Maximizing Your Happiness and Success at Work

We are so busy with work these days. We get used to having a certain routine everyday, and after time, we are afraid to stray off that path. But to maximize your happiness and your overall success at work and in life, you must get out of your comfort zone, work on time management skills, and stay healthy while doing it. Read below to learn more:

1. Get out of your comfort zone: Try something new everyday!

Human beings are afraid of change (this has been scientifically proven). Getting out of your comfort zone by trying something new may seem scary, but this is only at the beginning. Change and lack of familiarity cause these fears to arise in us, however, by practicing something new as often as you can, you will make it a habit and lose that fear. You will start to see the benefits of getting out of your comfort zone as that fear turns into fulfillment and adventure!

Nothing contributes to our happiness more than shattering the delusions to which we cling.

An example of getting out of your comfort zone to try something new could be coming up to someone you’ve never spoken to, and starting a conversation with them. Most people want to meet other people, but are afraid of feeling rejection. If you come up to them and initiate the conversation, they will probably be excited and have a lot to offer to the discussion. People love talking about themselves — so make sure you ask questions about them! You never know who you can meet and who they may know, how they can help you, etc. By getting out of your comfort zone, you have just expanded your network with one conversation!

2. Don’t waste valuable time in meetings

If you work in corporate America, you know how much time can be wasted because of unproductive meetings.

To combat this, prepare ahead of time. If you’re leading the meeting, make sure that all of the meeting participants are on time and are ready to focus in the meeting. It helps when people don’t bring in their electronic devices and when they close their laptops — this ensures that everybody will be engaged and not distracted. Let them know that they can take notes on notebooks, as this is proven to increase retention, memory, and learning.

Another way to combat wasting valuable time in meetings is by keeping them organized and on a time-sensitive schedule. You can do so by making sure to send out an agenda with action items before the meeting, setting specific topics and goals of the meeting in mind before the meeting begins.

Lastly, if you are presenting or in charge of bringing any material to the meeting, make sure that it is open on your computer or email beforehand (such as presentations, emails, or other documents or files) in order to help make easy and fast transitions between presentations and save valuable time!

3. Stay active and healthy

What do most successful people have in common? They are fit and stay in shape. Many studies have discovered the direct correlation that exists between staying in shape and having a successful career. Working out, as well as nutritious eating habits, improve time management, boost mental performance and mental clarity, and improve employee morale, energy, and stress levels.

To stay active, make sure you can fit working out into your schedule. For instance, you can schedule your workouts in the morning by waking up earlier (if you’re a morning person) and going for a walk or jog in the park or around your neighborhood. Working out in the morning will surely give you a huge energy boost that will make you feel rejuvenated throughout the day. If you’re more of a night owl, you can do your exercise in the evening. The key is to find what works for you and do it consistently.

Hope these tips help you feel happier at work, and bring you great success in all of your endeavors!

e

Embarking on a New Life Journey

Hey everyone! It has been a long time since my last update. A lot has been going on in my life since then, so I thought I would update all of you wonderful followers! I graduated from UC San Diego with my Communication Degree and my Business minor, so thank you to everyone who has been supporting me and reading this blog throughout the process. Since graduation, I have done some traveling locally and internationally. I went to Napa, which was absolutely lovely, and I got to go hot air balloon riding. I also went on my first cruise to Alaska and Vancouver. It was so nice to put away all of my technology and just enjoy nature for once. Alaska was serene, peaceful, and beautiful. Vancouver was also a very cool place to explore. They have a thriving business center and a growing population of millennials, so it was great to see some young people around! Hopefully, I will get to travel again soon. My next adventure will probably be in Japan, since one of my best friends is teaching there. Besides traveling, I have mainly been working at a startup company in the Bay Area called Owl Vision, and I have been learning a lot on a professional and personal level.

I have also been going to the Bay Club for my fitness routine, which is what I wanted to talk about with ya’all today!

Although this blog has been focused mainly on health in the corporate world, I thought I would expand to health for adults in general, since this is such a crucial part of life. Don’t worry, I won’t stop writing about health in the workplace, but rather I wanted to approach health in a more holistic sense. Since recently moving back to the Bay Area from San Diego, I have joined the Bay Club Gym, which offers an array of awesome classes to its members. I have discovered a few that I have particularly enjoyed that I wanted to share with ya’all.

The first one is Body Pump. This class will kick your behind into shape. No matter how many times I go to this class, it always ends up beating me up! It focuses on building muscle strength, endurance, and flexibility by working 8 core muscle groups; from back to chest, shoulders to pecs, thighs to glutes, you name it, it will be sore by the end of the workout. Usually these classes are an hour long, so right when you feel like giving up, they will be over (thankfully). Your muscles will feel sore for a week afterward, but it is WORTH IT! Give it a try. You can check out what it’s all about on their official website.

The next class is called Body Combat. This class was created by the same makers of Body Pump, but it is more focused on intense cardiovascular exercises rather than solely muscular exercises. This class teaches you how to punch effectively, defend yourself, and is essentially like kickboxing. It is a fun mix of very energetic and intense cardio and some strength exercises along the way. Your arms will feel like falling off, but it is definitely worth a try. After a few weeks, you will not only feel more fit, but you will feel like you can defend yourself (if you ever need to…hopefully not). Check it out here!

The last class I would recommend for everyone to try is cycling. Now, I know all of you know what cycling is, but these group exercises held by a trained cyclist are so empowering! You can start on beginner level and add a bit of resistance as you go along, but I’m telling you, this is the class that will take your fitness to the next level. Honestly, I am NOT a biker. I have fallen off my bike on numerous occasions and don’t consider myself an advanced biker whatsoever. But these bikes are stationary (thank god), and are for all levels! Not only do you feel so good about yourself during the class, but you walk out of it feeling like a soldier. Soon, I may start to work on my cycling certification to become a spin instructor, but I need to master the art first!

I know people (me included) feel anxiety when they try new things, especially fitness classes, but trust me when I say that NO ONE has 100% mastered these classes. They are constantly evolving with new moves, new techniques, and new instructors, so you are not behind. Just put on your workout gear, and get ready to sweat! You will be amazed at what you can accomplish.

Get Moving,

e

Fit a Workout into your Lunch Break!

According to WebMD, “Experts say that combining fitness and lunch is one of the best ways to incorporate exercise into a busy lifestyle.” Regardless of whether you only have 30 minutes for lunch or an hour for lunch, you can still fit a workout in!

Craig Valency, a personal trainer at Bally Total Fitness Club in San Diego explains how, “from CEOs to college students, working out during a lunch break is growing in popularity, and it really is a fun and easy way to get more physical activity into your life.”

Here are some tips on how to fit a workout into your lunch break:

1. Intensity is key: If you work harder during your workout, you can get more out of it than doing a low-intensity long workout. A great intensity workout is doing interval sprints. All you need is a stopwatch and some running shoes. Start off by jogging for 30 seconds, and then sprinting as hard as you can for 30 seconds. After your sprint, walk for 30 seconds, and then begin the cycle once again. You can do this outside or on the treadmill. This is a great workout, as “research has shown that even just 15 minutes of exercise can net you nearly the same effects as 60 minutes of working out, if you increase the intensity,” adds Tyne, a former conditioning coach for the San Diego Chargers.

2. Do a class at the gym: Most gyms offer noontime classes that are ideal for a lunch break. Better yet, try to see if there is a gym at work, and log some time in there. Some great classes to take during lunch are spin classes (indoor cycling), yoga classes, and weight training classes. All will help you burn calories while giving you a fun workout!

3. If all else fails, jog or walk outside: If you don’t have the budget for a gym membership or you are injured and cannot do a high-intensity workout, take a power walk or a jog outside. You can do this for 15 minutes all the way up to 60 minutes. Start off slow and build your endurance. This is a whole body workout, so you won’t be sorry!

4. Have fun with it: Don’t do something you dread. Instead, get a team of coworkers together and play volleyball or basketball in your free time, or sign up for a yoga class together at your company’s gym.

But don’t forget, “While a lunch-hour workout is great, experts say don’t forsake some face time with food in order to fit one in. Your body needs to be refueled and it’s essential you do eat, so don’t skip lunch in favor of exercise,” says personal trainer Valency.

Hope these tips help, and best of luck with your lunchtime workout!