Despite the many benefits of working from home, it can be difficult to stay healthy when your routine is disrupted. As a professional who works from home, I have had to change my routine (and health) many times. One of the most common problems I see when I tell people that I work from home is an inability to stay healthy and fit. I’m not talking about being lazy; in fact, I work hard and sleep very little at home (which helps keep my body healthy). I’m talking about health issues and maintaining your health.
Establish a healthy routine
Set a schedule and stick to it, get enough sleep, and eat healthy meals. Work from home is a great opportunity to work when you are not in the office, or to work when you don’t want to go back there — and we know that people often feel stressed out when they have to go back to the office at some point. This is especially true if your job means you have long hours of sitting at your desk.
When you are working from home, you should make sure that you follow a healthy lifestyle — and this means it’s important that you maintain your routine and get regular exercise. This will help keep your body fit, and it will also help improve your productivity.
The key is to implement healthy habits within any schedule that suits you best:
- Make sure to leave enough time for home-work during the day so that there isn’t an unnatural disconnect between the two activities.
- Try to incorporate some socialising into your schedule so that you don’t get bored with sitting in front of a computer all day long (that way, going into a social event where others are also working at their computers won’t feel as much like work).
- If possible, avoid turning on the computer when it gets too hot or too cold outside so as not to burn yourself (although if this is impossible because of outside weather conditions, consider going online while the air conditioner runs).
In addition, don’t sacrifice sleep: if your body doesn’t get enough restful sleep, it may be hard for it to perform optimally during intense work hours or on weekends (which can be even more stressful). So ensure that you get enough sleep every night: over eight hours each night is ideal for productivity reasons but also because it helps keep away serious health problems such as high blood pressure and heart disease. And remember — if what we do on our computers is important enough for us, then why shouldn’t we prioritise our physical health?
Get moving
In order for you to be staying healthy working at home, you should incorporate some physical activity into your day, even if it’s just going for a walk around the block. The information in this article was compiled from a series of slides I presented at the 2010 Remote Work Summit, held in Chicago. The content of this post is not necessarily original and is based on my own research, experience and observations.
I like to work from home, but I’ve found that life can get quite hectic as a solo entrepreneur with multiple projects. Every time I fire up my laptop it feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders, but the reality is that it’s not really moving much more than 5 feet at most; if I sit down to do any serious project work (which means writing), I’m still sitting down to do it. So, how can I get the most out of working at home?
If you are looking for a solution to the problem outlined above, look no further than getting moving. By going for a walk (or even just jogging) you can help increase your physical activity level by 20-30% and will feel much better about yourself afterwards (as well as helping prevent heart disease).
The reason this works so well for me is that my body reacts positively to physical activity as well as mentally. In fact, some studies have found that people who exercise tend to think more clearly. That makes sense — after all, if you are tired your brain doesn’t have time to process what you have just said or done — but why does exercise make people think better? Well…
It’s because you are dealing with mental workload – something that your brain needs extra energy to deal with (at least in theory), so when you are exercising it helps naturally relieve some of that mental pressure by letting things sink into your subconscious while you focus on doing something else… such as breathing or thinking about nothing in particular.
Because your mind wants to go somewhere other than where it is right now, it takes extra energy to change its focus away from whatever task it is currently working on – and we know physical activity does exactly that – making it easier for your mind not only to relax but also process data more efficiently!
So next time you fire up your laptop a minute or two before bedtime and move around for 15 minutes until you feel tired enough to fall asleep — do so! And then don’t forget! If things start getting too much while working from home (or if the stress starts causing ailments like headaches), just go back outside for another five minutes or so. You will feel
Take breaks
Get up and stretch or take a quick break to clear your mind. A good rule of thumb for staying healthy is to take a short break every so often. This can be a quick walk around the block, or a quick shower, and that’s it. I’m not saying you must take two or three minutes every time you sit down to work. You can get away with shorter breaks, but they add up on a daily basis and they are time that could be better spent pursuing your business goals and creating new products or services.
Taking breaks is an easy thing to do, but it’s also one of the hardest things to do when you are sitting at your computer all day. Many people tend to get stuck in a rut when they occasionally have time off from working, where they get distracted by social media or email, or just don’t have enough energy for anything else.
Other times there are meetings that pop up on your calendar which you really don’t want to be interrupted – then again these aren’t always meetings – so there is no way for you to know how long it will take you before something else catches your eye so you opt out of taking a break (because this is how we work at home).
There are many ways of taking breaks outside of sitting at your computer: some people will make their own snacks (food like trail mixes or protein bars), some will listen to music while working out, others will do yoga or meditation practices (it doesn’t matter if it is free, practice what works for you).
If you can avoid distractions while sitting at your computer then the benefits of taking breaks should be obvious: here is why:
- You won’t waste hours in front of the screen and might even go into deep relaxation mode
- You’ll have more energy on those rare occasions when something catches your eye (and vice-versa)
- You won’t feel like crap after working out! (btw this was definitely true during my first yo-yo diet!)
One tip: nowadays getting fresh air helps as well – especially if you are doing anything physically strenuous that requires concentration. But this should not become an excuse not to take breaks outside the office; we all need proper restorative sleep too!
Avoid distractions
Turn off the TV and limit social media scrolling such as watching videos on LinkedIn or Facebook, etc. While smartphones may provide a convenient location to work, there is no escaping the fact that they are a distraction. It’s easy to get swept up in the latest news, take in a podcast without reading the title, or scroll through social media without thinking about your next meeting.
We’ve all done it. One of the most effective ways to combat distractions is to make sure that you only turn on your phone when you absolutely have to use it (i.e. if you are waiting for someone). This will help keep your focus on what is important and prevent you from accidentally checking out of a meeting.
Connect with others
Working from home can be isolating, so reach out to friends and family or join a virtual workout class. In order to keep focused on your work, it is important that you have healthy habits while at home. When you are at home, it is natural to want to put things off until later. For example, if you have a meeting in the morning, you may look forward to the end of the day when you can put everything off and get a snack and be comfortable.
This can make it difficult to stay focused on work. If this happens often in your business, it can become a problem which affects your productivity. It may be hard for you to stay productive and motivated when you feel like putting things off for later.For this reason, it is important that you try to find ways of staying healthy while working from home. Here are several ways in which you can do this:
Conclusion
By following these tips, you can stay healthy while working from home.
While working remotely, you need to maintain your health and fitness. There are several reasons for this:
- You will be on the move a lot which means you need to be healthy
- Your work schedule does not allow you to maintain your health
- It is difficult for you to get enough sleep at night.
The first point is most important. Your body needs time and rest after a hard day at work. It also needs time for recovery from your daily tasks (including exercise). Make sure you have time for relaxation too, because it is very important that you are able to unwind each day and recharge before the next one starts. If you feel like you are rushing each day, break up the routine of your daily tasks and try something new.
The following tips will help with this:
The more flexible your schedule is, the more likely it is that you can take a break every once in a while without missing any important things. This helps with health as well as being an opportunity to experience something new each time. If possible, try to work from home or in a different location than where your office is located, since it can make all the difference how much of this change affects how well your body responds to the challenges posed by working remotely.
Make sure you eat healthy food that keeps within your calorie requirements (or let someone else take care of them) Maintain an active lifestyle by taking short walks every day or even just jogging around the block every few days Take regular exercise regularly: exercising at least 3-5 times per week puts healthy benefits on top of fitness benefits.