Which professional new year’s resolutions will create the biggest impact? If you start with these 5, your 2022 will be productive and filled with growth:
1. Adopt healthy habits at work
The studies are in, and they show that people in the United Kingdom aren’t moving around enough — and the effects are deadly.
Studies show that one-third of the workforce in the United Kingdom is sedentary for at least 6 hours of their workday, more than 50 per cent walk a mile or less each day, and a sedentary lifestyle is leading to more than 70,000 deaths per year.
If these points weren’t alarming enough, sitting down for too long at work each day can increase your risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer.
Now that you know the dangers, it’s up to you to set some new year’s resolutions that encourage some healthy work practices that can keep you out of all of these statistics.
One of the best things you can do is take time for regular breaks. Too many professionals give in to the temptation to just power through without stopping.
Not only does this give your productivity diminishing returns, but it also keeps you sedentary and unhealthy, with a brain that struggles to focus. Schedule outbreaks so that you are getting up, away from your computer, and preferably outside for 10 minutes each hour.
Take this time to walk, stretch and shake out your legs. These small breaks make a huge difference in terms of your health and comfort. In addition to giving your eyes and brain a rest, you’ll get the blood pumping, ease pain and tension in your back and neck, and go back to work refreshed and energised.
2. Start meal prepping
Food is your fuel, so it pays to feed yourself healthy food that keeps you focused and energised. The best way to make this happen is by including meal-prepping as one of your new year’s resolutions. Nothing says quality lunch like a home-cooked meal. When you cook or prepare food at home to eat for your workplace lunches, you have more control over intaking healthy nutrients.
This also saves you money, so that you are not eating out and ordering lunch all the time. What’s more, you’ll stay productive since you’re cutting out the decision fatigue of figuring out where you want to eat.
3. Learn a new skill
Just like your body, it’s important to nurture your mind.
When you learn a new skill, you’re continuously educating yourself. Pick one valuable skill for your career and dive head-first into working to acquire it at the start of the year.
Having these sorts of skills will set you apart and put you in line for promotions and opportunities. Adding this goal as one of your new year’s resolutions not only improve and enhance the quality of work, but you’ll also receive additional value as an employee.
We offer a range of short courses, guaranteed to make you or your team stand out.
4. Read a career-related book
We live in the era of information, so there are books and resources on absolutely any topic that you can think of.
There are books out there that can help you improve productivity, develop as a professional, and understand any topic of interest that you have. To really set yourself apart, make sure that you read a career-related book.
Set this as one of your new year’s resolutions so that you can pick up the skills and information from that book that will help you advance.
You should make reading a huge part of your life in general. Get together with a book club or set the number of books that you want to read every month or year.
5. Pay attention to your work-life balance
At the end of the year, get a log of the days you worked. Key indicators such as time off records, excessive overtime, or knowing you attended work sick will give you an idea of your work-life balance.
Several studies have proven that taking time off improves mental health. When you deprive yourself of vacation and time off to rest and relax, it not only negatively affects your health but also your company. An absence management system is essential in this matter. Keeping an eye on your work-life balance is definitely to be included on your new year’s resolutions list.
Apart from the new year’s resolutions that you need to apply in order to have a fruitful work-life in 2022. The points mentioned are useful no matter what industry you work in.
Get in touch with Aspire Training Team today to assess your progression options.
