Staying Healthy As an Executive

You’ve worked hard and paid your dues to finally earn an executive position. Hard work does pay off but it has one minor drawback: Your new position could become bad for your health.

According to data from the Mayo Clinic, an executive lifestyle leads to less sleep, more work hours, struggles with work-life balance, frequent travel, and a sedentary lifestyle. These factors put executives at greater risk for sleep deprivation, heart disease, depression, stroke, and diabetes.

Fortunately, being aware of the health risks associated with these leadership positions means that you still have a chance to take control of your health.

You could live a healthier lifestyle keeping to the following while being the boss.

Learn As A Good Leader to Delegate

Just because you’re the boss doesn’t mean you have to do everything.  One of the benefits of being a leader is that it gives you the opportunity to build your leadership team. Surround yourself with people that you trust and admire. People that you believe are qualified and could take over immediately if you were to suddenly quit.

Delegate responsibilities to the leadership team and make everyone do their part to move the company forward.

Again Mayo Clinic postulates that executives average 11.6 work hours a day, 23 percent more than the average worker. While job responsibilities may make working an 8-hour daily on regular basis difficult, the average should at least be closer to the eight than 11 with proper delegation of responsibilities.

Delegating responsibilities is not a sign of weakness. As the boss, you should know what everyone is doing and still have the final say. But everyone needs help sometimes and admitting that is indicative of a good leader.

Sold Work-Life Balance is required to Remain Effective

A good delegation of responsibilities frees up some of your valuable time. Spend this time with family and friends.

Whether an executive or not, you probably sacrifice personal time to put in extra hours at work. Sometimes it’s unavoidable, especially if you’re an executive. However, you can’t overdo it.

It’s important to identify certain family/life events that you will never compromise on, no matter how tough things are at work. There may be a need for a late meeting, just as you also have a family engagement. Save the meeting for the following morning or send out an email.

Even better, try to schedule a family (or friends) night during the workweek where you have a planned activity each week. It gives you something to look forward to during the chaotic week and will help to improve your overall mood.

It can’t be about work all the time. A stressed-out and irritable executive is not only difficult to be around but will not lead effectively. Too much stress could as well lead to loss of job enjoyment.

Work Extra Hard to Stay Physically Fit

As Mayo Clinic Data stated, 73 percent of CEOs live a sedentary lifestyle, pointing out in one Clinic study that 40 percent of CEOs were obese, a major risk factor for heart disease and diabetes.

It’s easy to see how this could happen. The combination of long hours and sporadic schedule changes lends itself to eating on the run, and when people are in a hurry they tend to make poor nutritional choices. The best way to combat this is by meal planning and having an overall awareness of what you’re eating.

When you’re able to plan your meals for the week and bring food from home, it’s a lot easier to prepare a meal that addresses all nutritional needs. You’re able to choose your main meal, vegetables, and fruits for the day. You rarely get an opportunity to address these nutritional needs when you’re ordering from a fast-food menu.

Carving out time to exercise should also be a major priority if you’re in a leadership position. Try to set aside an hour a day to exercise but if you can’t do that, any type of physical activity will work, even if it’s a 20-minute walk outside the office.

Be Proactive About Your Health

Many medical facilities offer executive physical exams that are more extensive than traditional routine physicals and can last for multiple days or more. The benefit of such is that it gives you a larger overall view of your health and a chance to have multiple consultations with the doctor to tailor an individual health plan.

Though the downside of such an exam is that it’s not always covered by health insurance plans, but some companies include it in a separate CEO benefit package. If you have access to this benefit, there’s no reason not to take advantage of it. Having that extra awareness about your health makes it easier to take steps to reduce certain health risks.

If you don’t have access to these exams, try to get an annual routine physical because these exams still provide valuable health information.

Don’t Ignore Health Statistics

That you’re an executive doesn’t mean you’re going to be an unhealthy person. But lifestyle does lend itself to certain habits that lead to unhealthy lifestyles.

The important thing is to be aware of the risks and adjust your habits accordingly. Be proactive and make good health decisions part of your regular routine.

Like most things in life, awareness leads to better preparation.