Now that we’ve entered a work from home (WFH) explosion, a lot of people are experiencing the wonders of a home office for the first time. Ditching a daily commute feels amazing. Being able to eat lunch at home is often cheaper and healthier. But while there’s so much to enjoy, working from home has its pitfalls, too.
It’s easy to lose track of yourself, and many people struggle to stay fit and in peak health when they make the transition. You don’t have to be a fitness guru to make the most out of working from home. Instead, six simple self-care tips can ensure that your WFH experience is positive.
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1. Invest in ergonomics
Ergonomics is the study of how your workspace and position affect your ability to work. When it comes to a remote office, the practice will mostly look at your setup and how it affects your health. Now, you don’t need to invest in having a professional come to inspect your office and give you tips. That’s not the point here. Instead, learn the basics of ergonomics, and invest in office equipment that lives up to the standards.
Setting up an ergonomic workstation will solve problems of repetitive stress—such as neck strain, sore wrists, and numb fingers. The ergonomics will help you get your desk and chair at the right height, as well as good positioning when you work at the computer. To get you started, the Mayo Clinic has a good overview of desk ergonomics .
2. Focus on motion
When working from home, it’s easy to stay at your desk all day long. When you’re done, you’ll likely feel tired and out of it, so you might move to the couch. There’s no need to be too hard on yourself. This happens to just about everyone. The key to overcoming a sedentary lifestyle is to make motion a mandatory part of your day.
The key is to move around when you take a break. Do a mini workout (a single set of push ups will do wonders). Go pull some weeds in your (vaccinated) grandma’s yard. Do something that makes you move every break. If this is routine, then when you’re done working, you’ll feel a little fresher, and it will be easier to find the energy to get some quality exercise—which you already know is important.
You can go even further and start your day with a workout (which is definitely not feasible for everyone). However, this will put you in a movement mentality from the start of your day and give you a healthy shot of endorphins to get you through work. Energy begets energy. But you already knew that.
3. Create separation from work
If at all possible, your home office should be segregated and used for work only. If that isn’t possible, you need to find a way to create separation from your work and workstation. The easiest method is to seer into a hobby or something that you enjoy that clearly isn’t related to your job. It’s also important that this hobby is done away from the physical space where you work.
Your mental separation can be as simple as watching your latest Netflix obsession at the end of the day. It can be as adventurous as climbing a mountain or as enjoyable as a 5 o’clock martini. What matters is that it very clearly isn’t work, that it is something you enjoy, and that you do it to get out of the work mindset.
4. Socialize
For some of you reading this, socializing is a given and nothing is going to take that away from you. For people on the far end of the introvert spectrum, working from home feels like a dream. Despite that, everyone needs social interaction; it’s human nature. It’s important to find a way to connect with people on a regular basis because the inevitable loneliness of working from home can be destructive.
To get ahead of that, make regular plans with friends and/or family. Reach out to coworkers and friends. At a minimum, have a remote game night or meet for virtual drinks. Go volunteer at a local animal shelter. Join a masked outdoor workout class. Whatever it takes, make sure that social interaction remains part of your routine.
5. Be groomed and ready at all times
Just because you’re working from home doesn’t mean that your grooming routine should fall by the wayside. It’s like when you have a lull in your lovelife: you still want to be in the dating mindset by wearing good underwear and flossing your teeth on the daily. It’s the same with self-care while working from home.
Keeping up with your regularly scheduled grooming sesh is easy when you have one kit for everything. Check out The Performance Package from Manscaped™. It gives you all of the tools you need to look and feel your very best—perfect for all of those upcoming Zoom meetings you’ve got on the calendar. And now you can get 20% off and free shipping at manscaped.com/dribbble.
6. Routine is everything
The most put-together person in the world can easily fall apart when transitioning into working from home. It’s a crazy impact, but a lot of things we do are because of societal pressure. When you don’t leave the house, that pressure is gone. People working from home regularly miss showers and don’t brush their teeth as often. They struggle with all kinds of daily routines, and this happens to absolutely everyone at some point.
You can prevent this problem with a proactive approach. Have a solid work schedule, and that applies to more than when you clock in. Make sure you get up early enough to get ready for work. Whatever you would have done before going out to an office should be done before you go to your home office. This can include breakfast, a morning workout, reading the news, getting dressed (this one is monumental) and morning hygiene. If you stick to your schedule, you’ll avoid falling down this WFH rabbit hole and you can make the most of the experience.
Self-care is the key to WFH success
Working from home can be amazing, as long as you take the time and care for yourself that you will need. And with these tips, you have no excuses not to take care of yourself.
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About Manscaped™ — Founded by Paul Tran in 2016, San Diego, California-based Manscaped™ is the global leader in men’s grooming and hygiene below-the-waist. The product range includes only the best tools, formulations, and accessories for a simple, effective, and elevated male grooming routine. Manscaped offers a one-stop-shop at manscaped.com and direct-to-consumer shipping in more than 30 countries. For more information, visit the website or follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, and Triller.
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