There are many ways you can stay active, happy and healthy while working from home.
Here's our 10 top tips for homeworkers
1. Plan
Planning your day and enjoying a routine is a good way to develop a healthy working mindset. Make a habit of going for a daily lunchtime walk, schedule time in your diary for breaks to stretch, move around, and set yourself goals such as having a specific task completed by the end of the working day.
2. Set-up
Make sure your equipment set up at home is right for you. Thinking about your posture and the position of your hands and feet will help prevent back pain and other problems.
The NHS have some excellent advice on this.
3. Stretch
Take regular active breaks from your desk or table and enjoy a stretch when you do. Why not try out some Kettlecise while the kettle boils or try our Strength and Balance exercises? Alternatively, find some desk-based stretching routines, like this one, and set reminders for yourself.
4. Nourish
Eating well and staying hydrated throughout the day is important no matter where you work, but don't make your lunch hour all about lunch. A lunchtime walk is a perfect way to get your daily exercise and rejuvenate your body and mind for the afternoon ahead. If your route has some greenspace, which can reduce stress, even better. If it’s a nice day, pack a lunch and eat al fresco.
5. Connect
Not just to the WiFi but with each other. Stay in touch with your colleagues and wider team using email, phone or online messaging Slack and Whatsapp are great ways of keeping in touch with your colleagues, or you could try holding a Zoom meeting. There’s no need to sit; encourage colleagues to stand while video conferencing. Share pictures of your standing desks or lunchtime walking adventures to inspire others.
6. Move
Think about the opportunities there are to move while working. Go for a walk around your home or garden while taking a work call, move between different rooms of your house if you have a laptop, and schedule regular active breaks. Make use of the stairs at home if you have them by taking a few trips up and down.
7. Smile
Join other colleagues working remotely to have a virtual coffee break or get involved in motivational and fun team times. More and more workplaces - including us - are catering for this as more people work from home. Why not arrange activities, jokes, silly challenges and quizzes for ten minutes at a set time everyday? Follow us on Twitter to see what we're getting up to or read our blog.
8. Block
Avoid unnecessary distractions by keeping home and work separate. Switch your personal mobile onto silent, avoid working in noisy rooms such as the kitchen or living room if you can, and leave errands and chores until the end of the working day.
9. Focus
Working smart and taking advantage of tech that has homeworkers in mind makes collaboration with others easy. Trello is a great tool for organising tasks and collaborating with your colleagues on a project, and Google Docs lets you share documents and files with the rest of your team.
10. Join us
Our Step Count Challenge and our Walk At Work Award are designed to help Scotland's workforce get moving. Have fun and a little healthy competition with colleagues by taking part in the Step Count Challenge, or, celebrate the walking culture you've created in your workplace by registering for the Walk At Work Award.
If your colleagues or employees have just started working from home, share our quick explainer video to keep physical activity on their to-do list.
Star employees
Re-engage Scotland (formerly known as Contact the Elderly) became the first organisation made up entirely of homeworkers to achieve our Walk at Work Award. Read more here.
Extra links and resources
Tips for remote working by SCVO
Risks, legislation and employers’ duties by Healthy Working Lives
Looking after your mental health while working at home by Mental Health UK
Keeping active at home by Paths for All
Working from Home: A Guide to Creating a Healthy and Productive Workspace
Extra help
For help and advice on workplace walking, or for more information on the Walk at Work Award or the Step Count Challenge, just drop us an email.