Boost Your Career With These 5 Tips for Healthier Living

In the US, employees take an average of about five sick days per year. That might not seem like a lot but consider the number of times you work when you’re sick with a cold or some other ailment. When you’re ill you likely are not working at peak performance.

In order to excel in your work and career you should also pay close attention to your health. Below are five simple strategies for improving your health and boosting your performance at work.

Sleep 7-8 hours. Getting adequate sleep provides many health benefits and studies have indicated that getting 7-8 hours of sleep reduces stress, increases creativity, improves memory, and sharpens attention, among other things. On the other hand, sleep deficiency has been linked to increased risk of heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke.

Meditate. A brief, daily practice of meditation can result in significant health benefits such as reduced stress, better sleep, and perhaps even improved immune functioning. Meditation can also help you focus on positive and encouraging thoughts, which can lead to more joy and greater focus throughout the day.

Drink (a lot) of water. Staying properly hydrated is important to provide energy, strengthen muscles, improve skin, and keeps your gastrointestinal tract functioning healthily. As we’ve all heard, our bodies are mostly water and we need to drink enough daily to avoid fatigue, headaches, and other issues.

Move 30 minutes. Our bodies are made to move and we need to ensure some basic level of movement daily in order to stay healthy and strong, and to avoid illness. You don’t need to train like a professional athlete or body builder to see results. Get out and walk two miles on your lunch break, or bike in the morning before work … or, better yet, bike to work. Schedule this time every day just as you would any other important meeting. You’ll soon find that you have more energy and accomplish more throughout the day.

Avoid alcohol. While a drink at a social event or company party might lower inhibitions and help manage some social anxiety, frequent alcohol consumption has many negative consequences—damage to the brain, heart, and liver—and can lead to addiction. In addition, alcohol is a depressant and if you struggle with depression it can exacerbate it. To be at your best limit your alcohol intake.

Implement these five simple strategies and you’ll soon feel healthier, stronger, and more energetic.  

5 Steps to Improve Productivity and Build Success in Your Life and Career

Many of us struggle with productivity and focus in your jobs and careers. Here are five steps you can try to increase your productivity and find greater success in your job and in your life.

1. There's an app for that. Many routine tasks we need to do in our lives and at work can be made simpler and more effective by using technology to help us. Often we think of technology as enslaving us as we spend too much time on social media but look to find apps and sites like IFTTT to make your life easier.

2. Develop a routine. The discipline of following a routine, similar to an athlete in training, can help you be much more productive than when you let each day rule you with the tyranny of the immediate.

3. Focus on your health and wellness. You cannot underestimate the importance of daily meditation, exercise, healthy eating, and good and adequate sleep on your ability to be productive and successful. Incorporate these aspects of your life into a routine, as mentioned above, and you'll find yourself enjoying greater success.

4. Plan for success. Take time each day to plan out the key tasks and responsibilities you have for the following day. You're more productive when you plan your day out, allowing you to more easily accommodate and integrate surprises into your schedule as they come up.

5. Tackle the most difficult task first. One simple strategy that will pay significant dividends for your productivity is to take on your most pressing task immediately and work to complete it before moving on to something else. You'll find that knocking out a difficult or dreaded item on your to-do list first thing motivates you to get more day and take on some of those things you really enjoy with more energy.

How to Be More Productive

We have a family tradition in our home of asking each other a simple question while we're having dinner: "How was your day?"

Often, when it's my 4-year-old son's turn he will say, with a mischievous smile and a slight wink in my direction, "Oh, I had a productive day."

Apparently I often answer the "how was your day" question in terms of productivity so it seems

appropriate to highlight some tips to help you (and me) be more productive with our time.

1. Having a productive day starts the day before. Before you leave work for the day or later that evening during some quiet time at home, set your priorities for the next day and list the tasks you need to accomplish. You'll find this enables you to focus more quickly on them the next morning.

2. Get enough sleep. You'll be much more productive if you're not tired and using coffee or sugar drinks to provide you with some temporary energy.

3. Start your day with some exercise. Get moving early and you'll find you have the energy to tackle that list of priorities you set the previous evening.

What suggestions do you have for increasing productivity?

For more tips check out this article.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: Habits for Success and Eliminating Soul-Crushing Habits

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share these every weekend so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

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• What to Do If You Lose Your Job: "No matter how tough the economy, there are ways to stand out among the competition and start the next chapter of your life."

• The One Thing Successful People Do Every Day: "Well, here’s the one personal branding habit you can’t be too busy for."                                                      
• 6 Soul-Crushing Career Habits You Should Break Right Now: "Never underestimate the importance of what you have to contribute."


• Taking Care of Yourself, Then Business: "Make time for exercise just as you would for the most critical part of your work. You won’t be as effective, at least not for long, unless you take care of yourself first."


• Three Things that Actually Motivate Employees: "Clarity about how your products or services can improve the world provides guideposts for employees’ priorities and decisions. As part of the daily conversation, mission and purpose can make even mundane tasks a means to a larger end."