How To Stay Healthy Working From Home ⋆ Holistic Lifestyle Guide

With more people working from home, a common question has come up – how do you get more exercise and avoid eating too much when you are at home full-time? I myself struggle with this sometimes! But don’t worry, it is possible to improve your physical health even while working from home.

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Here are 7 areas to focus on to stay healthy working from home.

Table of Contents

Stay Active and Stretch Regularly

One of the best things you can do when you work from home is to stay active. Even if you sit at a desk or work on the couch with your laptop all day, there are still plenty of opportunities to move your body. Make it a goal to move more throughout the day, not only with daily exercise, but getting up from your day and stretching more often.

Start your day with a gentle workout session. In the morning, you can boost your energy and move your body with a gentle form of exercise. Yoga is great for the morning, and a short walk would also be perfect.

Going for a walk will get your blood moving and give you that morning sunlight exposure that you need to keep your sleep cycle optimized. Walking is the gentlest form of exercise, and the easiest to do. You can walk your dogs a little further than you normally would, go on a family walk around the neighborhood after dinner, or walk to run errands if it’s close enough to your house instead of driving.

Add in other forms of exercise. What else do you enjoy doing? Sometimes dancing might be the only thing you are motivated to do. This is my go-to. My favorite songs never fail to get me moving. I have also been hooping (yes, with a hula hoop!) this summer so that is another thing that I never procrastinate on.

So find more forms of exercise that will motivate you and I promise it won’t feel like exercise!

Nutrition While Working from Home

Another pitfall that people often fall into when working from home is snacking or indulging in treats all day. If you have found that your nutrition is falling behind from working near your kitchen all day, here are some tips that can help.

Have healthy snacks on hand. If you tend to reach for chips or candy often, keep healthier snacks within your reach. Have fruit or nuts on your desk, keep granola bars on the counter, make sure your fresh fruit and veggies are visible, instead of a box of donuts on the counter.

Do meal planning and prepping ahead of time This does not just have to be for bringing lunch to work. The more you have prepared at home, the less tempted you will be to order food delivery or go out to eat. I have an article on how to do meal planning for beginners along with some links to my meal planners on Etsy.

Have designated kitchen times. A common trap when working from home is feeling like you can walk into the kitchen at any time and eat something. To prevent this, have designated kitchen and meal times just like you would if you worked in an office.

This is much easier if you have a home office. It’s a bit harder for people like me who don’t have an office and use their kitchen counter as a desktop. But I get so enveloped in my work that sometimes I forget I’m so close to all my food!

Developing Daily Routines of Healthier Habits

Staying healthy while working from home isn’t about being on a diet or trying to be restrictive. It is about balance, which starts with developing some healthy habits.

Habits don’t have to feel like a chore or something you are forcing to do. It is very small changes in your day that make the difference. You can change your routines in order to be healthier at home.

Don’t worry about having a perfect routine or one that you get 100% right every day. Routines are simply a collection of activities you do around the same time each day, usually morning and night.

Everything in your routine should serve some kind of purpose and be something you want to get done in the morning, or that will help you start your day on the right foot.

Daily routines are especially important if you work from home because you need some structure. Without a boss looking over your shoulder or co-workers to be accountable to, it requires a lot more self-motivation. This also includes your health journey while working from home.

I am a huge advocate of daily routines so of course I also have printable daily routine planners in my Etsy shop. Also check out this article on how to create a daily routine but still have spontaneity in your life.

Finding Your Health Motivation

What is the reason you want to be healthier while working from home? This is where you can start, and will help with not just your health, but your happiness when you are at home working all day.

Make a list of everything that is motivating you to be healthier, starting with your WHY. Answer this question in your journal or in a notebook: “Why do you want to be healthier while working from home?”

This is important, because it helps you understand yourself a little more, and find what is going to motivate you the most. There is no wrong answer here, except one where you aren’t being honest with yourself.

Take Regular Breaks

Make sure you have a balanced work schedule throughout the day, including taking enough breaks. Think of your work-from-home schedule just like a schedule if you were in a job somewhere else.

This includes a lunch break and a few other breaks spaced apart by a few hours. If you would get up every hour to move and stretch your body in the office, then you should be doing that now as well.

Do desk stretches. There are stretches you can do while sitting down or standing. These give you the opportunity to look somewhere other than your computer screen, stretch your body, and hopefully stand up to stretch out your legs as well.

Make adjustments to your work area. Do you feel like your neck is stiff or back is hurting? You may be sitting incorrectly. Check the ergonomics of your workstation, whether you are working at a desk or your kitchen table.

Make Environmental Changes

The environment where you work at home can also make a big difference in your health and wellbeing. Here are some things you can change in your environment for your health.

Make sure your workspace is set up for focus and productivity, including a desk or table that is comfortable, all the accessories you need to get work done, proper lighting, and a way to cancel out noise or distractions.

It is also good to have healthy resources available to you at home. This might be nutritious food and snacks, home workout accessories, or just some house plants in your office to get you in the healthy mindset.

Taking a break at home is a little different from a traditional workplace, since you are already in your relaxing place. This is why having a designated workspace AND a designated place to take your breaks is so essential.

Work-Life Balance

Everyone needs a good work-life balance, whether you work from home or out of the home. But it tends to be a little more complicated when your home is also your office.

One of the best things you can do for your work-life balance when you work from home is to have a schedule that tells you when you start work, and when you stop. Avoid bringing your laptop to the couch or your bed to get work done before or after your work day is meant to begin.

This small change in addition to having a separate workspace will make a big difference in your work-life balance.

In Summary

I’ve summed up these tips in an image which you can print out, laminate, and keep near your work station. You won’t remember to do them unless they are in the forefront of your mind (and near where you regularly look!)