The switch over to remote work has been fun for some, unbearable for others, but challenging for everybody in one way or another. The freedom that working from home has allowed us, has made healthy habits and routines harder than ever to keep up with, and many of us are facing struggles with maintaining our physical and mental health.
But working from home is actually a great opportunity to take better care of yourself if you just know the right methods to do so. Here are a few helpful tips for
WFH warriors who want to do a better job of caring for their bodies and minds.
Take Breaks
With no colleagues to bother you throughout your workday, and no set lunch period, it’s become easier than ever to spend uninterrupted hours in front of your screen, barely moving or tearing your eyes away from your work.
This is unhealthy for both your mind and body – it’s important to give yourself breaks to clear your mind and stretch your legs. Try to get up once every hour or two, to walk around, grab a glass of water, call your spouse, make a snack or simply stand outside for a few minutes.
Use a Standing Desk
A great way to combat lower back pain, or too much time spent sitting down, is with a standing desk. You can look online for resources that describe the benefits of this type of desk, as well as how to choose the best standing desk for your needs.
Overall, this will help with aches and pains, help with your posture and keep you more active throughout your workday too.
Have a Workout Schedule
When you’re barely leaving the house anyway, it’s even harder than usual to have a regular gym schedule. But making that time for your physical health is crucial, and it’s more important to move if you’re spending the rest of your day stuck in your home office.
Try to schedule at least three workouts per week, and make sure you have to leave the house for at least one of them – whether that’s to get to the gym or simply to walk around in the park. Work out before your work hours or after you leave your desk in the afternoon and create a routine around it.
Prepare Healthy Meals
One great benefit of working from home is that you’re within walking distance from your fridge and pantry at all times. While this might not sound like a good thing, consider all the bought lunches, takeout, and expensive lunch breaks this will save you!
The trick is to make sure that you already have some healthy meals prepared in your fridge and ready to eat at lunchtime. You could do this by meal prepping or simply cooking an extra portion of your dinner to eat for lunch the next day.
Limit Snacks in Your Home
Since you will be at home all day and have easy access to whatever’s in your kitchen, you can do some damage control by limiting the number of unhealthy snacks you keep around. It’s easy to skip a nutritious meal when there’s a bag of cheese chips in the vicinity.
Instead, prep some healthy snacks instead, like fresh veggies with a hummus dip, pre-chopped fruits and even some homemade protein bars.
Keep a Water Bottle on Your Desk
Hydration plays a major role in our health – weight management, recovery, good sleep, healthy digestion and more. But this is another healthy habit that is far too easy to ignore and neglect.
You don’t need to quit your morning coffee, but vow to only drink it when you’ve downed a glass of water or two when you wake up. You can also keep a big water bottle on your desk. It’s hard to ignore it when it’s in front of you all day long, and you’ll probably be more inclined to drink it if you don’t have to keep going to the kitchen to refill a cup.
Stretch Regularly
Sitting in front of a computer all day long is in no way good for our bones and muscles – we were designed to move! Unfortunately, a sedentary lifestyle is unavoidable for many of us, but that doesn’t mean we can’t find ways to counter this.
Make time to stretch each day. Directly after your workday concludes is a good time to do this. It will be easy to make it part of your routine, and your body will be craving it after being at your desk all day.
Make Time for Socialising
When you work from home, you usually forego the usual banter and camaraderie that comes with working in an office. If you live alone or have a partner that goes into work, you might spend the majority of your day all alone, which can be tough on your mental health.
Try to make a little time in your workday – like during your lunch break – to socialise a little. Meet a friend for a lunch or coffee or make a simple phone call. You could even meet up with colleagues who work and live nearby to get some work done together at a coffee shop.
Keep Your Workspace Separate
It’s crucial that we are able to separate our work from our rest. Do your best to keep your work area separate from where you wind down and rest. Avoid working from your bed at all costs, because this could make it tough for your brain to shut down and shift out of work mode when you try to go to sleep.
Switch Off
Finally, make sure that you set boundaries. When you live and work in the same place, it’s super easy to just keep going and going and going, but this is not how to be your best self.
Set strict work hours and make sure that you close your computer and step away from your desk at a reasonable time each evening to start unwinding.