5 Wellness Hacks for Busy Executives
I shared a few of these in a recent interview with Authority Magazine and then added my next favorites.
As a Vice President at one of the leading wellness tech companies today, MINDBODY, a proud dog mom of two, and today, a cancer patient, my days are filled with work meetings, doctors appointments and dog walks. Being active and staying fit has always been part of my identity, but since I’m now in the midst of battling advanced breast cancer, it’s not just my physical health, but my emotional and spiritual wellbeing that are all a top priority as I put my body and mind in the best position to fight my disease.
Although it’s not easy to keep personal health a priority while we juggle work, family, and life’s curveballs, here are a 5 easy wellness hacks that have the potential to make a dramatic impact maybe on the way you look, but more importantly, on how you feel — so you’re well-positioned to not just survive, but thrive in your jam-packed life.
- Use tech to help disconnect. Staying calm and composed amidst the external noise of day-to-day life can be a challenge, especially when life is throwing you some major curveballs. From alerts on my watch that remind me during the workday to stop and breathe, to meditation apps that I use at night before bed to wind down, technology is fully integrated into my life, so I try and use it to my advantage.
2. Schedule wellness like you would meetings. With a busy work schedule, doctor appointments, and our two dogs, my days are pretty hectic. In order to make sure I keep my physical health a top priority, I schedule in wellness like I would a meeting or conference call. I book my workouts and self-care appointments a few weeks out and then I do everything I can to protect those times. In this way, I set myself up for success and I’m reminded that my health and well-being is just as important as anything else on my work schedule.
3. Sit less! I recently turned on activity notifications that use gamification to remind me to move if I’ve been sedentary for too many minutes. From sitting in meetings and being in front of a computer for most of my day, I rely on my standing desk and these alerts to ensure I’m not hunched over my laptop for longer than an hour at a time. I laughed at first, but now I’ll find myself hopping up during a meeting to just shake it out for a few minutes so that I can get credit towards my daily standing goal.
4. Build Water Breaks In Your Schedule. Peeing every 45 mins — especially if you’ve got back-to-back meetings — is SUPER annoying. I get it. But if you’re drinking a ton of water throughout the day (which is super helpful in flushing out toxins from chemo AND staying healthy during flu season) it’s inevitable. An easy fix is to starting building your schedule so every hour+ meeting you control ends 5 mins early. You’ll be able to run to the bathroom, fill up your water bottle (again) and still arrive on time to your next meeting. And everyone else on the team will be grateful for the 5 min buffer.
5. Keep healthy snacks on hand. From Bagel Fridays to donuts at the team meeting to candy on people’s desks to lure people to pop by, offices can be some of the worst offenders when it comes to junk food temptations. As someone with a sweet tooth who struggles with moderation, I know this all too well. cutting a small slice of a donut will just give me permission to go back for a second slice and before you know it, my little bites have added up to two whole donuts. I CANNOT have that first bite. The hack? First, don’t skip breakfast or the pastries in the office kitchen will call your name come mid-morning. Second, keep an arsenal of healthy snacks at your desk so you never find your tummy growling during a meeting which will make it hard to focus on the task at hand.
What are YOUR favorite wellness hacks that help you stay healthy in mind, body and spirit when you’re living that #bosslife?
