Working from home has several advantages, including the ability to better combine work and personal life as well as time and money saved on commutes. It can also present some risks to your health and fitness, including inactivity, social isolation, bad posture, unhealthful eating patterns, and elevated stress. Because of this, it’s critical to look after yourself and implement certain healthy living practices while working from home. In this post, we’ll give you some advice on how to accomplish that goal, including how to establish a regular schedule, set up a comfortable office, take breaks and move around, drink enough water, eat healthily, and find ways to unwind and have fun. By adhering to these recommendations, you can benefit from working from home without sacrificing your health.
In this blog, several methods to stay fit while working from home will be covered, including:
- Establishing a consistent schedule can help you draw a line between work and leisure time and can also help you stay motivated and productive all day.
- Making your office comfy can help you avoid distractions, enhance your posture, and shield you from pain and discomfort.
- Taking breaks and moving about can help you feel more energized, less stressed, and less stiff and sore.
- Drinking enough water and eating healthfully can keep your metabolism, immune system, and brain functioning normally while also preventing overeating and cravings.
- Finding enjoyable activities to do can enhance your attitude and creativity while also assisting you in overcoming anxiety, boredom, and loneliness.
Make Your Workspace Ready for Success
When working from home, setting up your workspace should be one of your priorities. Ideally, you should have a dedicated workspace that is free from distractions such as noise, clutter, and other environmental factors. Additionally, ensure sure your workspace has adequate ventilation, lighting, and climate control. Additionally, you should spend money on ergonomic furniture and tools like a desk, chair, monitor, keyboard, and mouse that can assist your posture and reduce strain and pain. To prevent eye strain and neck discomfort, you should also change the height and positioning of your screen and chair. Finally, add some plants, photographs, or other items that can make you feel at ease and joyful to customize your workstation.
Considerations for Lighting
Another crucial aspect to take into account while organizing your workstation is lighting. Natural light should be utilized as much as you can because it can enhance your mood, alertness, and circadian rhythm. You can achieve this by situating your desk close to a window or by controlling the amount of light entering your room using drapes or shades. However, as it might result in eye strain and headaches, you should also avoid direct sunlight or glare on your computer. To lessen this issue, utilize anti-glare screens, filters, or shades. You should also have some artificial lighting sources to augment the natural light, particularly at night or on overcast days. For enough lighting while working, you can utilize task lights, overhead lights, or lamps. By the time of day and the type of job you are performing, you should also pick the appropriate color temperature, and brightness for your lighting. For instance, warmer and dimmer lights can be used for contemplative or creative tasks, whereas cooler and brighter lights can be used for energizing or analytical jobs.
Plan Your Day
Plan your day for success as another way to keep healthy and active when working from home. This means that you need to have a well-thought-out plan for your daily goals as well as how you’ll organize your time and energy. A planner, a calendar, or an app can all be used to construct and manage your daily routine. You should also prioritize the most crucial and urgent activities and set some precise, quantifiable goals for your work. Additionally, you should adhere as closely as possible to your regular working hours and maintain a consistent morning and evening routine. By doing so, you can avoid working too much or too little and establish a sense of structure and consistency. Additionally, you want to plan some transitions and pauses, such as walking, stretching, meditating, or eating a snack. These can aid in mental and physical renewal as well as transitioning between various work and living modes. One of the best methods to be productive and focused while working from home is to establish and adhere to a schedule. You may manage your time, plan your duties, and balance your personal and professional lives by using a timetable. You should choose your working hours depending on your interests, availability, and deadlines before creating a timetable. For your family, clients, and coworkers to know when you are available and unavailable, you should also let them know when you will be available. Assign specific activities or projects to each block of time after you have divided your working hours into equal portions. You should set out some time each day to check your emails, make calls, or go to meetings. Attempting to multitask or switching between things too frequently might hurt your productivity and the caliber of your work. Finally, try to keep to your timetable as much as you can and stay away from disruptions or distractions that could throw your plan off course. After each day or week, you should examine your schedule and make any necessary revisions.
Daily Breaks are Important
While working from home, it’s crucial to take breaks throughout the day to maintain your health and well-being. Breaks can increase your performance and creativity while lowering stress and preventing burnout. To properly take breaks, schedule them in advance and set alarms or reminders to remind you to do so. Depending on your workload and energy level, you should also make sure that your breaks are long enough and often enough. Take a 10-minute break every hour, or a 30-minute break every four hours, as a general rule of thumb. Next, make smart use of your breaks by engaging in activities that can revitalize or calm you. You may stretch, go for a stroll, practice meditation, read, listen to music, play with your pet, or talk to a friend. Avoid utilizing your breaks to complete additional work, check social media, or watch the news because doing so can make you feel more stressed or divert your attention from your task. Finally, respect your breaks by not cutting them short or skipping them. Additionally, let your clients and coworkers know that you will be taking a break and ask them not to contact you during that time. Keep on schedule by setting a timer.
Make Sure to Move About All Day
- While working, stand up and move about. Compared to sitting, prolonged standing burns more calories. When possible, use a standing desk.
- Consume “exercise snacks”. Exercise in quick bursts, or “exercise snacks,” is good for your health. Take a stroll while eating lunch.
- Work out during lunch, ideally outside. You can go for a long walk or run nearby errands.
To eventually stand for half of your workday, you can alternate between sitting and standing during the day. To get moving, you might find it beneficial to set an alarm on your computer, phone, or tablet. This can involve standing instead of sitting at your desk, getting a drink of water, stretching, etc.
Wear loose-fitting attire and comfy shoes, or keep a pair of sneakers at your desk. To prevent foot and leg tiredness when standing, use a cushioned floor mat and additional supports.
You can stretch while working from home by performing the following exercises:
- Tricep flex
- Neck extension
- Arm and upper body stretches
- Shoulder elongation
- Rotational stretching
- Knee and hip flexion exercise
Stretching the hamstrings
- Stretch your shoulder shrug
Before performing any at-home stretches, it is advised that you speak with your doctor to be sure they are appropriate for you if you experience any kind of chronic pain or discomfort.
Numerous cardiovascular exercises can be performed without any equipment at home. Jumping jacks, running in place, HIIT exercises, dancing, and climbing stairs are a few examples. Other activities call for equipment, such as walking on a treadmill, jumping rope, and using a little trampoline.
The following activities, which Kendter and Wilson call the finest cardio exercises, can be combined to create a 20–30 minute circuit:
- Jack-knife jumps
- hops while squatting
- Terrorist lunges
- Rock climbers
- Burpees
You may also try this high-intensity interval training (HIIT)-based 20-minute bodyweight exercise routine:
- Jack-knife jumps
- squats with shoulder taps
- stoop walks
The American Heart Association suggests the following 10-minute at-home exercise if you’re searching for a quick workout:
- Jack-knife jumps
- wall pushups
- Squats
- Trench dips
- Plank
You can perform a variety of strength training routines at home with little to no equipment. Several instances include:
- Pushups
- Pullups
- Planks
- Lunges
- Squats
Try this beginner’s strength-training program as well:
- Bench press, chest press, and pushups for the chest
- shoulders: front lift, lateral raise, and overhead press
- Biceps: Concentration curls, hammer curls, and biceps curls
- Triceps: triceps kickbacks, dips, and extensions
- Lat pulldowns, back extensions, and one-arm rows for the back
How to Maintain a Healthy Diet When Working from Home
Following are some pointers for maintaining a healthy diet while working from home:
Maintain a schedule and, if possible, avoid eating at your desk.
Have wholesome foods on hand.
- Maintain a food diary.
- Concentrate on the following six dietary groups: fruits, vegetables, dairy, proteins, fats, and grains.
- When working from home, avoid snacking on unhealthy food.
- While working from home, portion meals and refrain from overeating.
- Learn how to “meal prep” while working remotely.
- Try eating your meals the healthy way by filling half the plate with non-starchy vegetables (such as baby corn, green beans, pumpkin, and squash), one-fourth with lean protein (such as fish, white-meat poultry, lean red meat, low-fat yogurt, eggs), and one-fourth with a high-fiber carbohydrate (such as fruit, whole grains). If you’re vegan, combining various beans with tofu can provide you with high-quality sources of protein. For each serving of 0.5 cups of tofu, there are 10 grams of protein.
Prepare your Meals in Advance
When you work from home, planning your meals can be a fantastic way to save time, and money, and ensure that you are eating well. Here are some pointers to get you going:
Make a list of the ingredients you’ll need and decide what you want to eat each day of the coming week.
Go grocery shopping: After making a list, buy the ingredients on your list.
Plan your meals: Prepare your food in advance and store it in the refrigerator or freezer.
Store meals in meal prep containers: Invest in some meal prep containers.
Keep it simple: Avoid attempting to cook time-consuming, intricate meals. Stick to straightforward, uncomplicated recipes.
Emphasize whole foods: Stay away of unprocessed meals that are devoid of additives and preservatives.
Utilize leftovers: Prevent food waste. Utilize them to prepare fresh meals all week long.
Make wise decisions: Pick foods like fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains that are high in nutrients and low in calories.
Remain hydrated: To stay hydrated, consume a lot of water throughout the day.
Take breaks: Throughout the day, take breaks to stretch your legs and get some fresh air.
In conclusion, working from home can be a terrific method to maintain attention and productivity, but it can also be difficult to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Here are some key points to keep in mind.
- Treat remote work like a regular job; establish a daily schedule and working hours.
- Make a purposeful strategy for your day and follow it.
- Move, move, move: Throughout the day, take breaks to get up and walk about to get some fresh air.
- Consume healthful food: Try to consume whole foods that have minimal processing and are devoid of additives and preservatives.
- Take breaks from the computer: Avoid spending the entire day in front of it. Give your eyes and brain a break during the day by taking breaks.
Make your mental health a top priority by taking regular breaks, engaging in mindfulness exercises, and maintaining relationships with friends and family.
- Maintain a good work-life balance by keeping a time log and establishing daily time restrictions.
- Remain hydrated by consuming lots of water throughout the day.
- Engage in regular exercise: Physical and mental health benefits from exercise. Try to exercise for at least 30 minutes each day.