With the world now shifting to more work-from-home remote job opportunities, people face new challenges while trying to adapt to their new lifestyles. While working from your home may sound like a dream come true, in reality, it can be challenging to maintain a healthy work-personal life balance. If you’re struggling to adjust to remote work and want to establish healthier lifestyle habits, try out the following tips.
1. Stick to Your Sleep Schedule
When you spend more time at home, it’s easy to lose track of your sleep schedule, and insufficient sleep can lead to groggy workdays and overall low energy levels. It’s a challenging habit to form, but keeping a consistent sleep schedule improves overall sleep quality and wellbeing. A few strategies to help establish better sleeping habits include keeping a sleeping log, reducing screen time before bed, and exercising regularly.
2. Invest in Ergonomic Furniture and Tech Accessories
Investing in ergonomic furniture for your workday will help you stay comfortable while making your workspace less daunting. Working from a fold-up chair all day can put immense amounts of stress on your body and give you fatigue, making it challenging to stay on task throughout the day. If you haven’t upgraded your home office furniture, it’s time to consider an upgrade to make yourself more comfortable and prevent lasting damage.
3. Stretch Often
Getting a good stretch every now and then will help refresh your mind and body. It’s essential to stay comfortable and energized throughout the day. Taking a moment to stretch every 30 minutes can significantly improve your mood and reset your brain, helping you focus. This practice will also help you manage your time better by “rewarding” focused work with a quick break.
4. Rest Your Eyes
Just like at the office, working from home likely requires staring at a screen for the majority of the day. To prevent eye strain, which often leads to headaches, you should periodically look away from your screen and focus on something in the distance.
5. Practice Good Hygiene
Just because you don’t have to show up to an office doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to skip a shower or stop brushing your teeth. It’s essential to stay on top of your hygiene routine for your body’s health and wellbeing. Not only is this the best way to keep yourself healthy, but it’ll make a drastic impact on how you feel throughout the day, as it’s hard to focus when you’re feeling run down and unclean. Keep up with your hygiene and put on pants for your workday; it will make a measurable difference in how you feel going through your day.
6. Actually Take Your Lunch Break
Snacking is incredibly tempting when working from home, as it’s easy to keep getting up and grabbing snack foods throughout the whole day. To prevent this, it’s a good idea to have a structured lunch break instead of refueling in small bursts as you work. Along with the added health benefit of getting a nutritious meal, maintaining a healthy lunch ritual during the workweek is an excellent way to improve mental health.
7. Eat Right for Energy and Mental Focus
Eating healthy is an essential part of both physical and mental wellness. Your brain needs glucose, vitamins, minerals, and certain chemicals to function properly. Some excellent “brain food” sources include nuts, leafy green vegetables, eggs, and berries. If you struggle to get the right nutrients for brain energy, you can also try taking supplements. For example, there are wide-ranging MCT oil benefits, including the quick conversion of medium-chain triglycerides to ketones, which can serve as brain fuel.
8. Stay Social
Spending extended periods of time isolated from others and keeping to yourself can negatively affect your physical and mental health. Humans are social beings, and it’s essential to keep up with this. Chat with a co-worker and set time to see friends when you’re off work or taking your lunch break.
9. Clock Out and Call it Quits
While you may not literally punch in and out anymore while you work from home, it’s essential to set similar boundaries. Keeping a fixed work schedule helps ensure free time doesn’t roll into your workday, and your workday doesn’t take over your personal time. It’s easy to let the time blend together, so set an exact schedule and stick to it.
10. Hit the (At-home) Gym
Exercising is another essential part of your physical and mental wellness routine. Set a workout regimen that energizes you and works with your work-from-home schedule. Even if you can’t leave the house and don’t have gym equipment, you can still stay active with calisthenics.
Working Toward Self-discipline
By setting clear goals, keeping up on your physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing, working from home can be a great opportunity to develop self-discipline. The remote work lifestyle doesn’t come naturally to everyone, but with intentionality, you make it work for you.