The life of busy entrepreneurs & professionals is an endless series of urgent projects and deadlines. With the demands that our roles impose on us, it is very easy to lose sight of basic personal requirements like eating properly, at the right time, and getting sufficient sleep.

The need for a work-life balance

As a busy entrepreneur, you tend to give priority to work, where eating, sleeping and leisure take a backseat. For those that have family, the situation on our health and nutrition worsens, as we also struggle to find time to also prioritise our families.

This entrepreneur lifestyle is bound to take a toll on your health, both physical and mental, and will result in loss of energy, making you inefficient in your work. Creating work-life balance, will help to increase your energy and efficiency at work, as well as improve your physical, mental and spiritual condition. In a world where 94% of working professionals admitted they worked over 50 hours per week, and almost half were found to be doing over 65 hours a week, the need for work-life balance is more important now than ever. In simple terms, it means striking a balance between work and lifestyle. Below are a few simple techniques to adopt in achieving a healthier work-life balance:

• Don’t be a perfectionist
• Occasionally pull out the plug – avoid using your communication devices at the dining table.
• Allocate time in the week to exercise and meditate
• Avoid time-wasting activities and people you don’t care for
• Be prepared to make nutritional changes in your lifestyle
• Learn the art of delegation and outsourcing
• When it’s too much, walk away: whatever the issue, however critical they may first appear, they will still be there for you when you get back after an hour, or the next day.
  
  

How to stay energized as an overworked, busy entrepreneur or professional

If you feel that you have lost your spark, and you find it difficult to go on with your daily routine, you may be headed for ‘executive burnout’, defined as “a total loss of energy and interest and an inability to function effectively, experienced by some executives as a result of excessive demands upon their resources or chronic overwork”.

Try out these simple steps to restore your vigor and get back your energy:

• Take care of your body. You only have one! Eat well and try to sleep early a few nights a week.
• Think positive. Negative thoughts create negative energy, and drag you down further.
• Associate with people who support you; create a support system.
• Allocate time in your calendar for leisure.
• Give your brain a rest by taking breaks from work regularly.
• Allow yourself some time out (do something crazy to let off your steam!)
• Donate some of your time to someone else, like reading your child a story or walking the family dog.
  

Food-Life Balance

The food we eat greatly impact our health and fitness. Food packed with fibre, vitamins and minerals such as fruit and vegetables, will help to restore energy and be active. Food is the fuel which creates energy for your body, but as a busy professional, you need to enforce some food-life balance. When we are told to “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper”, this may not apply to everyone’s situation. We are all unique and depending on job function, physical activity levels, height and weight, some may need to tweak the amount they eat at certain times of the day. Following are a few tips for how to create some food-life balance for the life of the busy entrepreneur or executive:

• Practice self-discipline in eating healthy food, and reward yourself for your efforts!
• Instead of reducing the quantity of food, replace it with an equal quantity of fibre-rich foods such as salads or fresh fruit.
• Observe mealtimes whilst also observing your hunger and fullness ques. Mindful Eating is very powerful.
• Monitor the portions for each meal and use a smaller plate.
• Eat slowly, chew your food thoroughly, and enjoy each morsel.

Feeling energised as an entrepreneur is key to performing well at work, and in your personal life. To reach your potential however, take some time to understand work-life balance and food-life balance, and how you can apply these connects to your lifestyle for better output.

Article & image source: http://execfuel.net/2016/04/07/how-to-feel-energized-achieve-and-maintain-a-healthy-lifestyle-as-a-busy-professional/

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