Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | April 1, 2019 | Worcester Business Journal 29 1 0 T H I NG S I know about . . . ... How to be fit with a busy schedule By Rita Matraia Rita Matraia is the owner of Northborough fitness studio The Core Connection. She can be reached at rita@ thecoreconnection.com. 10) Sit less. Most people sit all day – in their car, at their desk, in meetings, on planes, at confer- ences or elsewhere. Lack of movement reduces muscle strength and flexibility. 9) Standing is no better. Standing is not the answer either, as your body is still in one position all day. All parts of your body need to move – even your eye muscles need time away from the com- puter screen. Take breaks. Try different positions to improve mobility and blood flow. 8) Move and exercise more. Even busy people can incorporate exercise into their schedule. Walk when you can. When working, sit on a stability ball, which will work your core. Don't park in the closest parking space and take the stairs. 7) Start with your core. The core muscles around the spine provide the foundation for a healthy body. Like the foundation of a house, core muscles support the whole structure. If you only work out on weekends, you will be more susceptible to injuries, as you put heavy loads on a weak core. 6) Consider Pilates. Pilates is an ideal starting point for men and women. It's not just for athletes likes LeBron James and Jake Arrieta. In addition to helping prevent injuries, Pilates will strengthen your core, including your abs, obliques and back muscles, while improving your posture. 5) Pay attention to form. Most people not only don't move enough, they don't move the way they should. Go to any gym and you'll find that about 90 percent of the people have bad form. Proper form can help you avoid injury and maximize results. 4) Vary your exercise routine. The human body has more than 650 muscles. When you spin, jog, lift weights or otherwise focus on a single type of exercise, only those muscles will benefit. 3) Move naturally. Natural movement is a way to use your entire body, as you would move in nature. Squatting, climbing, walking, sitting on the ground, balancing, hanging, crawling and throwing are movements we no longer need to do to survive. Incorporating these into your day will keep you strong. 2) Get help. Try working with a personal trainer or taking classes with certified instructors. 1) Do what you can. There never seems to be enough time to address all components of fitness. Finding ways to strengthen and stretch your mus- cles, while adding cardio and meditation or yoga can be daunting. Develop an exercise program to address a wide variety of exercises. Pick activities energizing you, giving you a sense of accomplish- ment and suiting your lifestyle. K N O W H O W Balancing family and career 10 1: M O T I V A T I N G E M P L O Y E E S T he reality is balance between work and family life is a myth.Rather, there is an ebb and flow. Achieving balance between the two doesn't necessarily mean the time is split evenly. Instead, being flexible enough to lean more into work, and other times to lean more into family, as needed. e balance is giving intentional fo- cus and making a valiant effort to show up by being present and giving your best wherever you are. In my experience as a career women with a family, the challenge and the ultimate imposition is the expectation I ought to work as if I did not have a husband and children, while sustaining my marriage and raising my children as if I did not have a career. Given this conundrum, here is my advice on how to maintain some sem- blance of balance. Commit to your choices If you have chosen (or life has cho- sen for you) to be a career person and a parent and/or partner, commit! Don't waste any time wishing your situation was different, or feeling guilty about it; that's a waste of time. If you don't like it, change it; otherwise, make the best of your work and family life. Whatever is important to you is what you give attention to. Align your life with what you value, and make what you value your priority. If you don't do this, you will always feel out of synch. Set boundaries When at home/with family, focus on family and when at work, focus on work. Stay organized, plan ahead, and set goals aligning with your priorities; the boundaries are set therein. If your job is demanding, whereby you must work aer you leave the office, set time and space to work at home, with least interruption to your family. ere are times when work and fami- ly time must bleed into one another, but the goal is to keep them separate. Practice wellness Be positive. Practice gratitude. Eat healthy and nutritious food to sustain your energy. Exercise regularly, and get enough sleep. If you don't take care of yourself, you won't have enough le to give to your family and career. De-stress and try to stay relaxed. Let go of perfectionism Giving your best is enough. is said, your best might not meet your expecta- tions all of the time. Forgive yourself! I have forgiven my- self a number of times for being the last mommy to pick my son up at daycare – even aer he scolded me, expressing his disapproval. Ask for help. It takes a village. You cannot do it all; and if you can, at what expense? Rally your friends, family, loved ones to help you with the li of having a family and a career. Also, pay for help as needed/as you can. Don't compare yourself to others Comparing yourself to others is the easiest way to feel bad about yourself, even if you are a rock star! Rather than comparing yourself to others, focus on doing the best you can with what you have and accept it as enough. BY BONNIE J. WALKER Special to the Worcester Business Journal BY SUSAN SHALHOUB Special to the Worcester Business Journal W ashington, D.C., analytics company Gallup released a poll showing only two in ev- ery 10 employees feel their performance is managed in a way to motivate them to do outstanding work. irty percent strongly agreed their managers involved them in goal setting. Gallup estimates the cost of poor management and lost productivity from U.S. employees who are not engaged or actively disengaged at work is around $1.2 trillion per year. Make people want to offer maximum effort. According to the Wall Street Journal, it isn't enough to direct and control employees looking to shun work. What's better is to create an environment where they want to give it their all. "Having employees harness self-direction and self-control in pursuit of common objectives, it turned out, was far preferable to imposing a system of controls designed to force people to meet objectives they didn't understand or share," according to WSJ.com. Reduce their pressure outside of work. Inc.com says productivity and morale can suffer when workers feel crunched between competing responsibilities. "Companies that have instituted flexible-employee arrangements have gained motivated employees whose productivity has increased," the publication says. Consider flex-time work, shorter work weeks or things like job sharing, Inc.com advises. Challenge them. It may seem counter- intuitive, as we are talking about making employees' lives more full and robust at work. But giving someone a challenge speaks volumes, according to Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic and Reece Akhtar at Inc.com. ey cite a study showing 46 percent of workers consider themselves overqualified for their jobs. It's "critical to push your employees beyond their level of comfort. Failing to do so will significantly increase disengagement, turnover and poor psychological health," they write, and potentially send star employees to competitors. Bonnie J. Walker is a spiritual advisor, personal coach and organizational consultant, positioned as executive director of diversity & inclusion strategy at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Contact her at bjhall@wpi.edu. W W W

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