10 Tips to Stay #alwaysFit When Working from Home

Dear lilioftheworld.com reader, here is Dimo, your co-editor. First of all, why did we decide to write an article- 10 tips to stay #alwaysFit when working from home? Due to the unusual time that we live in many of us are already familiar with the advantages and disadvantages of working from home. We, now, start slowly realizing that even if circumstances improve quickly, an increasing number of businesses will introduce remote work as their primary work mode or will at least provide much more flexibility in this regard. So, whether you are already working from home or this could happen to you in the near future, you might find some useful ideas in this article.

Let’s not waste time and dive into our

10 tips to stay #alwaysFit when working from home:

1. START the day with a workout

Long working hours are getting their toll on your health in the long term. We often don’t realize it, but prolonged sitting increases significantly the risk of cardiovascular diseases, slower metabolism, diabetes and back injuries. In other words your quality of life might decrease significantly after a certain age. As we don’t feel the impact immediately, we tend to underrate this risk until the moment when a damage is already done. 

Good news here is that there is a very simple thing that we could do as prevention. It is called regular physical activity. You might be surprised that just 10-15 minutes of exercise a day makes a great difference in the long game. They also make a very positive difference on how your day begins. So, get that blood flow going, flex some muscles and lubricate your joints! First thing in the morning!

      A pro-tip: If you need some more arguments to start a morning workout, check this article that gives you 12 reasons to start!

Another idea for your mourning routine are these quick and simple, but yet effective plank variations (besides the video they are also explained in the article 15 plank variations to strengthen your core ).

2. CUT junk food! 

You should have already done that before the work-from-home era, but it becomes even more crucial nowadays. When you stay longer at home, it is more often that you grab the handle of your fridge. Make sure that what you see there includes lots of fresh, unprocessed food. Here are some general recommendations:

•   Increase take of vegetables and fruits
•   Limit processed foods
•   Exclude refined carbs
•   Avoid sugar
•   Limit alcohol consumption
•   Avoid any carbonated drinks

Of course, it is fine to have a cheat day, but it is not fine to have a cheat week or month 😊

       A pro-tip: The breakfast is the most important meal of the day – make sure you never miss it!

      A second pro-tip: with advancement of the day go with lighter meals. Your dinner should be your smallest meal for the day: at the end why don’t need much energy, while you sleep and the excess usually turns into fat.

3. MAKE your workspace comfortable

Not every home is equipped with a proper cabinet and writing table. And maybe you don’t need a special room for this, but just to make sure that you have a proper table and comfortable chair as a bare minimum.

       A pro-tip here is: if you are working with a laptop and don’t have a monitor, you could use one of those stands to elevate the screen and have proper head posture when looking at the screen.

4. LEAVE your pajamas away when working

It is easy to get lazy about changing your attire after you go out of your bed and head straight to the first video call for the day, probably turning your video off. Beware, this is the trap of mediocrity! The fact that you won’t be meeting people in person doesn’t mean that you can be absolutely negligent of your outfit. Whether you think of it as a discipline or as something to give color to your day, it is also keeping you alert and helps you switching between home-mode and work-mode 😊

       A pro-tip: video should be always ON during a call: despite we are not in one room with the rest of the participants, we still get 75% of our information in a visual way. So it is much easier to be understood or convey your message. Plus, you will start noticing how other people are influenced by you using the video functionality. You will indirectly encourage them to stay #alwaysFit. 

5. MOVE often throughout the working day 

Every now and then stand up and walk around in the room. Might be only a dozen of steps, but that makes a difference.

        A pro-tip: to facilitate your movement, you could leave your water bottle in a different room and make short hydration brakes every half an hour or so. Of course, beware that this way you are not cutting on the amount of water you drink.

6. CHANGE working places/ locations

Before the work-from-home era we were spending less than half a day at home. Now, it is a full day. At the beginning it is fun and you enjoy it, but with time it gets boring, which impacts your motivation and attitude. Therefore, try to change location: spend the next week working from a different room or even in the same room, but with a different setup.

It is the same room, just the different chairs on the same table give different view

Ideally, use the opportunity and go somewhere else: a new place, a new town, a new country or even a new continent. As I write this article it is still challenging to travel, but it isn’t impossible and also will get easier in the coming months.

       A pro-tip: from time to time switch home for a day with a teammate or with a friend who is also working from home.

The video below is from an amazing place we had the chance to work for a couple of weeks in 2020. Even the toughest day seems easier with such a view.

7. GO OUT for walks every day 

You need it not only because it falls into the category of physical activity mentioned in the first point. Going outside regularly ensures that you breathe some fresh air and you also take a break from what is now a mixture of your home, your workplace and your everything. Thus, going out more will keep you safe from depressive mood and this haunting feeling of lack of energy.

       A pro-tip: a good incentive to walk more is to set a daily steps target. 

8. RESPECT working hours and work beyond the end of the working day only exceptionally

This is one of the key tips to stay #alwaysFit when working from home. It is sometimes easy to get carried away: the tasks are never ending and you are anyway at home. The “just half an hour more” turns into an hour and then it starts feeling already late for doing whatever. Somehow you give up your personal life. Those of you having children can feel it even more as the little ones are those who suffer most from long working days. This trade-off has a high cost, which you shouldn’t pay. Therefore, finish on time and then have your personal life.

       A pro-tip: put blockers in your calendar and don’t accept meetings outside working hours.  

9. INVEST the spare time from commuting between home and the office 

Dedicate at least half an hour a day to a passion or a hobby that is different from your job. In this way you will spend regular time doing something that you love and enjoy, which adds a sense of meaningfulness, self-fulfillment and happiness to your day.

       A pro-tip: take a minute and close your eyes. In your mind go to a place where you feel relaxed and free, maybe even think of your younger age. What is the first urge that comes to your mind? Is there something that you always wanted to do, but never found the time? Is there an activity that you really love, but don’t find time to do it? Then start doing it.

10. FIND a way to engage in non-work-related activities with your teammates occasionally

Working from home deprives you from the occasional office distractions when you comment on the news of the day with the buddy next to your desk or with someone from another team, who you just met in the elevator. It might sound counter-intuitive, but those short non-work topic conversations actually help keep your social skills intact and increase your sense of belonging.

       A pro-tip: Take half an hour for a virtual coffee with a team member. You can invite different people every week and use this as a way to get to know your organization better.

I hope the above is useful and you do not let home office make you “lazy”. You have other tips to stay #alwaysFit when working from home please share them with me. 

If you enjoyed this article, do not miss the others from the ACTIVE LIFE section:

• Morning workout at home: 12 reasons to start
• 15 plank variations to strengthen your core
• Stress management: 10 most common sources of stress on the job and what to do
• 7 office exercises to be #alwaysFit
• Changing bad habits into strengths