Working from home has its pros and cons like with anything. When I started working from home I knew I had to learn and build habits to be more intentional with creating a healthy lifestyle. Sometimes it can all seem overwhelming with all the other things going on in life. Add in the comforts of home, all the food options available in the pantry, and a new norm of not having to physically leave the house for work. There are habits I had to build into my daily routine to create a healthier life for myself while working from home. So I’m here to help you break down these healthy habits, hopefully making it feel more manageable and something we can accomplish together.
My hope is that you take this list and slowly work through building little healthy habits each day. I’ve even provided a few tips and tricks to make it more manageable. Please use the table of contents to jump around to the areas that you want to start with or feel you could benefit from. Without further adieu here are some simple habits to help you build a healthier life while working from home.
- Healthy Diet
- Meal Planning
- Quality Snacks
- Mindfulness
- Water
- Measure it
- Flavour
- Reminders
- Get Moving
- Your choice
- Time of day
- Duration
- Vitamins
- Keep em’ where you see em’
- Same time every day
- Travel container
- Manage your stress
- B-complex
- Creativity
- Laugh
- Screentime
- Night-mode
- Blue light glasses
- New Hobby
- Sleep
- No screens
- Routine
- Schedule
- Relax
Healthy Habit 1: Healthy Diet
What goes into your body is super important to fuel your body for everything you need to get done in a day. What goes in is what your body will use for energy and affect how your body feels. If you aren’t providing your body with proper nutrients and real food your body won’t be able to do all it is capable of.
Meal Planning
While working from home what I have found helpful in building healthy food habits is planning out my meals. If I know what we will be eating throughout the week there is less chance I will get to the end of the workday and want to call for take-out because I am too tired to think of something to cook.
Healthy Habit Tip: have a meal plan idea bank so you have quick access to those ideas when completing your meal plan weekly
Quality snacks
When hunger strikes it seems anything goes. I don’t know about you, but I get real hangry and my husband will attest to this. So I’ve learned I need to have good quality, high-protein snacks on hand. If you have healthy snack options that are easy and quick to grab you’ll be less tempted to something that will give you a quick jolt of energy. Some that I keep in my purse or at my desk include a nut mixture, granola bars, or these delicious protein snack bars with 9 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber.
Mindfulness
To me, being mindful of what you are putting into your body means: making sure to take note if you are hungry or if you just haven’t had enough water. Am I eating out of habit? Is the food I’m choosing real food? How does this food make me feel after I’ve finished eating it – bloated? Gassy? Energized? Tired? Listening to our bodies is a skill that needs to be developed. Try listening to those nudges of what it wants and needs before it becomes a screaming pain. Keep a food journal if it helps to organize what you eat and how it makes you feel. A food journal isn’t to make you feel bad about what you are eating but to learn to listen to what your body is saying.
Healthy Habit 2: Water
High-quality H2O. On average our bodies are made up of 60% water!1 Which I’m sure many of us have heard throughout our lives but how many of us actually make a point to daily replenish all the water our bodies use to function? I have a friend who says her favourite drink is water. I used to laugh when I heard her say this but if you think about it she just understands how critical water is to her health. So how do we build the habit of drinking enough water throughout the day?
Measure it out
Originally I was using a measuring cup and filling that twice a day to keep track. But then I needed the measuring cup when baking and cooking dinner. So you could go pick yourself up an extra one at a local thrift shop. I had a large 1L mason jar on hand that does the trick. You could also go all out and get yourself a water bottle that has measurements on the side so you can track your progress throughout the day.
Add flavour
For a little flavour add real fruit to it. Personally, I am not into that squeezable stuff, but you could go that route as well. This can be so refreshing and subtly mixes up the flavours if you get bored with drinking water all day.
Set Reminders
Set reminders to drink throughout the day. Sometimes I get so lost in my work that I forget to get up and walk around. So it’s not a bad idea to set a timer to drink some water and get up and walk away from the desk for a few mins. It’ll be good for your hydration, body, eyes, and mind.
Healthy Habit 3: Exercise – Get up and move
This can be a difficult one to do consistently. You finish a long day of work, then there’s cooking, cleaning, and arrands…who wants to add exercise to this list? It is hard work and takes some dedication to build the habit but you only get one body to live in and your health is worth investing in. Exercising doesn’t have to be big and sweaty all the time, even if you just start out by going for a walk every day. Personally, I try and do this as much as I can as I find it really does help energize me for the rest of the day. To learn more about how to improve your energy naturally check out this post It is so good to get your joints moving, increase blood flow, and I find I feel more energized and awake when I exercise regularly.
Find the exercise that works for you
Finding an exercise that you enjoy will make all the difference. For some, this means heading to the gym to get in the mindset of working out. Others would prefer to exercise in the comfort of their home or if little kids are in the picture maybe nap-time is the only time you have. There are so many styles of free workouts on youtube, I challenge you to find one that works for you. I’ve even seen quiet no jumping workouts while the kids are down for a nap.
Personally, I have fallen in love with my mini trampoline. It’s fun, quick, and an effective workout. And because I enjoy it I find I make more of an effort to rebound at least 3 times a week. This is something I can do as a little work break as well which energizes me in the afternoon when I start to feel my energy drain.
Find the time of day that works for you
In order to build this habit, you may have to literally write it in your calendar, make a note on your google calendar, set a reminder for yourself, or maybe even do all 3! To determine when works best for you, try out a few different times and see how you feel at the end of each day. Working out in the evening you may find keeps you up at night. Or maybe working out at lunch is too inconvenient cause you don’t want to go back to the office all sweaty. Find a time that suits your schedule and stick to it. Something is better than nothing, build the habit and see where it takes you.
With working from home I have found I am able to build in times to stretch or do a quick rebound as a work break throughout the day. This helps keep me focused and energized.
Start with a short workout
I have found starting with a short amount of time doesn’t seem as daunting and I can motivate myself to get moving for at least a 15-minute workout. This could be cardio, stretching, strength training, or even a walk outside. Then once you start the habit of 10 or 15 minutes a day maybe work it up to 20 minutes a day and see how that feels. Youtube is great for finding short workouts.
Healthy Habit 4: Vitamins
Multiple scientific studies show that many fruits, vegetables, and grains grown today carry less protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, riboflavin, and vitamin C than those that were grown decades ago.2 So even with a healthy diet sometimes it’s hard to get all the nutrients your body needs each and every day. I take vitamins to help fortify my diet and fill in nutrient gaps. If you’d like to read more check out Are Vitamins Necessary if I eat a healthy diet? Lifestyle, family history, diet, sleep, and exercise are all different for each of us so that is why it is good to get a personalized supplement plan. In order to stay in the habit of taking my vitamins every day I find it helps to keep them where I see them, take them at the same time every day, and grab a travel vitamin container.
Keep them on the counter or where you can see them
Personally, I have my vitamins out on a little shelf in my kitchen so that after I have my breakfast I see them every morning and it serves as a reminder to take my vitamins. If you are just starting to take vitamins and you put them away in a cupboard, like the age-old saying “out of sight, out of mind” it might be hard for you to remember to take them every day. So I would suggest until you build the habit keep them out on a shelf or counter where you will see them.
Take them at the same time every day to help remind you
I have always taken my vitamins after I eat breakfast. This is the easiest time for me to remember, and on the weekends it’s a little easier cause in case we are out running errands during the day. I know some people don’t eat breakfast or just have a coffee. If you are one of those people you will want to take your vitamins with lunch. Vitamins need to be taken with food to help with the absorption of nutrients.
Get a travel vitamin container for when you are out of the house
Truly you can use any small container that will fit in your purse or luggage. If you are leaving for a few days it is much nicer to only take the vitamins you will need rather than taking multiple bottles. You can get travel vitamin cases at any dollar store. I have found this great vitamin strip that has all my daily vitamins in it, super easy to just break off the number of strips I need for when I travel. Check it out here
Healthy Habit 5: Manage your Stress
We can’t escape it, there always seems to be something whether it is big or small. We are pulled in many different directions throughout the day: work, family, kids, bills, getting ready for the holidays the list goes on. Something my family has always said like a mantra is “this too shall pass”. Sometimes just taking a deep breath and repeating that to myself is enough, other times I need to remove myself and take time to process or journal. When we are stressed our body’s immune system isn’t able to fight off sickness as effectively.3 So it is important for our health to manage our stress throughout the day. Some things I have found work for me are taking specific vitamins, using my creativity, and finding something to laugh about.
B-complex
B-complex really helps with managing stress. My dad said when he was staying home with us kids and my mom would come home from work she could always tell the days he had taken B-complex and the days he hadn’t. I keep this one at my desk in my home office and take it mid-afternoon to manage stress and energy levels. When your body is stressed it also uses up this vitamin a lot more quickly.
Get those creative juices flowing
Try doing something creative. Studies have shown that writing can help people manage their negative emotions in a productive way.4 As we get older it seems the opportunities to create, explore, and innovate seem to get pushed out of our schedule. This could be doing a craft, working on a hobby you pushed to the back burner, or journaling your thoughts. Find what works for you and immerse yourself in that activity to relax and de-stress. Plus it can be just plain fun to create, craft, build, and make a mess! The choice is yours, have fun with it!
Laugh a little
Who doesn’t enjoy a good laugh? Laughing can stimulate many organs, activate and relieve your stress hormone, can stimulate circulation, and aid muscle relaxation.5 Watch a couple reels/videos on social media, or watch a skit from a favourite comedian (John Pinnet or Lee Evans are my favs). Make sure you make time to spend time with friends. It is so nice to spend time with those people in your life that just have a way of making you laugh so hard you cry. Get some good belly laughs going to help melt the stress away.
Healthy Habit Tip: Try keeping a journal to track when you feel stressed and how different activities help you relieve stress. This will help build the habit of being mindful and learning more about yourself.
Healthy Habit 6: Screentime
I spend all day in front of a computer for my job. Screens are hard on the eyes but sometimes you can’t get away from them. So what are you supposed to do, quit your job? No…but eye health is definitely something worth investing in. Here are a few things I have done to manage eye health with a day job that involves sitting in front of a screen for 8 hours a day.
Night-mode
See if your phone has a setting to turn down the brightness or turn to night mode. I keep night mode on all day long, I find it is easier on my eyes. You could do this with all your devices if the option is there. Personally, I have done this with both my work and personal laptop settings and it makes all the difference.
Blue light glasses
Rock some blue light glasses during your workday to help cut down the amount of blue light. If you wear glasses your lens may already have this feature.
Try a new Hobby
Find a hobby that doesn’t include a screen. 3 years ago I taught myself to crochet using youtube so some screen time was involved but now it gives me something to do that doesn’t include sitting in front of the tv for hours. Bonus, it is quite calming and helps relieve stress *as long as the yarn doesn’t get tangled*
Take breaks
Working from home in a home office there are fewer reasons to get up and move around. Typically the printer is within reach, we aren’t getting up to ask colleagues questions or chat it’s all done through email now. So setting a timer to look away from the computer screen every 20 mins for 20 seconds helps reduce eye fatigue and strain. Not to mention getting out of the chair every couple hours is a good idea as well.
Healthy Habit Tip: For more info on eye health, check out my other post on How to take care of your eyes
Healthy Habit 7: Sleep
Getting a good night’s sleep can help improve your mood, improve your immune system, and increase your productivity and memory during waking hours. While you are sleeping this is prime time for your body to heal and repair itself. In order to build the habit of good sleep try these tips to build a healthy sleep schedule. A good book I read on this is The Ripple Effect by Greg Wells. He talks about building yourself a sleep cave and goes into the benefits sleep has on our health, creativity, and productivity.6
No screens before bed
This is one that I struggle with because our culture is so connected to our phones. We are always on them with social media, email, news, the list goes on. There always seems to be a reason to check something on our phones. But the blue light from the screen is tough on the eyes and the stimulant from it doesn’t help when your body is trying to wind down for sleep. If you can, shut the phone off an hour before you go to sleep. If that doesn’t seem like it’ll work, start with 30 minutes or start with 20 minutes, start somewhere, and work up.
Create a bedtime routine
Creating a bedtime routine will help your body will get used to the same habits each evening and know to prepare for sleep. It’s like building up muscle memory so that when you do certain activities your body knows it’s time to start getting ready for bed. Try taking 20 minutes or so just to unwind. Read a fictional book, work on a relaxing hobby, meditate, or do some calm stretching. Just take 15-20 minutes as part of your bedtime routine to calm your mind and nervous system and relax.
Create a bedtime schedule
Creating a bedtime schedule can sound like being a kid again. Going to bed at the same time each night and waking up at the same time each morning helps your body build a routine and structure and know what to expect. As always it’s important to listen to when your body naturally wants to shut down for the night. You will notice you get colder and you start to get drowsy. You want to be ready for bed when this happens.
Healthy Habit Tip: Calcium and magnesium before bed can also help relax your muscles.7
What habit are you going to try first?
So there you have it, my tips and tricks for building habits for a healthier life while working from home. I hope you benefit from these habits and please be gracious and patient with yourself. Forming new habits is hard and it is always best to start small, making incremental changes. That way the new habits are more likely to stick. If you change too much at once you may get overwhelmed and fall back to old comfortable habits. So please bookmark or save this post. Come back to it when you are ready to take on each new habit. I hope these simple healthy habits I’ve laid out will help you build the healthier life you long for.
Healthy Habit Tip: When building new habits start with small bite-sized changes. That way the new healthy habits you are starting will build momentum and are more likely to stick.
And just for you for reading all the way to the bottom, if you’d like to take your health journey to the next level and determine specifically what YOUR body needs based on your goals, diet, and lifestyle check out this Free Health Assessment. Click the button below…
*The information in this article is for educational use only, not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
3 Prescription for Nutritional Healing: Fifth Edition – Phyllis A. Balch, CNC Revised and Updated by Stacey Bell, DSC
5 https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relief/art-20044456
6 The Ripple Effect: Sleep Better, Eat Better, Move Better, Think Better – Greg Wells PH. D
