How to Balance Self-Discipline with Self-Care

When it comes to succeeding in the long-term, it pays to balance self-discipline and self-care. 

When should you nurture yourself, and when should you strive harder and further?

You will enable yourself to identify when you deserve a break and when you would benefit from pushing yourself to stick to your goals and your to-do list if you: 

Practice Emotional Awareness. 

Check in with your mental state throughout your day. How calm versus stressed are you feeling? Stress can be a sign that you deserve a break. A habit of self-care throughout the week will help you perform better under pressure; if you are struggling to be productive under your current amount of stress, it may be a sign you should get support at work, as well as nurture your emotional state. 

Practice Physical Awareness. 

Be mindful of how your body feels throughout the day. If you have tight shoulders or a clenched jaw, address your tension. Physical stress can translate to mental stress, which can impede your ability to problem solve and think clearly under pressure. Pushing yourself to stay active physically is a form of self-care in itself!

Perform Cost-Benefits Analyses.

Weigh whether your time and energy will greatly benefit your work and goal or whether certain activities are not worth the outcomes. For example, pushing yourself to work a little longer each week to accomplish one of your goals is likely worth your time. While sitting and watching television for hours may feel like a rewarding way to relax, it also can leave you sore and drained. Implement a process to determine how to prioritize your tasks so you don’t waste time on too many low-level tasks and instead focus on your high-priority ones.

Learn How to Read Your Fuel Gauge. 

Burnout is real. In order to avoid it and maintain long-term high professional performance, learn to distinguish when you’re feeling fueled versus when you’re running on fumes. If the quality of your work is dipping, don’t push yourself to keep going. Instead, take a break. Give your brain time to recover. If you suspect you’re being too lenient on yourself, however, and are veering back into bad habits, you would likely benefit from reaching out to a mentor. They can help you re-emphasize self-discipline and find habits that will truly be useful to you. 

Assess Your Progress. 

If you are nowhere near your goals, it may be a sign you would benefit from more self-discipline, as well as more effective time management. This, of course, doesn’t mean self-care should go out the window! Take time for constructive check-ins with your mentor. They can help you track your progress and find the right balance between discipline and self-care. 

You deserve to perform at your best. Find more ways to succeed in the long-term at the Syncis Money Blog today.