Men\'s Health Malaysia - Jun 2017

20 JUNE 2017

BULLETINS

WORDS

MEGAN DITROLIO

PHOTOGRAPH

ISTOCKPHOTO

Pack Your

Lunch Hour

Powering through lunch makes you look

productive, but you end up tired and stressed.

So take a break and avoid these mistakes

You Speedily Eat Your Food

at Your Desk. Sitting all day has

been linked to heart disease,

diabetes, and premature death. Aim

for at least 30 minutes of moderate

activity five days a week. Lunchtime

is perfect for that!

The Fix: Take a walk. It’ll leave you

more productive, enthusiastic, and

relaxed, studies suggest. If you must

work, schedule walking meetings;

research shows that they fuel

creative thinking.

You’re Eating Poorly or Not

Enough. Skimping on lunch can

lead to overeating at night, and

grab-and-go meals can be

nutritionally lacking, so you

crash later on.

The Fix: Pack a healthy combo of

protein, carbs and fat for energy, says

dietitian Christopher Mohr, Ph.D. Roll

up leftover rotisserie chicken and

avocado in a whole wheat wrap;

munch on bell pepper and carrot

slices; and pack an apple too.

You Don’t Use the Break to Do

What You Like. If you’re not in the

mood to, say, join your colleagues

for lunch, then doing that won’t be as

relaxing as clocking alone time (and

vice versa), studies show. It may

actually fatigue you.

The Fix: Engaging in an activity you

enjoy will help alleviate work stress

and improve your well-being, research

shows. If that means escaping to your

car for some video games or social

media downtime, go for it.

You Miss Your Midday Workout.

You’re also missing out on the brain-

boosting benefits of increased

bloodflow, says trainer Craig

Ballantyne.

The Fix: A 15-minute circuit can be as

effective as a longer, more moderate

routine. Do this four times: prisoner-

style reverse lunges (30 seconds per

side); pause pushups (pause at the

bottom and top) for 1 minute; side

plank (30 seconds per side). Rest for

1 minute.

http://www.mens-health.com.my 21

WORDS

MEGAN DITROLIO

PHOTOGRAPH

ISTOCKPHOTO

The Burnout Quiz

Here’s your job fatigue checklist. If any of these

sound familiar, it could be time for a change

You’re underpaid with no

guaranteed raises ahead.

You’re tired of co-workers

trashing each other.

You’re bored but don’t want any

new challenges.

You don’t have enough time to

handle your workload.

Your paycheck is your only

motivation for staying.

Whatever your boss says makes

you seethe.

Set up a “360 review” with

HR, says Jessica Jaffee of

the employee review website

Glassdoor. This is when you and

the team can confidentially talk

about the boss.

You’re an extrovert with few

people to interact with.

Burnout is more likely if your

personality and job duties are

a mismatch, research shows.

Find ways to diversify your

duties to better match your

personality, like collaborating

with co-workers on a project.

Your career path and training

don’t point to your dream job.

Remind yourself of why

you took the position, and

pursue skills that might help

you land the gig you want, says

career coach J.T. O’Donnell.

Stress rises all day and hardly

stops once you’re home.

At the end of each workday,

rate your stress on a scale of 1

(no problem) to 10 (bonkers).

Do this for a week or two, and

then assess the results. If more

than half of your scores register

above a 5, that’s unhealthy, so

start looking, O’Donnell says.

IF YOU CHECKED... 0 to 3: Hang tight and hope. 4 to 6: Freshen your résumé. 7 +: You’re still there?