Working remote is the thing. There’s nothing like rolling out of bed and pounding out a day’s work while still in your pajamas. No office politics, no commute, no dry-cleaning bill, what could go wrong?
Just a few things. Your routine is completely disrupted. There’s a certain discipline about showing up to work every day and looking sharp. When do you go to the gym? On your way home from work, or on the way there. Now you don’t go to work, so you don’t go to the gym. And wasn’t it closed anyway for Covid? So you got out of the habit.
And you got into the habit of snacking all day because you’re home all day and the food is right there. Don’t even go near the scale.
This may not turn out the way you wanted. Let’s make a plan so your remote work doesn’t spiral into a disaster.
- Keep moving. You just saved all that commute time. That makes for a new time window for exercise that you may not have had before. Since people can’t see you while you’re working, you could be on a treadmill while you work. Or sitting on one of those exercise balls instead of a chair. Not all day, but once in a while. Which leads to….
- Turn off your camera. If you’re on a video call, maybe they don’t need to see you and you keep moving while you’re on that call.
- Find a buddy. If you need a little encouragement to get out for a walk in January, connect with a like-minded buddy.
- Get out of Dodge. Or at least get out of your living room. Get dressed, go out and join the real world before moss starts to grow on you.
- Think of food as fuel. Watch the snacking. Be deliberate. Perhaps set aside hours where snacking is not allowed. Place barriers between you and the food. Maybe those barriers are psychological but they could be physical too. But the good stuff on a high shelf so it’s inconvenient to access so you won’t just grab something as you walk past.
- Escape when necessary. Maybe your spouse is working from home. Maybe that’s great, but maybe it isn’t. If it’s getting a little crowded, alter your schedule. Be an early riser getting up ahead of everyone else so you can have the house to yourself while everyone else is still sleeping. Or become a night owl if everyone is already an early riser.
- Get out of your pajamas. It’s hard to feel like a super-power when you look like a slouch. Get dressed enough so that you’re ready to go out spontaneously. It doesn’t have to be what you wore to the office, but it should be something that if you decided to go grocery shopping, you wouldn’t have to change clothes first.
- Be in tune to yourself. This list is designed to get you thinking. Remote work can be a blessing, but there are pitfalls. Those pitfalls could be unique to you. We may have hit upon some potential problems but missed others. Be thoughtful and deliberate about how you conduct your remote work and don’t allow bad habits to develop.
Need a little space for your home office? Consider Catalina Crossing in Madison.
Photo by pexels