Self Care in home office – what is it? Why is it necessary?

When we talk about self-care at work, we are referring to the healthy habits you should maintain while working. These are habits like balanced timetables, visual and physical breaks, eating well and maintaining a work routine. Since working from home has become the new normality, we find it very important to talk about this aspect of it.

While working at a regular office, it is very easy to differentiate between home and workplace and to distinguish professional and personal time. No wonder, that one of the biggest strugles of remote working is, that we do not manage to separate our space in the right way. As an outcome, our place of relaxation becomes also our place of work. The following selfe-care habits will help you maintain a motivated mind during work and a relaxed mind after hours.

What are the most important self-care habits?

Taking care of yourself is not as tricky or difficult:

• Respect your schedules. In the office we have a start time and a finish time. At home, this should not be changed. Otherwise our home may lose its relaxing power and become a place we only see as a workplace.
• Establish your workspace. Since the office is now at home, you should try to have a unique space to work. Try to develop your work at a desk with an appropriate chair and away from common areas such as the living room or kitchen. It is also important to have good lighting and ventilation.
• Stick to the office routine. Not only to schedules, but also to meals and breaks. Being at home, the kitchen is a room where we can escape to constantly, and get distracted. Do not forget about breaks, but again – do not let a phone call from the nice neighbor distract you from going back to the work desk.
• Stay in contact with your team. At home, meetings with team members are possible via videoconference. It is important to stay in cordial, assertive and polite contact with other team members to avoid any misunderstandings that possibly wouldn`t have come up if you were in the office.
• Stretch your arms and neck, walk around the room from time to time. 15 minutes of stretching yoga after hours will work like a dream for your muscles!
• Maintain your pre-work routine. That is, take a shower and get dressed even if you stay at home. Your subconscious will involuntarily interpret that you are getting ready to achieve something. As a result, you will be able to concentrate better.
• Enjoy the leisure time after work. If you keep your schedules you will be able to continue your day with family, friends or reading a good book. As you shut down the computer, shut down your thoughts about what has to be done the next day. Other wise your brain will not have time to recharge and process the thoughts you have during the day.
• Do not forget to eat healthy. It is tempting to order takeaway food or to put some pasta into the microvawe. However, remember the old saying “You are what you eat”? In order for your brain to function correctly, have energy and be motivated, you need to have a look at your meals. Try prepping meals or at least making a list of meals a few days ahead, e.g. on the weekends. That way you won`t have to waiste time and energy on thinking about what to eat.

Remote working can be a real opportunity, but only if you plan the daily schedules in a way that separates professional from personal time. Self-care in home office is very important for your mental and physical state, your results as an employee and desire to spend time as a family member or friend. Do not forget about your needs and listen not only to your brain, but also to you body. As you are not running around in the office these days, you probably lack physical activities and don`t t even notice it. A person should walk at least 4,500 steps a day to give the body the least amount of activit it needs to function correctly. So, download a step tracker, and let`s walk!