More Energy, Less Stress, Greater Success!

by Michelle Cederberg, Health and Productivity Expert

Energy Now! Tips for Leaders-on-the-Move: Part II

In my last post, I wrote about how you can ride the leadership roller coaster of success and stress by taking small self-care steps every day in key energy-generating areas of your life. I spoke specifically of the importance of exercise, healthful eating, and water intake.

Today I want to talk about three more specific areas that you can focus on in order to feel your best, so you can do your best — on the job and in life.

Zzzzz’s Please

I know you’re busy and there aren’t enough hours in the day but when did sleep become a luxury? While you sleep, your body restores itself and repairs from the stress of the day.

Inadequate rest impairs your ability to think, to handle stress, to maintain a healthy immune system and to moderate your emotions. With the work you have to do, you need to be on your ‘A-game’ all the time, and you can’t do that in a sleep-deprived state.

Most of us aren’t getting enough sleep and we’ve become a nation of working tired holding on for dear life, hoping to make it to the weekend. Why not make your rest a priority for a few weeks and see how you feel?

• Get to bed thirty minutes earlier at least three times a week.
• Wind down your busy work at least two hours before bed.
• Before bed, avoid computer, television, video games, and work related phone calls that stimulate the mind and make it difficult to relax.
• Do your best to stick to the same sleep schedule.
• If you have trouble getting to sleep, try slow, deep breathing or relaxation techniques like stretching or meditation to calm your mind.

If you’d like a bonus sleep article with strategies for creating a sleep routine and improving your sleep environment, then send me an email at [email protected] and mention this guest post!

Stress Less for Success

We’re connected 24/7, we work longer hours with less sleep and physical activity, we don’t eat as well and it’s taking its toll on our stress levels and overall health. Stress is something that we’re so used to that it doesn’t occur to us that we could live without it, or at least live with less.

But it’s a vicious cycle that can be stopped with a small-steps approach:

• Become aware of your stressors and your emotional and physical reactions to stress. Go here for a Quick Stress Quiz.
• Recognize what you can change, and take small steps to regain control in those areas.
• Reduce the intensity of your emotional and physical reactions to stress. Pause, breathe, count to ten. To react in the instant will only add to your stress.
• Build your physical reserves (think about the ideas I gave you last month).
• Maintain your emotional reserves. Talk it out. Have a confidante. Ask for help.

Lead by Example

You want the best for yourself and your team. Success in business and in life requires productivity, and productivity is fueled by good energy.

Good leaders lead by example. Do as I do. Period. Be the leader that not only supports a healthy workplace but demands it.

Health, fitness and the resulting energy are the foundation for success in work and life.

Healthy employees have higher energy levels, lower rates of absenteeism, higher levels of self-esteem and confidence, and greater fulfillment on the job. That’s who you want working on your team.

Leadership is certainly a roller coaster ride, but you do it because you love it and you’re good at it. Ensure your continued success, and climb to new heights of success and fulfillment with these energy-boosting tips you can prioritize every day. Charge!

(published June 27, 2012)

Michelle Cederberg is a Certified Speaking Professional, Co-Active Life Coach, Health Expert and Author. With a Masters in Kinesiology, a BA in Psychology, and a specialization in Health and Exercise Psychology, Michelle combines mind, body, and practicality to inspire change! She speaks with humour and passion, and encourages her audiences to put their own health and well being back on their priority lists with a small steps approach that leaves them believing they can. These energy tips are excerpted from her new book, Energy Now! Small Steps to an Energetic Life. Learn more at www.worklifeenergy.com.