Do you want improved focus and concentration?  Do you want to avoid burnout?  Do you want to get the most out of every waking moment of your day?

The answer is simple:  Maintain a healthy lifestyle.  Don’t skip meals because you are too busy.  Get moving, walk the dog, go to the gym, play a sport, meet a friend for a coffee.  Maintain your physical and emotional health as well as the health of your business.

You can’t consistently stay up half the night working and then spend the next day feeling like an extra in a zombie movie.    “So many people spend their health gaining wealth, and then have to spend their wealth to regain their health.”  A.J. Reb Materi.  Don’t fall into this trap.  Stay healthy.

Staying healthy means mentally and emotionally as well as physically.  Reward yourself for a job well done.  A dinner out, a vacation day, a pair of new shoes, all these things will help to rejuvenate your spirit.  Definitely leave time for fun.  We all know the end result of “all work and no play.”

At all costs, avoid Burnout.  Burnout can be a physical or mental problem, but it is caused by overwork or stress.  Your body and mind simply can keep up with what you’re demanding.  “I won’t burnout – I’m invincible,” said every workaholic the moment before they burned out.  Your body will tell you when it has had enough.  When you’re falling asleep at your desk, do you think your boss more likely to think “wow, you’re working long hours” or “wow, you must have partied last night.”  When you make a typo in an important presentation, is anyone really going to consider the fact that you stayed up until 4:00 am to complete it?

Finally, I would like to suggest that we all avoid the martyr complex.  You can be a good spouse, a good worker, a good parent without always putting yourself last.  Consider your choices and treat yourself better.  Fast food vs. A home cooked meal, Driving to the store vs. Walking with the dog, Working late vs. An hour at the gym.  The easier or faster option is rarely the best choice.  It’s faster to drive through the burger joint than start the oven.  It’s easier to speed around in your car than it is to stop and smell the flowers.  It seems to be more productive to focus on work than to focus on well-being.  But consider your choices.  As the saying goes, nobody ever goes to their deathbed saying, “I wish I had spent more time at the office.”

We need to be kind to ourselves.  In the end, what would all this be without you around?