All of us know that making time between career demands and personal wellness is never easy, and sometimes, especially for women who play multiple roles, getting enough time for themselves can seem like a luxury squeezed in between meetings, deadlines, family, and even personal goals. However, self-care is critical for wellness and a healthy, productive life. Wellness is not something added today; it is instead the foundation of success and happiness.
Dr. Richa Mishra, VP – Operations, Anytime Fitness shares smart ways for women to harmonize career demands and personal wellness.
1. Give Yourself Permission to Take “Me Time”
It is easy for women to feel guilty over taking a little time for themselves, but self-care is far from selfish. A few minutes of “me time” can have a life-changing impact on mental and physical health. Schedule 15-30 minutes every day doing what brings you joy-be it reading, journaling, or just having a cup of tea. This little good habit increases energy, focus, and resilience and helps you handle things that stand before you.
2. Establish Healthy Lifestyle Goals
We often set the bar too high by expecting to attain the impossible or unrealistic health goals with our busy schedules. Instead, we set ourselves to walking for 10 minutes a day or doing short stretch sessions. Small and consistent steps are easy to maintain rather than an all-or-nothing approach. With these solutions, you stay active without overwhelming your schedule; otherwise, wellness can become another stressor.
3. How to set work boundaries
Always-on culture in today’s society is a place where setting boundaries in working is the call. Virtual work and constant connectivity bring time blurriness to personal and work-related space. Actually, setting work hours and communicating them to the team can safeguard personal time while remaining more focused on work hours, making people well presented at work and in their personal lives, with no room for burnout and increased productivity.
4. Define fitness as movement and not just another exercise
The term fitness evokes sweaty workouts in the gym, but the reality is that fitness is any activity that keeps you moving. There is fun in movement, which should feel natural and enjoyable; it can be dancing, yoga, or an easy stroll in the park. Fitness should be enjoyable and all-inclusive: movement for the sake of feeling good rather than meeting some arbitrary measure. The more enjoyable the fitness is, the more likely you are to maintain it.
5. Managing stress through mindfulness
Stress is part of life but, with practices such as deep breathing, meditation, or even mindful walking, could be better managed. They do not take a lot of time but highly impact how you handle stress. Being present rejuvenates your mind and readies you to face challenges. Begin with just a few minutes daily, and so on. It could make a huge difference in your mental sharpness and resistance.
Tweak minor yet achievable dosages that go in sync with daily routines and gradually you will realize growth in energy levels, toughness, and happiness. Wellness was never meant to sidestep your goals, and for that matter, it should be the driving force of achieving them. First off, taking care of you is not something lavish-it is the requirement.