4 Ways to Practice Self-Care in the Workplace

Let's face it. Our work lives can be quite stressful and take a toll on us, both emotionally and physically. It can be easy to get wrapped up in the urgency of it all and then fail to recognize what we're experiencing.

When our work situation takes us to the breaking point it is likely to impact our personal and home life, too, and so it's important to develop a practice of self-care in the office.

Consider the following four elements of a self-care plan and adjust them, as necessary, to your work situation.

Surround yourself with support. Unless you're the boss, you can't pick your team but you can choose the colleagues you grab lunch with, or meet up for a coffee break with, or hang out with after work. Build a supportive and encouraging group of colleagues around you to be a source of strength when things are tough and stressful at work. These colleagues can share an encouraging word around the coffee machine or crack the right joke to put things in perspective. Seek out positive people and you'll feel less stressed.

Create a healthy and encouraging work space. Put up some inspiring and motivational quotes t around your desk or on your computer. Always be surrounded by the encouraging wisdom of others you admire and respect. In addition, keep your work space organized and clean. Consider adding a plant to help clean the air and provide a little color. And put up some art by your favorite artist.

Take time to move. Schedule regular time in your day to get away from your desk or work area and take a walk. Adding some physical activity to your day can help refresh and re-energize you, and a comfortable walk allows you get away alone and come up with a new, creative approach to a problem you might be dealing with.

Recognize your successes and victories. Each day and every week brings some successes with it. Be sure to slow down enough to recognize those victories and acknowledge them. Write them down and allow yourself to enjoy even the small successes.

Applying these four practices to your regular work routine can help prevent the stressful times from overwhelming you and negatively impacting your satisfaction on the job and your enjoyment at home.

6 Practices That Will Make You More Successful Tomorrow

We all want to be successful in our lives and in our careers but sometimes we let the busyness of our personal and work lives interfere with taking care of ourselves and doing the things we need to do.

It can be easy to get off track and find ourselves filled with anxiety while we struggle to meet deadlines and prioritize competing demands.

Apply the following 6 practices to your day today and you'll have a better day tomorrow.

1. Turn off the social media. Avoid your Facebook, twitter, and Instagram accounts. These take time away from the important things and we often find ourselves unfavorably comparing our lives or circumstances with others we barely know.

2. Forget multi-tasking. Focus on only one thing and work at it until you complete it. Attempting to multi-task is a distraction and might even lead to taking a look at those social media accounts we suggested turning off.

3. Replace negative self-talk. When you're stressed out or struggling with work you can find yourself stuck in a rut of negative self-talk. You're not good at this. It will never get done. No one will like this. The self-talk can be ruthless. It's important to recognize this and replace the self-talk in your mind with positive affirmations: I've got this. I'm good enough. I'm brave and capable.

4. Take a walk outside and breathe. Get outside into the fresh air, go for a walk, and focus on your breathing. You'll feel better, more relaxed, less stressed, and ready to take on the world.

5. Eat a healthy and energizing meal. Be sure to get at least one meal in every day that consists of healthy food that will make your body feel strong and provide the energy you need.

6. Sleep. You need good and adequate sleep to be at your best. Make sure you get 7-8 hours in order to be rested and focused to start your day well.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: How to (Positively) Think Your Way to Success

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!

• How to (Positively) Think Your Way to Success: "They’re always there and they always have an effect on you. But thoughts can be appraised in a very simple way: Do they strengthen you or weaken you?"
• 6 Ways to Stay Productive After 3:00 PM: "Go for a walk, either outside or just around your office. You’ll be in a better mood when you return to the task at hand, and you'll be better equipped to actually tackle it."
• 9 Questions to Ask Yourself in Order to Move Past Challenges With Grace: "Deciding what I’m committed to and how I plan to make that commitment happen is my top focus as I enter a challenging situation."
• How to Succeed at Work When Your Boss Doesn't Respect You: "Work closely with a mentor. In my interviews, I have also found that a close relationship with a mentor is closely correlated with thriving."
• 5 Lessons from Angelina Jolie on How to Make a Career Change: "Follow her playbook and be confident in your potential to reinvent your career. Yes, it's possible! Here's how."

6 Simple Ways to Be More Innovative in Your Job and Career

Your career development and success depends on being innovative in your work, finding news ways to do things, and seeing obstacles, challenges, and opportunities before others see them.

Sometimes we're tempted to think that innovation requires some mystical process or is an innate skills possessed by the few. However, we all have the ability to think creatively and innovatively and we can implement some simple strategies to aid in the process.

Here are six ways to become more innovative:

1. Take a walk. Studies have shown that we get some of our best ideas when walking. In addition, walking, particularly in nature, provides a boost to our feelings of well-being, lowering stress, and making us more open to new ideas.

2. Learn a language. Spending some time on a new language challenges your brain to think in ways that are unfamiliar to you and opens you up to some new experiences and knowledge.

3. Meditate. You don't have to become a monk or some kind of guru to experience the many benefits of meditation, however, taking just a few minutes to calming breathe each day can make you more aware of new ideas and ways of doing something.

4. Meet with friends. Don't isolate yourself. Be sure to have fun and spend time with your friends and colleagues, especially a diverse group that holds different views. You'll be challenged to think differently.

5. Create something new. Anything, it doesn't really matter. Write a short story, compose a song, or paint a still life. The act of creating something new will inspire you to see things in new ways.

6. Read a book. Of course, reading is a great way to explore new worlds, meet new people (past and present) and learn about new subjects and fields, therefore, encouraging innovation and new ideas.