Working from home: staying fit and healthy
Spending much of our time indoors and adapting to a new #stayhome way of life, it’s important that we take the time to check in with ourselves and take care of our physical health and well-being. Whilst working from home has its benefits, it can also cause us to feel unmotivated and disconnected from each other.
To help navigate these new challenges and adapt our working patterns we’ve put together some ideas on how to stay healthy whilst you work from home.
Stick to a routine
Just as ‘snoozing the alarm, showering, quickly eating breakfast then running out the door to make the train just in time’ was once your daily routine when heading into the office, it’s a good idea to stick to a routine whilst working from home too. Albeit a slightly more relaxed one…
Relieved of commuting, most of us are fortunate enough to have a little more time in the morning before starting work. Whether you opt to spend that extra time sleeping, making a healthy breakfast, going for your daily walk, or sipping a cup of coffee whilst planning your day ahead, sticking to a set wake-up time is good for motivation and will help you adapt to a new way of working.
Remember to move
Staying healthy during lockdown doesn’t have to mean starting to run or cycle for the first time in your life. Whilst getting enough exercise whilst staying at home all day working from a desk can be challenging, there’s a lot of great home workouts and videos online to get you moving when you're done for the day!
Some of our favourites include: Joe Wicks PE lessons (not just for kids, trust us on this), Barry’s Boot Camp live Instagram workouts, Yoga with Adrienne (when we aren’t doing our weekly team yoga session with our instructor Lila) and the NHS Studio Fitness videos.
If none of these take your fancy and you’re enjoying your daily walk out of the house and getting enough steps in to feel good about moving, then stick to your own routine.
*It’s worth noting that it can feel a little overwhelming and pressurising seeing friends and online influencers take to their social media platforms and start sharing all the productive workouts they’ve been doing whilst you’re just not in that frame of mind. Remember the most important thing to do is to listen to your body. If you are not feeling up to following online workouts, remember that is okay, don’t beat yourself up about it and take each day as it comes!*
Eat Smart
Eating a healthy balanced diet helps us get the best out of our mind and body. Sticking to a routine at home, as you would in the workplace, is very important. Making sure you’re starting the day with breakfast, stopping for a decent lunch break and having healthy snacks in between will benefit your concentration levels immensely as your blood sugar levels won’t be dipping throughout the day.
We’ve been enjoying porridge, sourdough toast (any other first-time bread makers out there?), soups, salads and dinner leftovers! Oh and maybe a few flapjacks and slices of banana cake too.
It’s also important to drink lots of water to stay hydrated throughout the working day. Our brain operates best when its well hydrated, not drinking enough fluid impairs our energy levels, mood and even brain productivity and memory. Tea and coffee count too – just make sure you’re limiting your caffeine intake.
Listen to your body
If you’re feeling a little frazzled then take a break. When working alongside colleagues in an office environment it is only natural that you’ll stop for more coffee breaks and conversations than when you’re working from home on your own. Taking frequent breaks is actually proven to make you more productive.
Completely disconnect from what you are working on by getting a few minutes of fresh air in the garden, make a drink and just have a break from looking at your computer screen. On our frequent breaks we’ve been enjoying Headspace – a popular meditation app which has recently launched a free to use collection of content called Weathering The Storm. The app features guided meditations, sleep and movement exercises which have been designed to help us navigate change and re-frame anxiety.
Stay connected
Perhaps one of the biggest hurdles that comes alongside working from home is feeling lonely and disconnected from colleagues – especially when you look forward to going to work and seeing friends as we do at TR HQ!
Thankfully technology is our best friend when it comes to keeping up with meetings, conferences and catch ups. Zoom, Facetime and WhatsApp calls and chats have all become a daily normality for our team and we all feel happier when we’re staying in touch with each other – albeit work related or not! Instilling a sense of normality in your day by still seeing friendly faces helps working from home feel a little less alien as we all navigate these unusual times together.
This being said, it’s also good practice to ensure you don’t end up looking from screen to screen all day long. We’ve found setting ourselves a little cut off point to be really helpful for allowing our brains get a rest before bed!
Connect with nature
As well as keeping in touch with friends and loved ones, it’s also important to try and connect with nature as much as possible whilst we’re all inside a lot more. The space in which you work and relax can also help create a healthy mind. It’s not just about improving your indoor aesthetic...
Even if you don’t normally notice a plant’s presence, seeing a plant can subconsciously make you feel calm and relaxed. Plants have many benefits including providing clean air, boosting our mood, promoting concentration and even improving memory.
If don’t have the option to bring plants into your home at the moment, try sitting by a window with a green view - pictures of nature provide the same mood-enhancing benefits too. You could even change your computer screensaver to a calming landscape or try listening to some calming music, such as birdsong, whilst you work to simulate nature.
"If you can find a room with a view of any kind of nature then this has the ability to reduce blood pressure and the circulation of stress hormones, and it increases the capacity for directed attention, which is the ability to focus".
- Science Focus Journal.
