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4 healthy habits to fuel your career

February 16, 2021 · 2 min read · By ASU CareerCatalyst

If you want to accomplish more at work, it’s just as important to evaluate your habits at home as your habits at the office. Living a healthy lifestyle has consistently been proven to boost productivity, decrease burnout and contribute to overall career success. Here are four smart habits that will improve your health and job performance.

Get enough sleep

More than a third of all Americans don’t get enough sleep each night, according to the Centers for Disease Control. And one of the common reasons why? Work overload.

It’s tempting to stay up late to finish extra work, but numerous studies have shown that it’s actually smarter to opt for the sleep instead. Getting plenty of sleep boosts your productivity, enhances decision-making skills and improves memory, which will help you be more successful in the long run.

It’s usually recommended that adults get 7-9 hours of sleep a night, but that can vary from person to person.

Practice mindfulness

Mindfulness is the ability to be fully present and aware in each moment, instead of being distracted or stressed about past events. It’s a newer wellness trend, but is already proven to help reduce stress, increase adaptability, and facilitate learning in the workplace.

Mindfulness isn’t a trait that some people have and others don’t. Rather it’s a state of being that anyone can learn. There’s plenty of apps and videos focused on teaching mindfulness, or you can start by taking a guided online class.

Eat healthy

What you eat for lunch affects your focus and energy levels for the rest of the day, so don’t let it become an afterthought. Heavy fast food meals take extra energy to digest and can leave you feeling tired and sluggish. Likewise, sugary snacks will give you a quick energy boost but then cause an energy slump later.

Instead, make the effort to pack a healthy lunch and snacks full of whole grains, lean protein, fruits and vegetables to stay alert and focused all afternoon.

Exercise regularly

When thinking about exercise there’s a tendency to focus only on the physical benefits. However, exercise provides plenty of great mental benefits too, including improved concentration, enhanced creativity, decreased stress and more. Exercise is something that can seem especially hard to fit in with a busy schedule, but you don’t have to take a class at the gym or go for a long run to get the benefits.

Even just 15-30 minutes of walking or similar cardio can boost your productivity and help you be more successful at work.

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