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Hardworking leaders in media are often portrayed as stubborn, deprived, and obsessed with the bottom line. While there are some leaders that may fit this stereotype, the majority of leaders do not.

The best kind of leaders make time to take care of themselves. A leader needs to be able to take of themselves on multiple levels—physically, mentally, and spiritually.  Leaders need to be able to balance the challenges of work with self care in order to succeed. Not being able to reach a happy balance between work life and self care, is a big business mistake. If you find yourself working too hard, here are a few ways that you can help improve your self care routine.

Proper Sleep

There is crucial link between work performance and good sleep. When you miss out a good night’s sleep your focus is affected and your irritability is increased. To truly be a good leader, you need to be alert in order in order to react to challenges. Proper sleep gives your the opportunity to refresh your mind, retain information, and prepare yourself for the next day.

Healthy Diet

Poor sleep affects the workforce, but so does poor nutrition and exercise. A lot of leaders are rushing to get from one meeting to the next, and often skip meals or pick a fast food option in order to save a little time. Even though it maybe a faster option, vending machine food, fast food, microwaves meals, can affect your work performance.

Foods that have a low in nutritional value, it can impact brain function. A diet that contains whole grains, fruits, and vegetable work together to improve mental health. Diet is only one part of a healthy diet, regular exercise is an important aspect. Regular exercise helps to produce endorphins which in turn help to increase alertness, improves mood, and reduces tension.

Helping Others

Self care focuses on yourself, but it does not equate to selfishness. Leaders need to help all of their employees improve their self care. Leaders can share tips for managing their stress by providing examples from their own life. Giving advice on sleep patterns, diet, and other stress reducers, helps a leader to set an example for the workplace.

When leaders are able to practice self care, they will have more energy to help their employees, prioritize their workload, and continue working on improving their leadership skills.