Young Leaders of the
Americas Initiative

When you are working hard and feeling consistently busy, it is easy to get caught up in stress and experience burn out. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle to combat this requires more than creating a calming morning routine and eating nutritious meals during these busy days.

There are other important ways to better your lifestyle and ensure that you are operating at your highest potential. Here are a few steps you can take to improve your physical and mental health, manage burn out, and alleviate stress.

Sleep better

Sleeping poorly can really have an impact on how the rest of your day unfolds. Not sleeping long enough or well enough and relying on coffee is a surefire way to lead to burn out. Follow some of these tips from the National Sleep Foundation to make your sleep more effective when you are feeling stressed out. It is a good idea to keep electronics, like cell phones and tablets, away from your bed, and to stop using them at least half an hour before you go to sleep.

Learn to meditate and focus on deep breathing

Taking even five minutes out of your day to disconnect from whatever you are working on or whatever might be causing you stress, to focus entirely on your breathing, can make a world of difference. Carving out time for regular breaks to reconnect with your breath and recenter your thoughts boosts concentration and overall productivity throughout the rest of your day.

Write it down

Journaling and creating lists are simple ways to organize your thoughts and tasks and make them that much more manageable. Much like allotting a certain amount of time to meditate, allotting a bit of your day to focus on your commitments allows you the chance to reassess your progress as well as any difficulties you may be facing.

Connect with like-minded individuals

Creating a support system is essential to maintaining your well-being, within and out of your work life. There are many others who are experiencing stress or burn out in your field and in your network. Connecting with these individuals and withholding a network of support can be beneficial for you both to keep one another accountable and can be helpful for you to share your successes and struggles.

This can be particularly valuable if you are freelancing, working from home, or starting your own company.

Take time to exercise

Exercising does not have to feel like an insurmountable task on top of your workday and already busy life. Taking a walk outside around your neighborhood or practicing a short yoga session in your room on a regular basis could be enough to give you additional energy to increase your professional and personal productivity. Taking time for self-care in the form of something physical has proven results in an increase in energy and motivation.

No matter your work, chances are you have many things on your to-do list during any given day, and it is easy to get stressed out and to focus on anything other than yourself and your health. Take the time out of your day to focus on your health and well-being, and you will be better for it.  

If you’re interested in more ways to increase productivity and grow your skills, take our course, Strategies for Personal Growth!