Many people are continually trying to find that perfect balance between work life and personal life. It’s not easy to be the ideal employee and take care of yourself at the same time. People tend to get busy with obligations and responsibility and their self-care practices fall to the wayside in the process. The irony of it all is that those self-care practices, such as healthy exercise, a healthy diet and a healthy sleep pattern, are what fuel you to take care of all of your work obligations and responsibilities. Finding that perfect balance will come in handy!
Ergonomic Desk Setup
Setting up your desk in an ergonomic way is the first step to being healthier at the office. Posture is one of the first things that’s affected by a desk job. As you continue to sit and use your computer day after day, you begin to slouch and hunch over, causing you to have rounded shoulders and a stiff neck. By using an ergonomic desk chair, you will have the back support, height adjustment and rotation that you need to promote healthy posture.
You should arrange the items on your desk to benefit you as well. To further promote a healthy posture, you can lift your laptop or monitor with a stand to keep it in line with your sight. This will prevent you from having to look up, down or lean forward at your screen, which all contribute to slouching and hunching. Lastly, having your desk supplies, such as your mouse and keyboard, within reach and directly in front of you will prevent overreaching or overextending.
Eye Protection
With the increase of digitally dependent jobs, it’s vital to protect your eyes and mind from the harmful effects associated with digital devices. Digital screens give off blue light wavelengths that can cause physical discomfort after hours of use, referred to as Digital Eye Strain. Digital Eye Strain can cause dry eyes, blurred vision, headaches, irritability, reduced attention span and disrupted sleep patterns, which can affect both your work ethic and personal life. In an attempt to limit the amount of exposure you get throughout the day, you can take frequent breaks from staring at your screen, use f.lux or Night Shift Mode on all of your devices or purchase blue light filtering lenses.
Office Exercise
As digitally dependent jobs increase, so do the number of hours you spend sitting at your desk. Most people spend 8+ hours a day, five days a week sitting at their desks. Sitting all day can cause weight gain, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and fatigue, to name a few. Unfortunately, desk jobs can’t always be avoided in today’s work environment, but you can make an effort to combat the adverse effects that come along with sitting at your desk for prolonged periods. Start with going for 1-2 walks a day, taking the stairs instead of the elevator or just standing up and stretching frequently. If you want to add to this, you can practice some desk exercises that will be sure to get your blood flowing. Getting up and moving throughout your day will reduce your risk of developing a sedentary lifestyle and provide you with more motivation and focus.
Practicing a self-care routine while working 40+ hours a week can be challenging to balance but it is possible! You need to stay on top of it and engrain some healthy practices into your everyday schedule. Adding a few extra exercises to your day-to-day will have you feeling more productive, motivated, focused and healthy before you know it.