High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: 5 Traits of a Championship Mindset

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

• The 5 Traits of a Championship Mindset: "Commitment should not be just about setting a goal, but living by a standard. A goal is a something you reach. A standard is something you live by."

• Why More Women Need to Say Yes to Top Leadership Positions: "There are other biases that women face in the workplace, but the number one bias that all women face is about family and career."

• How to "Sell" Yourself in a Job Interview: "You’ll be perceived as someone who is keenly interested in what the interviewer has to say and what the company can offer."

• How to Improve Mental Health at the Office: "Many individuals with psychiatric disability can and do work effectively. How the condition impacts work life varies considerably."
• 3 Tips for Making Collaboration Fun and Productive:"Keeping teammates in the dark can stall a project. By sharing the same information with every member of the team, it shows each person that they are essential to decision making and gives team members the ability to execute on their own."

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: Your 12-Month Guide to Building Your Side Hustle This Year

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

• Your 12-Month Guide to Building Your Side Hustle This Year: "If you want to put your diligence toward your own gig or big idea, the best way to build it is to have a plan. Even if you’re setting your own hours one day, a huge part of entrepreneurism is self-reliance and focus."

• 5 Hiring Trends to Watch in 2019: "candidates will be selected based on their potential career trajectory and not necessarily what they did or didn’t achieve educationally."

• 10 Business Books You Need to Read in 2019: "They include new offerings from business celebrities Clayton Christensen, Simon Sinek, and Marcus Buckingham--and one from Oscar-winning producer Brian Grazer, who wants to look deep into your eyes."

• How to Manage Someone Who is Totally Disorganized: "how messy your employee keeps their desk — no matter how much it grates on you — is, in most cases, probably not that big of a deal."
• 5 Easy Ways to Boost Your Mental Health in 2019:"Don't be so hard on yourself that you forget to enjoy the life you have. Whenever you find yourself ruminating, refocus your attention toward all the things you have, goals you've already accomplished and people who love and support you."

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: Increased Productivity, Clarity & Mental Health Through Journaling

Each week we present our Daily Leap Career Video of the Week. The video we share presents news or advice related to career and life development, searching for a job, the economy and employment, and other career-related topics.

In the video below Matt Ragland offers tips for developing a daily journaling practice that can provide increased productivity and clarity, and supports your mental health. Watch the video for more.

5 Practices to Support Our Mental Health at Work

During stressful times on the job or if you’re an entrepreneur and feeling the heat it is critically important to take care of your mental health. Neglecting our mental state leads to fatigue, emotional outbursts, bad decision-making, and more.

But don’t wait until something is wrong before you think about your mental health. By then the damage to your job or career can be done, and in some situations, irreparable.

Implement the following practices to maintain your mental health and to enable you to effectively manage the stresses that will inevitably come.

Develop connections. It is vital to our mental health to engage with others. We are social beings and gain support and energy from our friendships and relationships with colleagues. Schedule regular time to meet with friends, develop new relationships with co-workers, attend networking events, and seek out meet-ups with others who have similar interests. 

Manage expectations. It’s easy to compare our work performance with others and get down on ourselves for failing to measure up but it is important for our mental health to be realistic and focus on our own strengths and weaknesses.

Take vacation time. In addition to ensuring that we get adequate sleep each night, we need to take advantage of our vacation time to allow ourselves to reset and focus anew on the big picture. Stepping away and getting a change of scenery can do wonders for the soul and help a frustrating or cloudy situation become clearer.

Work with a coach or therapist. Sometimes it is necessary to work with a coach to maintain our mental health. A coach or therapist can provide a different perspective and can help us be more effective in our work. Talk to friends or colleagues to get a referral or recommendation.

Find other sources of joy, fun, and satisfaction. Our lives should not just be about the office. We need hobbies and other interests to better enjoy life and to help us maintain our appreciation for the work we do. Often, by engaging with our curiosity for the world outside the office we can gain new insights that we can apply to our working lives and bring new enthusiasm and purpose to our career.

Paying attention to our mental health and applying practices that support us will reduce the stresses in our job, help us manage the inevitable surprises that accompany change, and help us bring consistent energy and intention to our working lives.

5 Steps to Stay Healthy at Work

For many people the work hours are sedentary. We sit at a computer all day or have one or two tasks that we accomplish at a work station. It can be easy to find ourselves gaining weight and feeling lethargic at work.

If this describes you (and even if it doesn't) then consider the following five ways to stays healthy and fit while at work.

1. Move. Make an effort to get up and walk around every hour or so. You don't have to walk for long; simply getting up and moving for 3-5 minutes will help. If you can get outside all the better. Breathing in fresh air and being out in nature helps us relax and has other therapeutic benefits. If your job does not allow you to get up every hour then make sure you move when you get an opportunity, such as your lunch break. Movement is critically important to our health.

2. Eat healthy snacks. Many workplaces have vending machines offering snacks but many of these are unhealthy and filled with sugar. You can avoid the temptation to grab a candy bar by bring in some healthy snacks to munch on throughout the day. Consider bringing in some nuts, carrots, banana or apple. You'll feel better and have more energy when you snack well.

3. Bring in a plant. In many work places the windows don't open and you're stuck breathing in stale (and sometimes unhealthy) air. Bring in a plant or two for you work area. The plant will clean the air around you and, as mentioned above, having a bit of nature nearby can enhance your mood.

4. Exercise and stretch at work. Just because your at work doesn't mean you can't get some exercise and stretching in. Take a few minutes to stand on your toes and reach up for a good stretch. Or do some arm circles. You can even bring in a rubber ball or grippers to squeeze to strengthen your wrists and forearms. There are many other simple exercises you can try with a little creativity.

5. Don't neglect your mental health. As we've discussed above, taking a walk and being among nature has emotional and mental impacts, too. Be sure to consider your emotional and mental well-bing while at work. Bring in a poster with a motivational quote you appreciate, or write a personal mantra on a 3 x 5 note card and post it somewhere you can see it regularly throughout the day.

Implementing these five simple steps will go a long way to help you feel healthier and more energetic at work.