Tips for Working From Home

One of the interesting things about working from home is that you can be incredibly busy all day and, at the same time, barely move. You sit down in the morning, start answering emails, jump on a Zoom, take a few phone calls, get some work done, and suddenly it’s 4:00 in the afternoon. You may have accomplished a tremendous amount professionally, but physically you’ve barely left your chair.

When you work in an office, there are a lot of little movements that happen without even thinking about them. You walk from the parking lot or train, walk down the hallway to speak to someone, go to a meeting, grab lunch, or just get up to see what’s going on somewhere else. When you work from home, a lot of that disappears. Your kitchen may be 15 feet away, your bathroom may be 20 feet away, and every meeting happens on the same computer sitting directly in front of you.

There’s actually a name for all of those little movements we make throughout the day: NEAT — non-exercise activity thermogenesis. Cleveland Clinic describes NEAT as “all the little things you do during the day that keep your body moving” that aren’t technically exercise. Walking around the house, taking the stairs, standing more, doing household chores and even some of the little movements we barely notice can all contribute. As Cleveland Clinic puts it, “every bit counts.” (Cleveland Clinic)

That’s why I think working from home requires us to be much more intentional about our health. Drink water throughout the day. Get up at least once every hour and walk around. Take a five-minute walking break. Do a few squats, push-ups, lunges, or a plank. If you have stairs, use them. Stand or walk around during a phone call instead of sitting. Keep healthy snacks around so when you get hungry, the easiest thing to grab is also something good for you. Take a few minutes during the day to stretch your back, hips, shoulders, and neck.

None of these things sounds particularly dramatic, and that’s really the point. Cleveland Clinic notes that these small movements can add up over time and says that people who move more and sit less tend to see benefits that can include better circulation, focus, mood and energy. Dr. Michael Dakkak also explains, “NEAT helps you burn some extra calories here and there. Over time, that matters.” (Cleveland Clinic)

Of course, none of this replaces actually exercising. Cleveland Clinic specifically points out that NEAT should be part of an overall healthy lifestyle that also includes strength training, cardio and stretching. But if you’re working from home eight or ten hours a day, your health shouldn’t disappear during those hours either. (Cleveland Clinic)

I think sometimes we make health much more complicated than it needs to be. We think if we don’t have 45 minutes or an hour to exercise, there’s no point in doing anything. But there’s a lot of time between doing a workout and doing absolutely nothing. Five minutes counts. Walking around the house counts. Taking the stairs counts. Standing for a phone call instead of sitting counts. The goal is to make movement part of your day rather than something that only happens during your designated exercise time.

Working from home gives us tremendous flexibility. We should use some of that flexibility to take better care of ourselves. Pick one or two things, start doing them consistently, and then build from there. Your work is important, but so is the person doing the work.

Source: Cleveland Clinic, Understanding Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT Exercise). Read the Cleveland Clinic article