Ways To Stay Active When Working From Home

Working from home can be a great opportunity to balance work and personal life, and many of us have had to adapt to working from home over the last two years. However, working from home can mean we have a lack of social interaction, which can lead to feelings of loneliness and isolation.

As well as the repercussions on our mental health, there are also physical health issues too, due to a more sedentary lifestyle compared to what we were used to.

In order to minimise the physical and mental toll, working from home can cause, it is important to remain active when working from home.

This could include arranging regular meet ups with your friends at the weekends, or ensuring you’re going for at least one walk a day, to ensure both your mental health and physical health are looked after.

When you work from home, it can be easy to fall into the trap of staying on your sofa all day. Everyone is different, in that they prefer different set-ups for working from home, with some working better in a home office environment, and some preferring the comfort of their living room or bedroom.

Ways To Stay Active When Working From Home

Working from home, for some, can be a great way to increase productivity as well as helping you to save money on commuting. As with everything, there are some drawbacks to working from home.

Working from home may make it difficult to maintain a healthy work/life balance, and it’s very easy to get distracted by family members, your household chores or errands.

If you are working from home, there are some ways in which you can try to stay active, which can also boost productivity levels, as well as helping to break up your day.

When you work from home, it can be difficult to stay on track with your schedule. You have to keep yourself on the straight and narrow by scheduling time for exercise, taking breaks throughout the day, and sticking to a strict sleep routine.

 If you don’t get enough exercise, your health will decline, and it can also affect your mood. You might find that you are more irritable and less productive at work.

Taking regular breaks is very important when working from home. It can help you stay focused with your work, and if you work for too long, without taking a break, it can lead to fatigue, meaning you’re more likely to make mistakes.

The National Safety Council recommends we take a five-minute break with every fifty minutes of hard work, which could just be a walk around and stretch whilst getting a drink. It also helps to break up your day, too.

Always ensure you schedule in a lunch break in your day, and it’s the perfect time to add some physical activity, to help you remain active when working from home.

It could be some gentle stretches or yoga, or perhaps the completion of a fitness DVD or YouTube stream. If you don’t like doing too much physical activity during your working hours, you could always do it at the end of the day, once you’ve finished your work, whichever works best for you.

There are even gadgets you can use whilst you’re actually working. You could consider purchasing a DeskCycle, allowing you to pedal away whilst seated, keeping your feet and legs moving.

There’s even under-desk elliptical machines, steppers and leg trainers to stretch the legs, and all of them can be done while working, with little noise and effort.

Regardless of what type of work you do, it’s important to stay active and healthy when working from home. Even if you work from home full-time and don’t have a set schedule, it can be easy to fall into bad habits, so consider trying some of these methods to help you remain active when working from home.