The pandemic has disrupted and challenged us to rethink the way we work, connect, lead and live. Many of us now work remotely, commute on less days and have more autonomy over our time, but this amount of change has also led to an increase in mental health issues and many people feel tired and overwhelmed.
Prioritising our health and wellbeing has never been more important, indeed, in 2021, research found more than 60% of Australian employees were willing to turn down a promotion to protect their wellbeing.
Rest is known to lower blood pressure, improve focus and mood, reduce levels of frustration, alleviate muscle tension and physical pain, control blood sugar levels and improve memory.
It’s a reset for overall wellness and recovery but also a powerful tool for performance.
Importantly, rest also makes space for reflection, and the two work hand in hand to benefit us. If you’re thinking about avenues to improve performance in the future, then incorporating rest should be top of mind. We can benefit ourselves and our teams through
- Building rest breaks into our days, weeks and yearly calendars
- Exercising
- Practicing mindfulness
- Setting healthy boundaries
- Having and practicing a hobby
In this month’s Activity we encourage you to audit three days of your working week and discuss them with your mentor. Think about the time you spend away from work. Do you manage to fit in time to relax, listen to music, exercise or hang out with your kids or dog? Do you volunteer for a local organisation? When you reflect on your goals for this year, how many relate to your health, social life, family, community? Are you living and working in a sustainable way?
Sometimes the smallest change of getting up half an hour earlier, outsourcing one task each week or logging off work at 5pm can make a huge difference to your routine and how you feel. The most important step is the first one when you commit to making that change. What will work for you? Are there flexible working options that you could explore?