How to stay healthy while working
Tips and tricks for working parents
Working parents are expected to do it all. From being the primary caretaker of your child to working a full-time job, you have no time for yourself. But what happens when you’re constantly exhausted and unhealthy from neglecting your personal needs? Working with limited time for yourself can be detrimental to both your health and your family. Fortunately, there are ways to stay healthy while working and maintain a balanced lifestyle as a parent. Read on to know more!
Eat well and exercise regularly
Even though you have little time to cook or prepare meals, eating well while working can be simple. Make sure you have healthy proteins and carbohydrates at every meal. This will ensure you have the energy you need to get through the day, as well as stay healthy. Furthermore, drink water every day to stay hydrated and avoid water retention.
Exercising regularly is also essential for maintaining good health. It’s a good idea to include a cardiovascular routine (e.g., walking, jogging, or swimming) and resistance training (e.g., lifting weights, using resistance bands, or using an exercise ball) to increase lean muscle mass and improve bone strength. But to make this manageable, you could do this in short 20-minute blocks, walking the extra bus stop on your commute, or even fewer longer sessions to maximise the time you do have to exercise.
Additionally, it’s important to get enough sleep – 8 hours is recommended – as it can help to keep your hormone levels balanced and prevent fatigue. However, if you are finding this tough, focus on quality of sleep. A quality 6 hours is much better than a broken 8 hours, and slowly work up to the ideal.
Have a work-life balance
Too much of anything is bad. However, too much of nothing is nothing. This is especially true when you are juggling work and parenting. It’s easy to get caught up in the “have to” aspects of working and parenting that you forget to take time for yourself.
It’s important to create a schedule in life that allows you to take time for yourself while still maintaining a regular schedule of the things you “have to” do. You don’t have to completely change your schedule or completely remove work from your life. Instead, simply find ways to incorporate some kind of “me” time into your schedule, like taking a bubble bath or relaxing with a good book. Find activities that allow you to be alone with your thoughts and allow you to recharge. This will help you to avoid burnout and maintain a balanced lifestyle.
To ensure you don’t forget about yourself and take too much time for yourself, create a “me” reminder on your phone. This way, you will always have something reminding you to take care of yourself.
Find a support system
No two parents are alike, and no two working people are identical either. This means that you will need to find a support system that works best for you and your family. You can find a support system in many different ways:
- Join a parent’s group: These groups may be formal or informal, and they often meet once a week or every other week. It is helpful to find a group that meets regularly, so you know what to expect when you need to take a break from work.
- Find a local health professional (coach, counselor, therapist): Having a support system can be beneficial as it allows you to talk to a professional about your feelings and emotions. A professional can provide you with guidance and help you to find solutions to problems.
- Ask your family or friends for help: It’s important to have family and friends to rely on when you need help. You can ask your family or friends to babysit while you take care of a sick child or take on other responsibilities. Or even having a regular babysitter who is there is help – the right person will feel like extended family.
Plan your day
Having a plan for your day can help you to stay organised and prioritise your tasks. It can also help to keep you on track when you’re trying to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. You can create a daily plan for yourself by breaking your day down into sections such as eating, sleeping, work, and so on. It can also help to write down any tasks that may have previously been forgotten about or that you may have delegated to your assistant, colleague, partner, or another family member.
Planning your day is especially helpful when you have a lot of responsibilities that can’t easily be delegated. For example, if you have a work-related trip that will take up a significant portion of your day, planning ahead can be extremely helpful. You can also use planning as a way to stay organised during a hectic day. For example, if you know that you’re going to be running from meeting to meeting without a lot of time to prepare, planning ahead can help you to stay on track as you can have lunch prepared or pre-ordered.
Take time for yourself
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is challenging when you have so much to do and so little time. However, taking time for yourself can help you to maintain your energy and avoid burnout. You can find time for yourself by taking a break from your work duties- whether you need to step away from work or just get out of the house- and engaging in a hobby or activity that allows you to be creative and spend time with your family.
Another way to take time for yourself is to use your lunch break or a scheduled break at work to take a walk, do some journaling, or just relax. Using your breaks to take care of yourself will allow you to stay healthy and maintain a balanced lifestyle.
Conclusion
Parenthood often comes with a great deal of stress and uncertainty. The best way to cope is to be physically and mentally healthy. This can be accomplished by eating well and exercising regularly, taking time for yourself, and having a support system. It is also important to plan your day, plan ahead to cover the little things (like charging your phone), and use your breaks wisely in order to stay on track with your work and social life.
Hope these tips and tricks for working parents have given you some thoughts on how to change your lifestyle. But also the confidence that what you are facing is nothing new. Many others out there feel the same and you are very much capable of being an amazing parent with a successful career and a healthy lifestyle. Start small and build up!