As a sales professional, I have lived on the road quite a bit and one of the toughest challenges is to keep a healthy lifestyle while tackling the daily challenges of taking care of business.
There isn’t enough time in the day usually to really get all you want to do when in outside sales, but don’t let this be an excuse to let your body go, because a strong body equals a strong mind and by staying healthy, you can accomplish more with your sales career and not let your health take a turn for the bad.
EATING
One of the biggest challenge is with our eating habits. Working on the road, it is easy to pull into a fast food joint and grab a quick bite to eat before we hit the pavement again visiting customers. Eating fast food every once in a while is fine, but if it is a daily habit, your health and body will take on the negative effects that comes with eating fast foods.
Put more importance on what you decide to eat and make healthier choices on what you decide to place in your body. Remember, you are what you eat so choose carefully.
Staying hydrated is also very important and what I do is keep a large water container in my car for me to drink throughout the day. Some reps I have worked with only drink coffee throughout the day to help charge them up, but a hydrated body will give you more energy and the over dosing of caffeine can have diminishing results, unless you stay hydrated. Stick with water and skip on the sodas, fruit juices and flavored drinks.
I also recommend taking daily vitamins to ensure that your body is in balance and it has the essential nutrients needed to perform well. Do a search on “vitamin deficiencies” and you will learn how your body is affected by not having the proper nutrients.
EXERCISE/PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Exercise and physical activity has many benefits and provides you with more energy and helps you feel better since exercise releases endorphins naturally. I usually exercise first thing in the morning and when I am staying overnight at hotels, I hit the gym and get that out of the way and take full control of my day from the get go.
ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION
I have been to numerous sales meetings and the theme for the evening is to consume alcohol. Now this is fine in moderation but if you do this on consecutive days, you get dehydrated and when the day is filled with meetings, your body will get worn down. Pace yourself and order sparkling water to mingle and network with colleagues.
SLEEP
Traveling can be tiring and does take a lot out of your body. Be sure to get enough rest to recover and rebuild for the next day’s challenges and tasks. A well rested body, helps sharpen your mind and general attitude. It also helps your body’s immune system to have fewer down time due to sickness. Don’t skimp on sleep and ensure your body gets enough rest. Listen to your body and if it is telling you that it is exhausted, pay attention and give what your body needs.
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I found a useful article on this topic on DumbLittleMan.com: READ IT HERE. This particular article is also written from a sales professional and gives great examples of ways to stay healthy when traveling.
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