Tens of millions of people have a rigorous working schedule, at the end of which they do not have the energy to work on themselves and read for hours. Much like what we’re always told at school, studies have shown that taking a break can actually help people be more productive and find ways to stay healthy. This is because it enables them to rest, recharge, and look at problems from a different perspective.
Taking care of your body is a lot harder than it sounds, which often discourages people from even getting started on their journey to live a healthier lifestyle. As Mark Zuckerberg says, “done is better than perfect,” and most of the time it’s these small things you do that will benefit you the most. There are a lot of little changes you can make to your everyday habits at work, which will help save your waistline and your wallet. After all, who wants to work out after work? That’s what working hours are for.
Incidental Exercise = the Best!
Some people are inadvertently doing exercises in their daily life, which can be among the best ways to stay healthy. It’s still a form of exercise, even though you don’t intend to do it. Some easy ways to exercise more every day include taking the stairs instead of the elevator, getting off a stop or two early on your commute, and walking the rest of the way or popping your head around the proverbial corner to ask a colleague a question instead of sending them an email or ringing them. With a quick chat, you might get your answer more quickly! I would also recommend having standing meetings or introducing walking meetings to ensure you’re not in the same position all day – try to get up and move around a little bit. Don’t keep a large jug of water at your desk, just get up and refill it every time you want a glass of water. This will give you the opportunity to naturally stretch your muscles.
Find Your Circle or Buddy.
A lot of people these days use the time after lunch for productivity and creativity, focusing on how to keep your body healthy. In fact, it can be hard to complete work if you don’t work through lunch as well. The last thing you want to do is look like you’re slacking off because you’re “on the move”. Eating at your desk doesn’t help with productivity & all of those crumbs are just going to get stuck in your keyboard.
Getting people aware of how healthy it is to do short walks and take your lunch break is important, so share the info with your team and managers. You could even send a short, encouraging email to your team, asking them to take some time for themselves in the afternoon or after lunch. It can be as quick as five minutes!
You should try having a weekly lunch-break get-together with your team, where you take a break from working and eat together in another part of the office. While you were away from the office, you’ll find that you will return more refreshed and better connected with your team due to your increased efforts in disconnecting from work.
Make Sure You Have a Jogging Buddy and Keep Some Cheap Gym Shoes on Your Desk.
When you make fitness a routine, it is easier to fit in workouts. Invite one colleague to be your jogging/walking buddy and meet once a week. Working out can be a great feeling and an amazing way to better your mental well-being. Not only does it help you stay fit and healthy, but it’s also a great method of motivation for your team. (The size of this group is important, so it stays manageable. It’s easy to delete invitations as they don’t link to anything else.)
Plan Your Meals and Snacks Carefully.
Healthy eating is easy when you build it into your day. For a healthy option, choose fruit that’s easy to eat on the go like apples and bananas. When I know I won’t bring snacks, I plan ahead and just buy food that is low in calories. As a foodie, I find it hard to resist snacks; the only problem is that I end up eating them all in the first week! Bringing in just what I need for the day works out better. It’s hard to overeat when it doesn’t seem like you have much food at work and that’s an issue with snacks that are packaged to look healthy. We recommend sticking to unsalted nuts, fruit, and packaged food whenever you can. Packaged food often contains lots of salt and sugar, which may be especially harmful to people who are diabetic.
Allow Your Eyes To Rest.
It’s important to take care of your eyes, so try and ensure that you are looking away every couple of minutes. Those who wear contacts, they might find that staring at the screen all day and being in an air-conditioned environment can make their eyes feel tired and irritated by the end of the day. To keep your eyes feeling fresh make a point of blinking often and take regular breaks from staring at the screen. Get up and walk around!
Take care of your health – prevention is always better than a cure! You will be more energized to have you tackle the workday and weekends with these steps.
