Set Yourself Up for Career Success With These 4 Tips for Your Well-being

From managing productivity to meeting financial targets, many business leaders focus on quantitative metrics. But there’s one factor leaders may overlook that can dramatically improve their focus and productivity — individual well-being.

Your well-being impacts every area of your life — including your professional life. If you’re healthy, well-rested, and fit, you’re more likely to achieve more inside and outside the office than someone who’s overly tired and struggling to manage chronic health issues that come from poor lifestyle choices.

Studies have found that employees who prioritize their well-being take fewer sick days and perform at a higher level than employees that do not. Many high-achieving industry leaders attribute their long-term success to their well-being. Top executives strongly emphasize this area of their life, using it as a secret weapon to achieve outstanding levels of performance and become more impactful leaders.

If you develop a deeper understanding of your own well-being and learn to manage it better, you can begin to make intentional choices that enhance it and reap the benefits that follow, including unprecedented personal and professional growth. Let’s dive into how you can achieve this.

The Four Types of Well–being

As mentioned above, well-being goes beyond just your physical health. According to Psychology Today types of well-being include:

• Physical well-being, which allows your body to function healthily on a day-to-day basis
• Emotional well-being, or the ability to properly manage your emotions and stress
• Social well-being, or the ability to communicate and maintain positive, fulfilling relationships with others
• Workplace well-being, or the state of working in an environment and role that allows you to feel fulfilled and valued
• Societal well-being, which is different from social well-being, in that it applies to the ability to participate in broader society or communities as a whole

While many people learn to successfully manage one type of well-being, they may struggle to manage their well-being in other areas of their life. For example, while some leaders manage to exercise every day, those same leaders may struggle to take time off work to manage their social well-being and spend time with others. But there’s good news. You can improve your well-being with intentional actions and strategies.

4 Tips to Enhance Your Well–being as a Busy Professional

Improving — and maintaining — your well-being is a continuous process that demands patience and consistent, daily effort. So where can you get started? Here are four tips you can use to boost your well-being.

1. Practice Mindfulness and Stress Management Techniques

Unmanaged stress can wreak havoc on every single aspect of your overall well-being — physical, emotional, social, workplace, and societal. Physical and emotional symptoms such as frequent headaches, a lack of focus, or feeling run down can all be key indicators that your body might be telling you it’s time for a change. Taking steps to manage your stress will have a ripple effect, benefiting your total sense of well-being.

A quick way to begin managing your stress? Practice mindfulness through breathing exercises and meditation. It takes seconds and can be done in the morning before you start your day or right from your desk during downtime at work. Download our new Habit Coach app to help you get started and stay accountable.

2. Exercise Regularly

Much like stress, exercise also impacts multiple aspects of your personal wellness. While exercising can sometimes seem like an extra chore that you don’t have time for, try building physical activity into your work hours.

If you don’t have time for a quick walk during your lunch break (or a quick Pilates or yoga session, if you work from home), try using a standing desk or under-the-desk cycling machine to get your blood pumping.

3. Develop Healthy Eating Habits

If you currently eat for convenience or even just for weight loss, you’re not alone. 46 percent of adults in the U.S. eat poorly. Consider taking a good look at your eating habits and see where you might adjust them to improve your overall health. This means ensuring you get all the necessary nutrients your body needs for peak performance, as well as eliminating any added toxins you put into your body on a regular basis. No need to throw away all your favorite snacks; start small. Every step you make toward better health counts—even the little ones.

4. Develop Work–Life Harmony

While your career may currently be your primary focus in life, it can lead to dissatisfaction if you’re not harmoniously integrating it with the rest of your life.

Create synergies between different areas of life rather than viewing them as separate entities. Start by rediscovering new hobbies, taking workout classes during your lunch break, and scheduling quality time with friends and family. Doing so will bring you new energy and increase your quality of life.

The Bottom Line

Understanding and prioritizing your well-being isn’t just good for your health; it’s a powerful tool you can use to boost your professional success, leadership capabilities, and overall life satisfaction. If you’re in a leadership position, you can improve your own well-being while setting an example for your team and boosting your bottom line.

Are you looking to improve your overall well-being? Get started with our free health assessment to better understand your health and where you could improve.