A Quick Self-Care Routine to Help you Succeed

Sometimes it’s easier to use work as an excuse to skip that workout, or to use stress as an excuse to eat that donut and overdose on the wine and appetizers, but neglecting your health now guarantees bad news down the line. 

The only surprise factor is what kind of bad news. You are not invincible and your career is not worth sacrificing your health for. In fact, when climbing the corporate ladder as a successful confident woman, you must take great care of yourself in order to keep climbing and to have more doors open for you. 

The senior leadership team finds nothing attractive in an over-worked, over-stressed employee. In fact, you send the opposite message: 

When you neglect your health, you’re saying you are not able to take responsibility for yourself and that you can hardly manage everything on your plate currently. This makes it seem as though you can’t possibly manage more at a higher level, so it’s in their best interest not to promote you.

Don’t expect your management to verbalize this for you. They expect you to understand that a professional can handle her personal life and career obligations with poise and balance. Plus, it’s your health we are talking about. You want to take excellent care of it. Without it, you have no career. 

Even as a self-proclaimed health nut, I did not notice how badly my own health and relationship with my husband had declined, especially with coast-to-coast travel for quite a few months. I was cranky, exhausted, stressed out, and as a result, I showed up that way at work meetings. 

Imagine the irony: I was working myself to the bone, leaving my husband, traveling to California, giving up my personal life, and getting so stressed out that I was sabotaging my own career as a result. 

It took courage and commitment to turn things around, and I found that short bursts of health habits were a lot easier, less demanding but still highly effective. You are more likely to stick to short bursts in the long-term which gives you those sweet benefits which you can’t get for doing something just once or twice. 

Here are my 5 best quick health routines that each take no more than 10 minutes daily. You don’t have to do all of them every day. Pick and choose. Give yourself a hug for doing at least one a day.

Do a 10 Minute Breathing and Cardio Routine: I have a free video (https://www.udemy.com/10minutes/?couponCode=10minutes) you can watch and do with me as part of program I created for these 10 minute routines, which saved me. These combine breathing, stretching and mini cardio.

Sit Still to Meditate, Re-Group and Re-Center: You can do guided meditation or just sit in an upright position on your office floor and listen to soft music or your breathing.

Make a Glass of Green Juice or Smoothie: You can either buy a cold-pressed fresh green juice or make your own in less than 10 minutes. Replace one meal with it to help your body cleanse and detox regularly.

Say Positive Affirmations to Clear Negative Thoughts: Download my free 12-minute audio track ( http://www.prolificliving.com/positive-affirmations-landing/) and listen to it first thing in the morning. Or repeat your own favorite affirmations slowly 3-5 times. 

Write with Free Flow of Consciousness: You may call this one a journal entry. I call it self-therapy. You can do it online at 750words.com, in a Google doc, or in a personal journal. Writing without an agenda is pure therapy, and it can help you tap into your subconscious and solve problems that have had you stuck for a while. Write 750 words daily with abandon.

-Farnoosh Brock, Business and Career Coach, Prolific Living Inc.