning which is why she believes there is still more to know about when it comes to Mother Nature. As a previous Journalist, PR Specialist, Editor and Reviewer, she has worked for News Corp as a Journalist, Editor and IT Specialist, a variety of online mediums and local newspapers as well as for Australia’s second largest Publishing House, Express Publications. These days she’s doing PR (amongst many other roles like nearly every entrepreneur on the planet) for her Organic based/Certified Organic brand Nim-Véda Australia (www.nimveda.com). Go check it out at http://www.nimveda.com
Women get a lot of bad reputation for being emotional and looking stressed at the workplace. The truth is, everyone gets stressed from time to time when they are feeling overwhelmed! As a working woman and mother, I’m familiar with the feeling of being overwhelmed. However, the good news is you can avoid feeling and looking stressed if you know how to deal with those feelings.
Here are 8 tips on how you can stop feeling overwhelmed, and take control of your life.
1. Step out of the situation and look from outside
When you are feeling overwhelmed, the first thing you need to do is to calm down. Usually this can be achieved by stepping out of the situation and looking at it from a third party’s point of view. Then ask these questions; Why are you feeling overwhelmed? Do you have too much to do and not enough time? Do you have a particular challenge in completing your tasks? After knowing the cause, you can follow the rest of the steps and overcome the feeling of overwhelm.
2. Write a To-do list and priortise
Our brains are not capable of storing too much information, especially if the information is not related. When the brain has too much information to process or remember, then it tends to bring stress and anxiety. Therefore, write a To-do list and free your brain from information overload. Once you’ve written down a To-do list, it is easier to prioritise as everything is in black and white.
When the brain has too much information to process or remember, then it tends to bring stress and anxiety.
By reviewing your To-do list and prioritising, you might find that you don’t need to complete all ten items in the list. Perhaps only completing eight items is sufficient to achieve the desired outcome. Whether you are trying to complete tasks at work or at home, women are known for taking too much on! This step will ensure that we only do things that are important and have an impact on what we would like to achieve.
3. Be in control by giving up control
The art of finding a good balance and being at peace relies a lot on control – and surprisingly, it is not about having a lot of control. It is about giving up control and not trying to control what we can’t. There are some things in life that just cannot be controlled, such as weather. So for example, if you are organising a work event and are worried about bad weather or rain, then you are going to be stressed and overwhelmed. Instead, have a Plan B for when it rains.
Rather than trying to control what you can’t, preparing for what could go wrong actually puts you in charge of the situation. And when you know you are in charge of something, there is less chance of feeling overwhelmed.
4. Stop overthinking
Overthinking causes negative thoughts and fosters a pessimistic point of view. There was a cartoon that I saw somewhere that illustrated the negative effect of overthinking. The husband was not looking happy one day and the wife started silently worrying about it: is he not interested in me anymore? Is he going to leave me soon? Have I done something to upset him? And so on, and so forth.
But when a friend asked the husband why he looked upset, his answer was, “My bike didn’t start today, and I don’t know why.” It was spot on. Overthinking does more harm than good! It creates problems in our mind which are not even problems to begin with. The more we overthink, the further we are from making decisions or taking actions to resolve the issue as we become overwhelmed with unnecessary thoughts and worries.
5. Think about the big picture
It is very easy to get trapped in daily tasks, feel overwhelmed with current issues and forget what really matters: The big picture! When we think about the big picture, maybe it no longer matters that each of us do things slightly differently, or that a few things didn’t work out as planned. As long as we achieve our desired end goal within our set constraints, that’s all that matters!
6. Ask for help and accept help
There is a misconception that asking for help or accepting help is a sign of weakness. Working women, therefore, tend to avoid asking for help at work or at home. Maybe we don’t want to be seen as incapable. Maybe we don’t want to look weak. Maybe we want to show others that we can do it all. But knowing when to ask for help and accepting help is a strength.
But knowing when to ask for help and accepting help is a strength.
In her book Lean In, the author Sheryl Sandberg encourages women to support each other and lean in so we can achieve our full potential. I say, let’s take it one step further and lean in and get support from your colleagues, managers, partners, and people you deal with, regardless of their gender. Help them help you and return the favour when possible because there is no shame in that!
7. Choose your battles wisely
Sometimes, we have no control over a problem, but we always have control over how we choose react to a problem. Choosing your battles wisely applies not only to arguments and conflicting views but also applies to how we choose what problems to deal with. Not all problems need to be solved because they simply do not matter in the long run.
Rather than facing every problem so passionately, think of pros and cons and decide whether they are worth fighting over. After all, as working women, our time and energy are limited so don’t waste them!
“Choose your battles wisely. After all, life isn’t measured by how many times you stood up to fight. It’s not winning battles that makes you happy, but it’s how many times you turned away and chose to look into a better direction. Life is too short to spend it on warring. Fight only the most, most, most important ones, let the rest go.” ~ C. JoyBell C.
8. Take action
Last but not least, the most effective way to deal with overwhelm is to take appropriate action. Sometimes, we may be feeling overwhelmed about a small matter but when we go ahead and do it, we find that it is actually not that hard. To give you an example, there was one time I got overwhelmed with preparing and lodging a tax return. I spent many days and weeks thinking and stressing out about it.
But when I actually put a day aside, got all the receipts and documents and lodged the tax return on the same day, I realised that it was not that hard. Similarly, we could be reading many articles about how to overcome feeling overwhelmed at work or at home but if we don’t do anything or implement any of their suggestions, then we are not going see any difference in our lives.
So the next time you are feeling overwhelmed, simply take action. There is a quote by Nelson Mandela which reads, ‘It always seems impossible until it’s done.’ I couldn’t agree more.
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” ~ Nelson Mandela
Ei Sabai Nyo is a highly innovative and award-winning web technologist and people manager with over 15 years industrial experience in the Internet and web development industry. She is also a co-founder of an Internet startup, Sale The World and is passionate about startups, entrepreneurship and personal and career development.
How happy are you in your job?
No job is perfect every day. Some days you dread the commute – even if you’re a 5-minute walk from work. So how do you determine whether it’s just a run of bad days or something more? Whether to pull the pin or to stay and make it work? And when is the ideal time to walk away and start something new?
I’ll get to that shortly but in order to get a good read, you need a clear head. When you’re contemplating a career change it’s rarely a good idea to quit when you’re mad.
Is emotion or energy clouding my Job Happiness?
Something just happened. Stress is high. Perhaps you’re underappreciated or embarrassed or overworked or just really angry. How will you be sure you have a clear head and be objective?
Note – skip this step at your peril!
Try these:
- Do something physical to take your focus away from your mind.
- Breathe deeply and count as you do. Breathe in slowly to the count of 5, then out slowly to the count of 5 and repeat.
- Walk around the block or up and down the fire stairs. Just move with determination.
- Practice a simple meditation for a few minutes.
- If you practice yoga, practice here. A couple of small stretches can effectively unlock the tension.
- Phone a friend or mentor who you know can be objective and help you take the heat from the situation, so you can think with clarity.
- Park it. Allocate a time when you WILL come back to it and focus on the job at hand.
When is the IDEAL time to walk away?
This is really personal and there are many factors to consider. Here are some objective points though.
The GOOD reasons to leave:
- Your values no longer align with those of the organisation (not just your boss).
- The environment is unsafe for your physical or mental health. There is a time to working to change the system but compromise to safety should really be considered carefully.
- You have an external opportunity that’s guaranteed to roll your expertise to a new level. The gains might be in responsibility, breadth, exposure, association, reward or lifestyle alignment.
- Your skills have genuinely outgrown the level of challenge that exists within this organisation. This can be tricky to assess without objective feedback. Also tough to assess when you’re emotional.
The WRONG reasons to leave:
- You’re angry.
- Your boss is an idiot. This needs more airtime that one little bullet point. I’ll come back to this one in a sec…
- They don’t support their people. Businesses usually offer MUCH more than their people are aware of. A number of our team have seen many Exit Surveys where
- Nobody seems to care about your career progression. This probably won’t change in a new business: your career is your responsibility. Its up to you to move it forward.
- On the surface, this new opportunity looks pretty great. Delve further. Do your research & gauge the market.
When considering a new opportunity you’re wise to listen to your gut instinct – provided that you do lots of risk-mitigating fact checking too. Speak to some employees in the new team. Understand the pressures on the role, expectations of deliverables and get any promises IN WRITING. Especially if you’re turning down another opportunity to pursue this one. Implied future progression is not a promise.
Develop A Moving On Strategy
If you’ve decided to stay and make it work better for you, how much time will you give it? Will you still potentially be hanging in there in 2 years, with stress and resentment levels rising?
Set your strategy & give it a definitive end-date. This ‘Is It Time To Move On?’ CHECKLIST will give you a Job Happiness Score. Evaluate your score and determine whether that’s ok for you. Then set a date. What would you LIKE your happiness score to be? What strategies will you put in place to close the gaps?
Whether you love or loathe your job, there are clear things you can do to improve how well work fits you. We run an Executive Presence Boot Camp, online. Key elements of the program are Identifying your Career Joy, Confidence and Mindfulness. These are key contributors to workplace happiness too, right?
What factors could contribute to YOU being happier at work? If you were to close your eyes while I wave a magic wand to make your job your ideal… when you open your eyes, what would it look like?
What can you do to make that happen? Is it possible that some of it already is in place if you look at it differently?
Meanwhile, my Boss is Revolting…
What do you want to do about it?
I’m not the 1st to say ‘People join companies but leave managers’. Many people DO leave dodgy bosses, but are they ultimately better off? And is there an alternative that would give YOU a better outcome?
That painful individual could be gone tomorrow. There may be other options for improving your job happiness. Can you reduce your exposure to this person short –term, rather than throwing away a great opportunity because of someone else’s shortcomings.
Let’s assume that you’re clear-headed and that you’ve completed the checklist. You’ve assessed your happiness score and decided that overall you have lots to stay for. How can you make great progress despite a dodgy boss? No single strategy is a guarantee.
You could be crushed under a poor manager OR
you could come out the other side stronger and with a great story to tell.
The individuals we see emerge with a great yarn have all implemented a few of these tactics:
- Be visible with the influencers of the business. It’s something you should be aiming for anyway, but when your boss is unsupportive or underperforming it’s critical that others with influence know what you’re made of.
- Put your hand up to be involved in other projects. This is about raising your profile, increasing your skill set and building your network.
- Be great at what you do.
- Be clear about your non-negotiables. You saw the checklist, right? The first step in our Boot Camp is getting clear on what you value. Really value. If you have 100 wishy-washy demands you’ll get pushback on all of them. If there are 2 or 3 key things you hold as sacrosanct, then others will be much less likely to have you push those particular boundaries.
- Get great at negotiation. You’ll find some tips in this article on Salary Negotiation.
- Practice “Yes if..” instead of No. Nicola Mills, CEO of Pacific Retail Management is the creator of this gem. When you’re asked to do something you don’t like, pause a moment to consider what clause would make that ok. You want me to meet this close to unachievable deadline in the next 5 days with no additional resources? It’s going to require my team to work till midnight or beyond multiple times. Pause to consider. Yes if you pay for lunch for my team to say thank you. And we’re each given a half – day of paid leave to be taken in the next month at my discretion.
So what’s YOUR Job Happiness Score? And what will you do about it? Remember about that grass – it’s not always greener on the other side. So what strategies will you use to either make changes or to feel better about what is?
Cath Nolan
Cath is MD of Gender Gap Gone, a technological disruptor focused on Women’s Leadership. Cath was the driving force behind assembling the GGG team of coaches, consultants and experts and also created the online Career Empowerment Program. Cath’s mantra is ‘tiny changes applied consistently have enormous impact’ and her passion is empowering women to live the careers of their choosing.
Are you busy? Like, really really busy? Are you too busy to read this article? Pick up the dry-cleaning? Make a healthy dinner?
What about feeling grounded and calm? Are you too busy for that? Are you too busy to put yourself first for once, and to set clear, healthy boundaries? Are you too busy to replenish your energy stores and improve your mood? Too busy to feel inspired, connected and expansive? Are you too busy to say no, so you’re always saying yes even though it leaves you feeling resentful and stressed out?
Busyness might be ubiquitous but that doesn’t mean it’s cool. Sorry to burst that bubble, but I have a different idea of what’s trendy.
I think trendy is looking after ourselves, deeply and completely. Saying no when we mean no. Setting clear, healthy boundaries (and holding to them). Backing ourselves, slowing down without the guilt, and incorporating little moments of calm into our day.
So here are 6 ways to release yourself from the busyness trap – you can take them or leave them. But if you don’t take them, can you really afford to burn out?
1. Say no when you mean no
Before you say yes to anything else, ask yourself if you really want to say yes. Really? Would it feel good to you? Expansive? Freeing? Or does saying yes feel restrictive and rigid? Do you already feel resentment bubbling up inside you? What would feel good to you?
You can say no in a loving, kind way. And in fact, saying no is often being loving and kind to yourself, and it’s as important as saying yes. Balance the scales a little more in your favour by saying no when you truly, deeply, honourably mean no.
2. Set clear, healthy boundaries (and honour them)
Boundaries define your territory; what you say yes to, what you say no to, and how you allow others to treat you, and getting clear on your boundaries is an important step in getting out of the busyness trap.
But healthy boundaries are more than just saying no when you really, truly mean no. They’re also about holding your own energy and space so that you don’t take on others peoples’ stuff, which we often do if we feel (consciously or not) that they aren’t capable of looking after themselves or of doing the job right.
You can decide how others treat you by how you show up, by how you set boundaries, and by how you honour them. Initially it can feel a little scary to do this, but you’ll soon see, feel and know the difference this makes. Start today.
3. Back yourself
If you had a date planned with a friend, would you cancel them with five minutes to go? Probably not. Likewise, if you were walking into your yoga studio for a little bit of ‘me’ time and a colleague called you up to go through tomorrow’s presentation, would you turn and walk away from your yoga mat? Or would you back yourself and politely say, “Thanks so much for the call. I’m just walking into an appointment; I’ll call you back later”?
Much like you show up your family, friends and colleagues, it’s time you begin showing up for yourself too. Use this free self-care planner I created to help you make space for yourself in your busy calendar.
4. Slow down without the guilt
If I asked you to create time in your busy calendar to not make plans, to rest in whichever way felt good to you, and to restore your energy, how would you feel? Guilty for taking some time out of your busy day? Guilty for filling your well before you give more back to others? You need to put yourself first and give yourself time to rest if you want to show up in the world. The world doesn’t need the burnt-out, exhausted version of you. The world needs you, at your best, and you can’t be your best if you’re always putting everyone else’s’ needs ahead of your own.
You must create white space in your calendar and mind. You must give yourself permission to slow down and rest up. And you must allow yourself to do this, guilt-free. Not only do you ‘deserve’ it, but you’re worthy of it.
5. Incorporate little moments of calm into your day
This sounds easy and honestly, it can be. How can you incorporate a few moments of calm into your day? I do this by simply sitting down away from my computer for several moments between clients, by switching off my emails for an hour or so (nothing like reducing the ‘pings’ in your life to induce a calmer state) or by walking around the block to get some sunshine and fresh air between writing articles.
It doesn’t need to be expensive or time-costly, it just needs to be something you do frequently in your day that disconnects you from the busy and connects you to the calm that is somewhere inside you. I know it’s in there, you just need to create space for it.
6. Look after yourself, deeply and completely with herbal medicine
Apart from eating well in a way that nourishes your body and your soul, and making time for rest, exercise, sunshine, fresh air, and good times with your family and friends, you can turn to beautiful herbal medicines to restore your body’s natural energy.
Some of my favourite herbs include Rhodiola, Licorice and Rehmannia, Withania, Siberian ginseng and Korean ginseng. These herbs will improve your body’s ability to adapt to a wide range of stressors and begin to help your body heal and find equilibrium again.
If you’re feeling a little frazzle and anxious, herbs like Passionflower, Valerian, Lemon Balm, and Chamomile are beautiful, and if you’re feeling down, St John’s Wort (don’t take if you’re on medication), Lavender, Oats and Rhodiola are wonderful. If you don’t know a good naturopath or herbalist, pop in to your local health food store and ask them how best to take these herbs (usually in liquid, tablet or capsule form). Teas also work beautifully however for therapeutic doses, I always recommend liquid herbs.
Getting out of the busyness trap is up to one person… you. Will full permission, zero guilt, firm healthy boundaries and a whole lot of compassion, it’s completely possible.
Featured image provided by Cassie Mendoza-Jones
Cassie Mendoza-Jones
Cassie founded Elevate Vitality in 2011, which is both a naturopathic and kinesiology clinic and an online space that offers women a vast range of online courses, guides and blog posts that help them achieve health and happiness in their lives. She’s made it her mission to help women find clarity, connection and a sense of ease and freedom in their lives, by guiding them to feel worthy and confident in their skin, and to let go of their limiting beliefs, fears and worries about never being good enough. For more information on Cassie, visit: www.elevatevitality.com.au.