4 Power Moves For Your Healthy Career

0
1819

Are you a busy working nurse, looking to balance your currently hectic schedule with your career goals? If so, you are in a great position to make some serious power moves to stay healthy, balanced, and achieve the career recognition you deserve. Let’s explore the top 4 ways to stay healthy in your career.

Healthy at Work

If you’re looking at staying healthy at work, consider your career options. You’re already working as a nurse, but perhaps you have put off advancing your career. Wouldn’t you like to earn more, and have more job security?

We’re all looking for ways to get the most out of our careers, both in meaningful work and meaningful pay. The median annual salary of an RN is $77,450 compared with a nurse practitioner that earns $115,800.

These days, it’s important to know future trends. Consider that the demand for nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners is expected to expand by 45%. A master’s degree will position you for jobs with a higher salary. Plus, you’ll have more options for how you choose to provide care.

If you’ve been contemplating your career options, think about getting a master’s online. A masters in nursing online is something you can do while continuing to work. This is a key power move for a healthy career. 

Healthy Diet

As a health practitioner, you know how important a healthy diet is. That’s why you are doing your best to eat whole foods, use seasonal produce, and create balanced meal plans. But, let’s face it. Sometimes when life is busy and you’re working extra shifts, it’s just too easy to get into a rut. Some skip meals. Others rely on the vending machine. Others just keep making boring recipes.

If you’ve fallen into a rut due to a crazy work schedule, don’t despair. Start making some healthy choices today. Then, in the next few days and weeks, keep going until you are happy with your nutrition. 

  • Talk with other nurses and pick up tips for fast and heart-healthy meals
  • Experiment with different diet plans such as Intermittent Fasting
  • Form a group meal planning circle to share recipes
  • Make a trip to farmer’s market part of your weekly food shopping
  • Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated 

Healthy Exercise

As a working nurse, aren’t you always advising your patients to get exercise? Yet, while it’s easy to share impressive research, it’s still possible to neglect physical activity — especially when we’re coming off a shift. Start to use your planning skills to address the best way to get exercise into your daily life. Experiment with thinking of exercise in two buckets. 

The first bucket is an informal exercise. This includes taking the stairs instead of the elevator, parking further away in the parking lot, and actively sweeping, cleaning, and lifting whenever possible. 

The second bucket is a more focused activity. This can be going for a walk or jog on a break. Investing in a treadmill so you never have the “I can’t face going to the gym” excuse ever again. Joining a class of your favorite activity – physically or virtually – is a great way to boost the amount of healthy exercise in your life. If you pick an activity you enjoy, you’re more likely to do it.

Healthy Sleep

Having enough quality sleep is key to optimal health. No doubt, you’re often advising your patients about how to encourage healthy sleep. Now it’s time to take some of your own medicine. Investigate your sleep habits to see if there’s something that could be upgraded. 

For instance, if you tend to look at world news, read emails, or worry about climate change before bed, commit to a new regime. Adjust your media time to allow a gap of 1-2 hours before sleep. Don’t take your computer into the bedroom. Use an old-fashioned alarm clock, so you won’t ‘cheat’ and check the news or email during the night. 

With a few amendments, you can create a pre-sleep ritual that invites deep, relaxing sleep. Many people find that it’s not just about what to do less of, it’s also useful to explore what to do more of.

Perhaps a soothing cup of herb tea is something you enjoy. Many people find essential oils such as lavender oil as a relaxation aid. Other people prefer to do gentle yoga stretching or take a relaxing bubble bath. Find your pre-sleep ritual and do more of the things that fit your preferences.

Sum Up

With these 4 power moves, you’ll keep your career and your health moving forward. And in turn, you’ll find that you will be able to better balance your work-life balance, leading to a happier, healthier you in the long run.