Well done if you have embraced the outstanding practice of settinggoals for yourself! However, a new challenge can often arise whenpicking too many goals. This blog proposes four ways to sift throughthe many goals on your mind to choose what is best suited to you:

1. Think about the most comprehensive picture possible.
Sit down forreflection, journaling, and exploring who you are and what matters toyou. Try making a list of your ten most important values. Once you’vedone that, think about what you want more than anything else in life,and write that down.
Keep it short, sweet, and to the point, in one sentence, no more. Youwould be amazed how having clarity on the big picture could help yousort through your goals and find the ones that matter.

2. Think about your budget and compromise accordingly.
Regardinggoal setting, thinking about your constraints and being realistic isessential. If you are holding down a nine-to-five job within the mediansalary range, saving up a million pounds in one year is not feasible.

Drop unrealistic goals or put them aside for the future and instead picksomething more reasonable, like saving up a few thousand pounds.Money is not the only factor; time and physical limitations are alsoessential to consider…which brings us to our next point:

3. Think about your health.
If you have a work-related goal. Forinstance, to hit six figures or something similar—and your doctor hasalso told you that your health is in trouble, it may be time to set asideyour money-related goals and focus on your health.

Taking a thirty-minute walk every day is more important than squeezingin an extra few hours of work every week. If you don’t pick the formergoal, the latter might drive you to a point where neither goal can bereached.

4. Remember those around you.
If you’re in a situation where otherpeople depend on you, say a family or colleagues, you may need toset aside some of your personal goals to meet their needs.

For example, if you’re a parent of several kids and you want to get ablack belt in Tae Kwon Do, but your kids are struggling in school, youmay want to set aside your drive to be Jackie Chan and spend sometime each day helping your children with their homework.

Dr Toyin Adewunmi
Director
Emerald Organisational Health and Wellbeing
Solutions
E: t.adewunmi@emerald-oh.co.uk
W: emerald-oh.co.uk

By OHES Publishing

Shift is an interesting word which I will like to apply to physical and mental wellbeing at work. I have chosen to use this word in this manner because it is a simple five-letter word, which I believe could easily drive home points about two major workplace challenges, physical and mental wellbeing. When I think about the word, “Shift”, synonyms like ‘move’ and ‘change’ come to mind.

Physically speaking, how are you moving at work? The 21 century work environment is witnessing an increased level of sedentary office work. Evidence suggests that half of total daily sitting time takes place at work. The impact of increasingly sedentary working means that many workers might be sitting for an average of 10 hours a day. The negative effects of sedentary work are well documented in the literature, and this can range from obesity, diabetes to high levels of cardiovascular risks.

With over two hundred and thirty joints in an adult person, it is not surprising to know that the body is designed for movement. Body movement has a variety of benefits such as improved blood circulation to body organs, improved flexibility and smooth movement of joints, fitness, improved and cardiovascular health among other things.

Applying the HSE’s recommendation for computer workers will aide “Shift.” The HSE recommends that computer users should take regular micro-breaks from computer work. The word “Shift” could also be applied in other ways such as increasing your level of physical activity which may include walking for about 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week as recommended by the Department of Health, taking your lunch break away from your desk, and if possible, cycling to work.