Originally published by the Center for Creative Leadership

For the last few weeks, every time we’ve picked up the phone, turned on the television, or opened a Web browser, one topic dominates the news. It’s only natural; the coronavirus pandemic and its economic aftermath are rapidly altering every aspect of our lives. From our approach to work to our interactions with friends and family, it has influenced nearly everything happening now.

This onslaught of information — coming from all directions — has an impact on our health. We must deal with a lot of uncertainty and anxiety right now and for some of us, that anxiety comes in waves. For others, it’s more like a steady drip into our sanity bucket — and we know it’s just a matter of time before that bucket overflows. Employee enthusiasm, cooperation, morale, and creativity are jeopardized, making it all the more difficult to run the business or organization. Yet it’s more difficult than ever to make time for wellness right now.

Wellness Can Help You Achieve Your Full Potential

For years, many Positive Psychology experts have issued the warning: “If you don’t make time for your wellness, you will never be successful.”

It’s a serious message — and it’s especially true now.

As leaders, we are called to be strategic. We’re responsible for setting the direction for our organizations, getting alignment within the group, and inspiring commitment from our people.

That’s a tall order, and it requires more than just our physical presence (whether we’re working from home or in the office). As we rise to the challenge of leading effectively in an uncertain world, we must take care of our mental health so that we can reach our full potential on the job.

By whatever measure we choose — career trajectory, paycheck size, a happy family — we often gauge our own success.

But “success” doesn’t necessarily correlate with achieving your true potential. By not addressing that element, we run the risk of leaving a whole lot of potential on the table.

Accessing your full potential is easier than you might think. “Making even small changes in your daily habits can have a significant impact on your wellness, which will directly contribute to your success, regardless of how you measure it,” notes Jessica Glazer, one of our senior leadership solutions partners.

These changes needn’t be major life overhauls. At CCL, we teach that even small adjustments can help you make time for your wellness in ways that will pay off in all areas of your life, helping you to reach your true potential as a leader.

How to Make Time for Your Wellness: 4 Proven Techniques to Help You Achieve Your Full Potential

Here are 4 of the only wellness techniques that have been scientifically proven to decrease your stress and increase your well-being:

• Increase your sleep both in terms of quality and quantity.

• Increase your movement with exercise throughout the day.

• Develop your mindfulness skills (via various meditation techniques).

• Foster a culture of gratitude, at work and at home.

Making headway in any of these areas requires no more than 20 minutes a day — and often, as few as 3 minutes will do the trick — yet will help you reach for you potential by making space to increase your resilience.

By increasing each of these 4 areas — sleep, movement, mindfulness, and gratitude — you can take easy steps that move you closer to accessing your untapped potential. Each of these requires an investment of only minutes per day and will help you make time for your wellness when your time is at a premium.

1. Increase your sleep.

Time commitment: As little as 20 minutes a day

Research shows that you lose one IQ point for every lost hour of sleep. Go to bed just 20 minutes earlier. Or, catch up by taking a quick nap during the day, and reap the added benefit of increasing both your alertness and productivity levels for the afternoon. Consider a short nap after lunch or before dinnertime with your family. Your partner, friends, or children deserve your attention, and it can be hard to focus if you’re nodding off.

If naps won’t work, set your alarm to wake you at the time you’ll actually need to get up. Hitting the snooze button may make you feel like you’re sneaking in a few extra minutes of rest, but you’d be better off letting your alarm go off 20 minutes later and getting up after an extra bit of restorative sleep.

Learn more about how sleep can make you a stronger leader.

2. Increase your movement.

Time commitment: 5 minutes a day

If you’re not currently able to fit exercise into your busy schedule, don’t feel you must jump headfirst into a CrossFit membership. Just taking a 5-minute break to stretch or take a super-quick walk can have immediate positive effects on your stress levels, creativity, and productivity.

These effects are even greater if you get that walk in outdoors, around some trees or greenery. Aim to increase your movement a little each day, and don’t forget to notice exercise that you are actually getting but may be ignoring.

Also, try this workout that doesn’t take much time and is easy to do from anywhere.

3. Increase your mindfulness.

Time commitment: 1 minute a day

Put a meditation app like Calm or Headspace in the spot on your smartphone where your most commonly used social media app usually sits. You’ll be surprised, both by how mindlessly you open up the app without a thought, and by how easily you can fill the few minutes you might have spent scrolling with a grounding meditation instead.

You may like a short, guided recording, or you may prefer the timed sessions that just play background music — try a few and figure out what works best for you. A recent favorite of mine is Calm’s breathing meditation, which rings a chime as an indication to inhale, a chime to hold your breath for a count of two, and a chime to exhale. It’s simple and effective, and best of all: You can use it for a little as 60 seconds to help re-center yourself whenever you need to hit reset.

Getting into the practice of centering yourself — and becoming more mindful of your emotions and environment — will benefit you in a multitude of ways. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself more aware of the needs of your colleagues and family, or if you are less rattled by the constant change we all confront each day. Being mindful helps us to notice more things, both internally and externally, and thus navigate through our days more effectively.

Read more about how mindfulness practices can boost your leadership skills.

4. Increase your gratitude.

Time commitment: 3 minutes a day

Keep a gratitude journal. Use a book, use your phone, or use one of the many apps that offer this service, but don’t miss the opportunity to reframe your long-term mindset. Writing down even 3 good things every day will quickly train your brain to look for positives throughout your day. This will pay off both personally and professionally, as your happiness boost will be noticed in and out of the office.

If you want to spread the benefits of gratitude to those around you, you may wish to extend your thanks to others at work; this will help your team members feel appreciated, engaged, and supported.

Want to make this a daily practice? Once a week — perhaps first thing on Monday or last thing on Friday — spend no more than 3 minutes writing a quick gratitude letter to someone in your life. This can be handwritten or sent via email, but try following our widely-recognized SBI™ feedback model to make it quick, easy, specific, and impactful:

• Share the Situation. (This morning, just before our weekly call…)

• Describe the Behavior you observed. (…when you agreed to accommodate my last-minute request to reschedule…)

• Depict the Impact on you. (…I felt supported and grateful. I’m so glad to get to work with you.)

Sign it, send it off, and you’ve not only benefited from gratitude, but you’ve made someone else’s day better, too. This is one of several ways you can encourage gratitude in the workplace.

So, remember these 4 tips from positive psychology to help you boost your resilience levels, because while you may be successful by most accounts — including your own — you may still be falling short of your reaching your full potential.

Making time for your wellness (your physical, mental, and emotional health and happiness) equips you to seize all the possibilities that await and help you truly reach your full potential.

The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL®), a Partner of Thrive HR Exchange, is a top-ranked, global provider of leadership development. By leveraging the power of leadership to drive results that matter most to clients, CCL transforms individual leaders, teams, organizations, and society. Our array of cutting-edge solutions is steeped in extensive research and experience gained from working with hundreds of thousands of leaders at all levels.