Sometimes you don't realize you've been working nonstop until someone remarks about how tired you look or mentions how stressed out you've seemed lately. The red flags of being too busy can be obvious like that, or they can be way more subtle in the form of a flu or a random disagreement over nothing with a friend. As much as you might want to put off recalibrating your life, or as much as you might think you can't change anything, finding ways to create balance in your everyday routine is one of the most important acts of self-love you can do for yourself.
Oftentimes our body will tell us when we need to take a break, we just won't listen to it. You know you're not your best self when you're stretching your mind and body much farther than is healthy, and you're not going to end up achieving the best results in any aspect of your life. The best way to succeed in work — or in your personal relationships — is to make sure that you're taking care of yourself along the way, mind, body, and soul. Here are six red flags that might indicate you're way too busy and need to slow down a little bit more in your daily life.
If you're constantly forgetting plans that you made or appointments that you booked, there's a good chance you're mentally overbooked. Studies prove that chronic stress can have a direct negative impact on your spatial memory, which is responsible for helping you recall locations and relate objects. If you just missed an event for the third time this month, it's time to take a breath and reassess how busy you are.
Do you constantly have a dull, pounding headache throughout the day? That might be a cry from your body to chill out a little bit. According to Mayo Clinic, Headaches could be the source of dehydration (you probably skipped those eight to 10 recommended glasses of water), or just a direct result of stress. Either way, you should pay a little more attention to it, rather than popping an Advil and continuing on your way.
If you've been battling a head cold, a bout of the flu, or just a never-ending cough and runny nose, your immune system might be struggling because you're working on overdrive. Consistent stress over long periods of time can impact your immune system's ability to fight off infection- which is why it's so important to take time off and rest when you're sick. Call it in for the day and get some extra sleep, and your body will thank you by rebounding quicker.
If you can't remember the last time you felt in control of your daily schedule, or even ahead of it, then it might be time to reevaluate exactly how busy you are. Take a look at your weekly calendar. Is there room for you to breathe? If not, can you find time to do that? Working in five to 10 minutes of deep breathing time, or quiet meditation, can do wonders for your mental health.
Shoveling down a few bites of food here and there isn't the ideal way to eat a meal. If you're always eating lunch during a meeting, or grabbing some breakfast while you run to work, you'll end up hurting yourself both mentally and physically. How you eat is just as important as what you eat. When you sit down and pay attention to your meal, you end up eating the right amount, feeling more full, and you might just be able to get a few minutes of quiet time in along the way.
When was the last time you treated yourself? If you're running yourself ragged, and never take time to enjoy yourself, then all of your work might be for nothing. Happy people live longer, healthier lives, on average. So no matter how hard you're working, it's only worth it if you're enjoying your life along the way. Take a weekend to treat yourself, whether that means a day spent watching Netflix in bed or getting drinks with friends.
