Posts tagged ideal exercise for homeworkers

Today’s guest post is by Sebastien Powell of MessageBase, a telephone answering and virtual office service that helps any freelancer or small business look like a pro (and was one of the supporters of The BIg Jelly). Seb works from home himself and knows how easy it is to fall into bad habits:

‘There is little doubt that working from home is about as good as it gets; freedom, flexibility and the possibility to build an environment to suit your exact needs are all part of a winning mix. However, like all good things too much can be detrimental. Over the last couple of months, I have been optimising my routine and thought I would share some tips with you.

1.) Stop working at least a couple of hours before going to bed

I was particularly bad at doing this, often working late then going straight to bed. The problem with doing this, is that when you hit the sack, your brain is still whizzing away (must email John tomorrow!) and the result is typically a restless or worse, sleepless night.

2.) Eat properly!

Working from home, you have the immense luxury of being able to prepare some real, nice food, rather than content yourself with a crappy, expensive sandwich from your local cafeteria. Eating good food is important for both your mental and physical wellbeing, so make sure you take full advantage of access to your fridge and kitchen.

3.) Have a siesta

There’s a reason why the Spanish are so efficient. Taking a short 30 minute nap during the day, can help you feel refreshed and reinvigorated, even if you’re just closing your eyes (although make sure you don’t oversleep).

4.) Take regular breaks

This is important from both from a mental and physical perspective. Taking a break allows you to clear your mind and helps prevent ‘sedentary worker syndrome’ (i.e. stiff neck, migraines and the like). On a sunny day like this, take some time out for a short walk outside.

5.) Exercise is important too

Sitting at your desk all day may be tiring mentally, but you also need to think about exerting yourself physically. I try to go for a morning jog on a regular basis, followed by a yoga class on Thursday afternoons and will often go bouldering a couple of evenings a week. You don’t have to wait for the weekend to do some sport!

Whenever you’re doing any of these things and don’t want to be disturbed by clients or suppliers, you can use a phone answering service, to divert your phone calls to a virtual receptionist who will take care of answering and handling your calls for you (so if you’re worried about missing out on important calls, don’t be – there are solutions out there).

Following these simple tips can hopefully help you, as it did me, to find a healthy balance when working from home. Doing so will not only make you feel better but will also enable you to be far more productive; a sensible long-term investment to make.

Remember, working from home is a luxury so make sure you keep it that way.