Our health impacts our productivity and creativity. Therefore, the healthier you are in all aspects of your life, the better your success when working from home. But like all good things, staying healthy takes intentional effort and wise boundaries.
While working from home gives you more control of your schedule and working environment, it also creates unique temptations and challenges. Here are some tips to help you take good care of yourself so you can work at your best.
Physical Needs
Health and diet. Pay attention to what you eat and drink. Writers love coffee, but all that caffeine dehydrates. Be sure to drink water throughout the day. Also, you’ll have to be more intentional than ever about your diet, because you have a pantry and a fridge tempting you with goodies all day long. To combat the siren call of the kitchen, decide ahead of time what you will eat during working hours. Maybe even pack a lunch, just to help yourself stick to your good eating intentions. Ban yourself from wandering into the kitchen whenever you take a break.
Get moving. Are you getting enough exercise? Since you’re not commuting, heading to the gym may take more effort than it does for someone who drives by the gym on their way home. Setting your gym clothes by the office door may give you that little extra push you need to leave the house and exercise. And stay active throughout the day, too. Get up and move every two hours. Five minutes of walking or stretching will boost your productivity, loosen stiff muscles, and burn a few calories.
Ergonomics. Working at the kitchen table or the sofa may be fine now and then, but if you work there every day, you may be setting yourself up for carpal tunnel syndrome or neck issues. If working from home is going to be a long-term practice, invest in your health by purchasing a comfortable, supportive chair and a well-designed work station that doesn’t strain your neck, back, shoulders, and wrists.
Mental Needs
Take smart breaks. If you’re all alone, it can be tempting to keep right on working, grabbing lunch and eating it at your desk, or working long into the night. No matter where you work, studies show that your brain is more alert and capable when you take strategic breaks. To enhance productivity, every two hours or so, disengage entirely from your work (and all devices!) and give your brain a 15-20 minute screen-free rest. This is an ideal time to walk the dog, fold a load of laundry, prep for dinner, or chat with a housemate.
Disengage at the end of the day. It can be hard to set work aside when it’s always waiting for you in the next room. But mentally disengaging with work and focusing on other things is important for long-term success. Be clear in your own head about switching from work mode to home mode, and remember to mentally switch your priorities, too. Your home mode priorities are your family, friends, and hobbies, not the report that’s due next week.
Give yourself grace. If you have children or pets at home, there are going to be interruptions, noises, and occasional squabbles. To expect otherwise is to set yourself up for extra frustration. Set clear work boundaries to limit interruptions, but also have a plan for how you will deal with them when they happen. (Occasional interruptions are unavoidable, no matter how isolated your home office is.) Decide ahead of time not to overreact. Whenever possible, give the person an alternate solution. Examples: Come back at 3:30 and we can discuss it. Or Your older brother can help you with that.
If a disturbance happens while you’re on a call with coworkers, give a simple explanation and move on. These days everyone understands the realities of virtual work and will quickly forgive the disturbance. If you don’t make a big deal about it, neither will they.
Emotional and Social Needs
Make social interaction a priority during off hours. Even the most introverted workers need interaction with other humans to remain healthy. For the more extroverted, filling your social energy tanks is critical to stave off burnout. You need to keep your relationships healthy by interacting with family and friends when you’re not at work.
Intentionally switch from work mode to home mode so you can give your friends and housemates your undivided attention. Always remember, there are more important things in your life than work! When you work from home it takes more effort to schedule social activities into your life but it’s important to long-term health. Everyone needs to spend time with loved ones and with people who encourage and inspire you. Don’t neglect this area.
Identify what you miss most about working in an office or group setting. Is it the idle chat during breaks? The cross-pollination of talking with coworkers from different departments? Bouncing ideas off peers? Social hour after work? Whatever it is you miss, try to find a way to bring some of that into your working-from-home life. Be intentional about scheduling face-to-face time with coworkers. Join a mastermind group. Schedule a bi-weekly check-in call with the boss just to touch base. Whatever will help you perform at your best.
Communicate face-to-face whenever you can. Effective communication with coworkers is one of the biggest challenges of virtual work. You may have gotten into the habit of conducting work meetings with the cameras off, but the majority of communication is non-verbal, so realize you’re missing context when all you have is an email or audio signal.
You’ll feel more connected if you talk face to face whenever possible. Especially when the stake are high, make a point of meeting in person or on camera, so you don’t miss those non-verbal cues. And initiate getting together in person with coworkers once a month or so, just to keep everyone in the loop.
Which area do you need to work on?
I hope these tips help you stay healthier, saner, and more productive! Everyone in the house and at work will benefit if you keep yourself healthy. Which tip do you need to work on this week?
Have you heard the good news about my novel, Death and a Crocodile? It won two awards in August. It was a finalist in the 2021 American Fiction Awards, historical mystery category and it won the 2021 Golden Scroll Novel of the Year!
