Healthy Habits When You’re Working From Home

With a huge amount of people suddenly working from home it can feel a little confusing. It might feel like the weekend, a rostered day off, or are you supposed to be sick? It’s strange when you’re not used to it.

Distraction will be your enemy. Housework, phone calls, tv shows…

Here’s some tips to keep you on track –

Develop a morning routine

We’ve heard it a million times, to get the most of your work from home life a little discipline goes a long way.

Finding the right morning routine and sticking to it will start the day off correctly.

Some may get up, make coffee, read, do housework, get the the kids ready.

Others may head straight to the computer to get some work done early before the kids wake (especially when they are at home with you).

Once you think you have the right routine in the mornings, you need to stick to that on a work day so you can be more productive and know exactly how the day should be run.

Get dressed

If your workplace is anything like ours, you never know when you might be called for a ZOOM meeting! What you’re wearing does have an effect on your productivity. If you’re wearing pj’s you’ll probably struggle to get out of first gear for most of the day.

Clean up your space first

Your house is like a sponge, and it holds on to bad energy when you have too many things surrounding you. Clutter can affect you physically and emotionally. If furniture and items can hold on to negative energy, then it’s time to start a big de-clutter in your work-space. Seeing those unmade beds, or dirty dishes can really hinder your productivity. Clear the clutter first.

Open the windows often

We’re spending more and more time indoors and because of this, our indoor air quality is suffering. Our homes can be polluted with a mixture of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are emitted as vapour from plastics, cleaning products, carpets, paint, cosmetics and electronic equipment. Gas cookers and unflued gas heaters can also elevate carbon dioxide levels.

So as often as you can, open the windows and let the fresh air in.

Take breaks

Find a routine for your breaks. Either take a solid lunch break away from your work station. Even head to the shops to pick up groceries or do small tasks like you would at your normal workplace during lunch breaks.

Or, take smaller breaks throughout the day and do other tasks away from your work/computer.

Keep track of the time

It’s easy to get carried away on a task or even spend too long on something.

Use ‘time blocking’. This is where you use your Google Calendar to block out certain parts of your day to dedicate to a task. It will keep you on track and your brain will know what it needs to focus on next.