Have you had to deal with a change to your working situation recently?
A huge number of people have found themselves having to work from home when they usually work from a contemporary office environment. It’s a change that can leave you reeling at first but once you get used to it, you might find that it’s a method of working you actually enjoy!
The entire Covid 19 situation has changed our lives completely and whilst many people have unfortunately been placed on furlough until things improve, many have also been asked to continue working from their home environment. This means setting up a makeshift home office, with a comfortable office desk and office chair, having dedicated office storage solutions, and finding a way to make it all work for you.
Whilst working from home it’s vital that you remember that you need to take regular breaks in order to be healthy and productive. You also need to be as active as you can during your working hours, using innovative ways to get up and move around on a regular basis.
There are many ways you can do this, including:
- Setting your alarm and getting up and walking around the house every hour or so
- Making sure that you have regular breaks and going for a walk in the garden or perhaps outside for a walk up and down the street (socially distanced, of course)
- Going for a long walk or even a jog during your lunch break
- Heading online and checking out one of the many celebrity trainer free workout videos available during the coronavirus outbreak. You could easily fit this into your day, either first thing in the morning or during your lunch break
- Try a few yoga poses during your breaks
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Another method is to think about active seating.
There are many ways you can incorporate this, but one of the most popular is having a sitting and standing routine. You could purchase a stand height desk or a height adjustable desk, if you’re planning on working from home over the long-term, or you could buy a laptop riser, which helps you stand up at your regular desk, with the laptop at stand height too.
Check out this infographic which talks a bit more about the benefits of a sitting and standing routine.
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Source - https://www.agencycentral.co.uk/articles/2015-08/standing-v-sitting-which-is-better.htm
There are other options too, such as seats which force you to move around. These are normally chairs which aren’t stable, e.g. they’re placed on an exercise ball, therefore requiring you to engage your core muscles to stay upright. It sounds difficult, but these types of office seating methods are very useful for giving you a workout whilst you’re focusing on the task at hand.
At the end of the day, being active at work, no matter where you’re working, is vital. Not only is it important for your health and wellbeing overall, but it also helps you to focus far better too.
Have you ever noticed how you can’t concentrate after you’ve been working solidly for a couple of hours or more? It’s because you need a break, and if possible, you need to move your body too. This helps oxygen to make its way around your body, up to your brain, and boosts general circulation. Then, when you go back to your desk, you’ll find that you’re able to get back to work and concentrate for another block of time without any sluggish moments or energy dips.
Being active at work is something you need to focus on, but it’s certainly easier to do when you work in a regular office environment. When working from home it’s very easy to simply work until you have to, assuming that if you work solidly, you can finish earlier. That’s just not going to work in terms of focus levels. You need to be innovative and think outside the box, looking for ways to move around more during your home working day. As a result, you’ll get more done, and what you do will be to a higher quality.