Your career and your personal life do not exist in silos. You aren’t a different person at work than you are at home. Yes, you may act a little differently in each environment, but who you are at your core is the same (or so we hope!). Are your personal life choices positively impacting your work life?
If things aren’t feeling quite right, there are some changes you can make starting today to make it so you are performing at your highest in every situation. Many of these things you may already know, but take this as us giving you that push you need to make some changes and get you to living the life you want.
1. Exercise
I really should title this one “listen to your body”. You don’t have to go from 0 to 100 today but take note of how your body is feeling and what it needs. The more you take time to listen to what it craves and the more you actually give it what it’s asking for the better you will feel, I promise!
Running is not my cup of tea (Kareem is going to fully disagree with me here lol) but I know that my body craves movement. Way more than I am currently giving it. If running isn’t your thing either, don’t force yourself into it. Instead, find some other way to get some physical exercise every single day. I’ve been starting my days with a 1/2 hour walk. I’ll sometimes pop in a podcast, but it has really helped me feel better physically and mentally. It’s not a secret that exercises positively impacts your mental health, there’s a reason they call it a running high, but you don’t need to push yourself to the absolute limit to reap the mental benefits of moving your body.
Challenge no. 1: Move your body (in whatever way it is craving) for AT LEAST 30 minutes every day this week.
On Sunday, check in with how you’re feeling. Do you notice your body wanting more? How’s your mental state?
2. Set Boundaries
Setting boundaries is a form of self care and will do wonders for your productivity. You can’t pour from an empty cup but you gotta set that time to fill it back up. Boundaries are going to look different for every one of us. When we all headed into the WFH life, I didn’t set any boundaries for work. There was always something more I could be doing, another thing I could get a jump on and would work 7 days a week. I thought this was putting me further ahead but really my mental health was plummeting.
I’m the type of person that loves having a million things going on at one time. I thrive in it. You might be the same way! You have the extra time so you want to be using it effectively to get a jump ahead. But trust me, take time away from the work. Relax. Visit with friends. Do something you enjoy. Read a book. Just chill for a sec! You need it, I need it, we all need it. Take a break. “But if I stop, I won’t start again.” You will. And you will come back with more energy.
Challenge no. 2: Take a break. At minimum, you’re taking some time each day for you. Don’t think about work. Focus on you. Focus on the people that energize you. Focus on what makes you happy. Fill your cup.
3. Avoid Negative Self Talk
You’re your own worst enemy when you talk down to yourself. Negative thought patterns will kill your confidence in your personal life and professional life. Start adding positive affirmations and challenging negative self talk. Write down 5 negative things you repeatedly tell yourself.
- I’m stupid
- I can’t do this
- No one’s going to pay me to do this
- I’m not good enough
- I don’t have what it takes to be successful
Now go and challenge each of those thoughts. Example, I’m not stupid, I graduated top of my class. I CAN do this because look at all of the things I didn’t think I could do before, and ya I did those things! And so on down the rest of your list.
Negative self talk is going to bring you down in all areas of your life and it’s going to hold you back in your career too. Combat it in your personal life, challenge it and show yourself the proof that those are just limiting beliefs your mind is using to keep you in your comfort zone. Nothing good ever came from living in your comfort zone.
Challenge no. 3: Write the list of negative thoughts. Challenge them. If it helps, give the negative voice a name. Now go prove Becky wrong!
I challenge you to make these changes now. No waiting until next week, no waiting until next month. Start today. And then let us know how it goes!