Simple Ways To Stay Active When Working From Home

It’s probably been close to a decade since I left my desk based office job. One of my most recent office jobs actually made it quite easy to be active as I was constantly travelling to meet partners.

Ironically though, in that role, I barely found time to eat or exercise.

Being self employed / freelance has involved a lot of time on my laptop or computer, working from home. So nothing much has changed for me, except, there is very little freedom to be had outside of my home.

In previous years, I could hit 10,000 or 20,000 steps in a day but currently, hitting 2,000 is cause for celebration. If I run, or exercise though, that helps a lot. It’s crazy to see what a difference commuting and being out of the home made to our activity levels.

While many of us are now working from home, I updated this article to be relevant not just for desk jobs, but for those who work from their dining table, sofa, bed or desk in the corner of a room.

Here are some simple ways to keep active throughout your working day, when working from home:

1. Set A Reminder On Your Tracker

I feel like most people wear some sort of tracker these days – they don’t have to be expensive. And many trackers – or even mobile phones – now have functions where you can set a reminder to move.

I currently wear a Garmin Vivoactive 4s and it reminds me to move without me even asking! I also have a step goal for each which I think is adjusted automatically.

You can use that reminder to move as a chance to go and get yourself a glass of water / cup of tea which’ll also help to keep you hydrated.

2. Take A Walk (or Run) On Your Lunch Break

I know plenty of people didn’t take a lunch break when working in an office and if you’re working at home it sometimes can be a little more difficult to remember to stop.

Take some time out to go for a short walk – you can even carry out a task at the same time. Post a letter, grab some cooking ingredients or get yourself a decent coffee!

Lunch can be a great time to run too – a 30min session, like couch to 5km – is perfect to get some fresh air and reset your mindset.

3. Movement At Your Desk 

Instinctively, I think we all do some stretches at our desk when our back, neck and shoulders start to feel a little tight. You might experience more discomfort than usual especially if you’re moving less and if you’re sitting in spots you don’t usually.

I put together a few quick and simple stretches you can do at your desk – they’re an easy way to keep your joints mobile and reduce tension. Try them – sometimes you do just need to start small to create a habit and allow it to naturally become a part of your routine. 

How have you been keeping active when working from home?

Elle

This post was originally written as part of a collaboration with Furniture at Work in 2016. I’ve now updated it and made it more valuable and relevant.