Everyone’s adjusting to the new normal at work and it’s perfectly okay to find yourself in a situation where your healthy work habits have become a little messy. Whether you’re working from home or back in the office, creating healthy habits around your work can be tricky, especially if you feel like you’re starting from scratch again. We’ve come up with some easy pointers to help you feel a bit less messy in your new normal, whatever that looks like.
Dress The Part
If you’re working from home, it can be easy to reach for the comfortable clothes in the morning but it’s likely not to have a positive impact on your productivity. Even if you’re going into the office, taking a little more time to get ready and make yourself feel ready for the day can make such a difference, not only to your productivity but also to your confidence.
Don’t Miss Breakfast
Breakfast has been dubbed ‘the most important meal of the day’ countless times but skipping breakfast can make a huge difference to your morning. Eating first thing kickstarts your metabolism and gives your body and brain fuel from the beginning of the day. If you’re the type of person who doesn’t like to eat on a morning, maybe try a smoothie or a fresh juice, you’re still getting nutrients and calories that your body needs to start your day.
Get Up and Out
If you sit down for long periods of time at work, make sure you stand up and/or have a walk around every so often. Being seated and stationary for prolonged durations can create a multitude of issues but getting up and out can get your blood flowing around the body. This means that more oxygen will be finding its way to your vital organs, helping with your digestion and of course, your cognitive processes like focus and creativity which we need at work.
Sometimes we need to take a step back from the task to be able to see it with fresh eyes. Getting outside can help relieve some of the blocks we face with our tasks at work.
Hard Bits First
Tackling the tasks you don’t like first and getting them out of the way could be the best thing you do for your day, especially if you’re the type of person who works best before lunchtime. Allowing for a more enjoyable afternoon means you will likely feel much refreshed and ready for the next day at work as well as having a more enjoyable evening. Take note of the patterns in your energy levels and productivity throughout the day and use this to your advantage.
Switch Up Your Lunch
Whether it’s bringing something new in for lunch, treating yourself to a fancy salad from the bistro down the street on Wednesdays or just using your lunch break to read your new book in the local park. Using your lunch break to add a little excitement can really break up the day and allow for some time to yourself. Maybe meeting a friend or doing a spin class at the gym is something you always want to do but never feel you have the time for yourself. Not only can you use this time smarter but you will feel much more refreshed and ready for the afternoon at work when you come back.
