How do you keep your health in check when your home is your office?

Over the past few years, employees working from home have steadily been increasing in number as advancements in technology have made this arrangement increasing feasible. However, recent events have propelled WFH arrangements into the global spotlight, with millions of people around the world now forced to remain at home due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

It is undeniable that the transition from working in an office to working at home may come off as a challenge, even in normal more normal circumstances. With the Covid-19 pandemic, this transition may seem overwhelming as you now have other matters to be concerned about on top of the usual work stresses. While it is important to get work done, one must be mindful to not neglect your own health- be it mentally or physically. Here are some tips to help you manage your stress and remain productive while working from home.

1. Maintain regular hours
   Come up with a schedule and ensure that you stick to it. Work within your allocated hours but remember to stop after you are done. This is to give your brain time to both work and rest. Its best to stick to a schedule to ensure that we are productive and keep ourselves on task. Then when working hours are up, we can call it a day.
2. Ensure that you have breaks in between
   Just as how you would in an office working environment, do remember to take a break some time. This is extremely important because this resting time allows our brain and body to relax! In light of the COVID-19 situation, since it would be better to stay at home and avoid heading out unless absolutely necessary, some suggestions to do while resting could be catching up with a loved one on the phone or preparing yourself a meal. Keep this in mind, and do not work yourself to the bone for consecutive hours straight without having some breaks in between. Working for long stretches with no breaks has been proven to lead to stress and exhaustion. To prevent that, take breaks to refresh the mind and improve productivity levels.
3. Ensure that you are eating
   Once we start working, we may find ourselves so focused on our work that we struggle to find the time to stop and eat our meals. However, it is important to be aware of your state of hunger. Should we miss our meals or not eat, it may adversely affect your productivity levels and attention span. If need be, perhaps set an alarm on your phone to serve as a reminder to go for your meal breaks.
4. Stay hydrated! Drink plenty of water
   When we are dehydrated, it can lead to us experiencing headaches and fatigue. If you are in the habit of bringing a water bottle to the office to keep on your desk, we too, can do the same at home. If there is a readily available source of water close to you, it is more likely that you will remember to drink it and stay hydrated. Avoid sugary drinks like sodas and fruit juices as this may lead to sugar crash- water is and remains the safest and most reliable option.

As we face these unprecedented times together, always be mindful to take care of your health!

Authored by: MHC