Discover The Secrets To Maintaining A Healthy Body And Mind When Working From Home

Did you know? "The U.S Pew Research Centre, when looking at all employed adults ages 18 and older in the United States estimates that about 14% – or roughly 22 million people – are currently working from home all the time. When looking at all employed adults ages 18 and older in the United States." (Pew Research Centre)

With more people working from home, the mental and physical impact of this on workers has been critiqued, with some believing that working from home is dangerous, and as a result need to be changed.

As someone who has worked from home, there are definitely difficult health challenges that come from working at home, especially full-time.

However with wiser planning and decision-making, hopefully, this will not only improve your health tremendously, but you will actually enjoy working from home.

7 Simple Ways To Improve Your Health While Working From Home Guaranteed

1. How To Make Your Workplace Surprisingly Comfortable

It is important to have a specific area in your home or workspace, where you can work quietly and effectively. This may not be possible for some people so do the best you can. Depending on the work you do, you may have the option of being able to work in a comfortable public space such as a café or library.

To make your workspace comfortable, ensure that the area you are working in is well-ventilated, not too hot, not too cold, but cool. This will help you to work more efficiently and will improve your mood.

Make sure you arrange your workspace so that you have all the supplies needed to carry out your work effectively within reach.

Keep your area clean and organized as best as possible. If you have difficulty doing so seek help from a family member or friend that is highly organised.

Sit in an office chair that will help to protect and support your back and feet. Or you may have the option of standing on your feet while you work.

To make your workspace more inviting consider having a beautiful plant on your desk. Sitting in an area, or painting your area with wonderful colors will also help to lift your spirits. Having a nice art or painting in your room will additionally boost your mood.

2. 3 Ways To Create A Flexible Schedule That Works

When I started working from home, for years I would wake up very early in the morning and stop working at night only when I became very tired. Therefore working at home for me meant working more than 12 hours a day, every single day, without an hour of lunch break.

So the lines between work and home became blurred and it eventually took a toll on my mental and physical health. Therefore it is important to be balanced, manage your time well, and not overwork or overexert yourself.

To help with this process, creating your own schedule is important. You can create your schedule first by hand and see what works and what doesn't through tests and trials. This can be helpful, especially when you find it difficult to stick to a precise schedule, and need a more flexible schedule.

The next way you can create your own schedule is by using Notion where you can freely create a to-do list, and it will automatically show the date you are creating the list on. You can mark the work you are doing as doing, and mark it as done when you are finished.

Notion

You can also find online work schedule pre-designed templates that you can edit or use on:

Venngage Work Schedule Templates

Microsoft Schedule Templates

Canva Work Schedule Templates

Visme Work Schedule Templates

3. Life-Changing Ways To Keep Healthy While Working From Home

As difficult as it may be, make it a habit to go outside daily. It is important to breathe in fresh air, and feel the light sunshine, as this will improve your health and mood.

Additionally, don't stay at home every day, going out, taking a trip to the supermarket or store, visit friends or family is important.

Furthermore, it is also important to walk for half an hour, at least 5 times a week. This is to ensure that you keep fit, helps you to burn excess fat, reduces your chance of getting blood clots, and that your heart remains healthy.

It is also important to eat a healthy balanced meal to reduce the chances of health complications and improve your mood.

Because I did not make any effort to do the above at all while working from home, this had a very serious impact on my mental and physical health.

I ended up gaining 100 pounds at home which made me officially obese, I developed high cholesterol levels which I need to take medication for, and I am also pre-diabetic.

While working from home, I also became aware of a mental health issue that I developed during childhood, which I was not aware of before, among other things, and this further added a serious blow to my health.

So it is very important when working from home to ensure that you take care of your health.

4. Striking Reasons To Visit The Doctor and Dentist Regularly

One of the worst things you can do is to neglect to go to the doctor or dentist. It is important to ensure that everything in your body is working the way it should, and if not take steps to deal with those issues, to prevent things from getting worst.

When I began having symptoms that were not normal, fortunately, I had family that encouraged me to go to the doctor, and as a result of that, I was able to discover issues I never knew I had and get the help I needed and still need.

Even if you have no concerning symptoms, it is important to get regular checkups, because not all problems manifest themselves in a way that we recognize as abnormal.

For example, I was reading a news article recently, where a nurse suddenly began belching a lot daily and discovered that she had cancer.

Visiting your dentist is very important as well. Poor dental health negatively affects your over health and can even reduce your life span. Dentists can also detect sometimes if there is any problem with your mouth, or your throat, that needs to be scrutinized further by a doctor.

5. Eye-Opening Reasons Why You Need To Watch Your Thoughts

Working from home can be very stressful and lonely, so it is easy to slip into a depressive or anxious state of mind and emotions.

You may also find yourself feeling angrier than usual, especially if you are under stress constantly.

If any of this is happening, or if you notice that people have to walk on eggshells around you constantly, it is important to talk to someone you can trust and seek professional help.

6. Effectively Manage Your Personal Finances

Having any financial issue increases your stress level, and contributes to domestic conflict, so it is important to manage your money well.

When working from home, the pay tends to be less than what you would get working in an office or an on-site location doing the same job. So managing your money effectively is crucial.

If you find it difficult to manage your money, seek professional advice and help.

7. Effortlessly Work From Home With Children Around

When you have children at home when you are working from home, it is important to ensure that you have a responsible adult supervising them, ensuring that you make your children know that you are working and that they need to be quiet as possible.

This is not always possible as you may lack the money to hire someone. If possible you can schedule your work time around your children, or ask a responsible relative to help watch your children while you work.

Enjoying The Journey: The Key To Working From Home Effectively

Working from home is definitely not for everyone, but you may have no choice in this matter, depending on your circumstances. You may for example, work full-time in an office, only for management to suddenly, decide that you should now work from home.

Or you or a family member may develop a serious illness that prevents you from working outside the home as you would like.

It is important therefore to do the best you can to make working from home enjoyable. If you simply cannot work from home anymore because it is affecting you negatively, there is nothing wrong with seeking to work outside the home.