If you live in a western society, then you most likely have been brought up in the culture of efficiency. Western society emphasizes streamlined, logical, methodical paths to success. Everyone is looking for the next hack in efficiency to whatever pain point they are having. We love to see how much we can fit into a single day. Some may go as far as to say they “wish there were more hours in the day to get done what they need to get done”. Why has this overtaken society? What has made every person so busy they have not time for rest? Is this sustainable???
As the world develops and we feel a greater and greater sense of competition all around us in our pursuit of success, it is easy to try to put the entire burden on ourselves. This can lead to trying to multi-task and accomplish many things all at once. When you are on your computer, how many windows do you normally have open? When you are working, how often do you look at your phone? Do you focus on one thing at a time or do you work on several things all at once, making little progress on any of them?
This self-inflicted pressure and our struggle to focus lead us to working numerous hours, affecting our personal lives and making our work all consuming. For many, this leads to high stress, no extra-curricular activities, and crashing to bed every night. More and more people are suffering from preventable lifestyle related diseases and quitting their jobs because of the unbearable stress. What is the solution?
Here's a few things you can practice right now:
Focus on one task at a time. Prioritize what needs to get done in what order and don't move to the next thing until the current task is done. You will accomplish much more.
Take 15 minutes per day just for yourself. Whatever you need to do in that 15 minutes is up to you and what refreshes you most. Maybe it's meditation. Maybe it's exercise. Maybe it's music. Maybe it's sitting outside. Maybe it's staring at a wall in silence because that wall is the most peaceful thing you have all day. Whatever it is, start with 15 minutes and add to that as you build the habit.
Look deeper within. Consider "Why" you "feel" you have to work so much or "why" you feel so stress. Get to the root of things so that you can see what is causing it and you can make applications to view it more positively.
If you want to go more in depth on these things to improve your nutrition and your work/life balance, shoot us a message. We would love to help you make the positive changes over time to help you may the best version of yourself with our online nutrition and lifestyle coaching.