How To Protect Your Physical and Mental Health While Working From Home
By: Mia Rosenberg, LCSW
Working from home can be both an advantage and a disadvantage. On one hand, you are able to work freely wherever you want and wear whatever you want! However, on the other hand, it can also lead to feelings of isolation, loneliness, and feeling sedentary. While working from home, it is important to keep up with both your physical and mental health, even though it may feel really hard. Here are 5 tips to help protect both your physical and mental health while working from home:
1: Set time for yourself, EVERYDAY! This is going to be an extremely hard task to do because for a lot of us, when it comes to work or personal time, work usually takes precedent. Especially when working from home, boundaries with work can become blurred regarding when to start and stop your work throughout the day. However, setting aside personal time for yourself everyday can one of the most valuable things that you can do for both your physical and mental health. Whether you take the time before you begin your day to enjoy your coffee, read/watch the news, or exercise, or time you take in the middle of the day to go for a walk, socialize with a friend, meditate, or even just get some fresh air, you are allowing yourself the time that is necessary to recharge your batteries for the day ahead. If it helps, you can even put it in your calendar to remind yourself of the time you set aside for yourself. As a bonus tip, try giving a friend or family member a call while you are on a walk and allow yourself that time to catch up and socialize! This allows you to achieve two goals at the same time.
2: Listen to music: Music has so many benefits on our brains that can help protect both our physical and mental health. If you have the ability, put on some tunes as you are working from home to help ease the mood and relax your mind. Because music can offer so many options in terms of beat and rhythm, you can choose the tune that best suits the mood. For example, if it is a Monday morning, you may want to veer towards a softer, more relaxed playlist, but during the afternoon stretch, your body may be calling for a more upbeat and energetic song to help your mood stay elevated and to help get through the rest of the day. Who knows, your favorite jammer may come on and your legs may start to move! Getting in a quick dance session can be a great release from the work stress that you have been holding onto all day.
3: Take advantage of being home: Taking advantage of working from home can be such an underrated tip. This means using some of your downtime throughout the day to your advantage. For example, if you have an hour lunch break, instead of sitting at your desk and eating lunch, you can use this time to get up and take a walk around your neighborhood. This is a great time to stretch your legs, remove yourself from your computer, and catch up on some of the things you were not able to before the start of the workday. This will help your mind feel recharged and ready to go back to your desk for the afternoon. You can also take advantage of some of that downtime to do some of the things around your home that you have not had a chance to do prior. Utilizing your downtime and taking advantage of being home can help you move around and also give clarity to some of the things you have been wanting to do, but have not yet had the time. This can help you feel accomplished and empowered!
4: Set boundaries: Setting boundaries is one of the most important things you can do for yourself when working from home. Setting boundaries means really putting your foot down to after-hour tasks that do not need to be completed right then and there. When setting boundaries, you are able to separate you time from work time, which will inevitably protect both your mental health and your physical health. As a bonus, it can also feel empowering to set those limits for yourself! Setting boundaries can be an extremely helpful tool when working from home to allow yourself the time to decompress and unwind from a busy day before jumping into your next activity. Also, people really respect when boundaries are set, so make sure you are firm with your boundaries and hold to them!
5. Switch it up: Try not to take yourself too seriously throughout the day! Use this time to enjoy your space and try out different work spaces throughout your home. If there is a day that you are having trouble getting out of bed and your work allows for it, then start your day from bed. Or, you can even take your work outside if you have the space and allow yourself to enjoy an outdoor office for a change. Switching up your space each day can be fun and be a good change of scenery. This can help your body move to different spaces and help your mind enjoy a new place. Giving yourself permission to have fun and finding new spaces while working within the limits of your home can feel exciting and fun. Give it a try!
To learn more about how to protect both your physical and mental health while working from home, feel free to reach out to Mia at mia@upsidertherapy.com or at 646-494-4878 to set up a consultation today.