If you’re a remote worker, chances are you spend a lot of time at your computer. Hunched over, clicking on keys and dealing with fluorescent lights.
If you find you’re tired and exhausted at the end of the day, with no energy and no desire to workout – make the change before it’s too late. You don’t have to feel tired and move with pain.
Here’s 6 steps to move and feel better every day as a remote worker.
Walk 10,000 Steps By Noon
The 10,000 steps number was made up by fitness trackers, but there’s a certain genius in it. It’s not about how much you walk – it’s the fact that hitting this goal before noon is going to make you get out of the house and move – a lot!
10,000 steps by noon forces you to put on your walking shoes, get out of the house, get some sun (and hydrate while you’re at it).
It also may help if you re-organize your calls and meetings to be walking ones so you minimize how much total chair time you have throughout the day.
If you manage to do this by noon everyday, you’ve already won half the battle.
Get a Standing Desk
The benefits of standing desks have been well researched and while you might not be able to do your entire job at a standing desk (some tasks that require fine motor skills may be better done seated), an adjustable desk should allow you to stand for much more of the day than you would otherwise.
A standing desk will help you both with maintaining your posture and fixing your hips so they’re not so impinged throughout the day. This impinging is what typically causes so many office and remote workers this “lower back pain.” The lower back pain they complain about is actually a results of overly tight quadriceps and hip flexors.
Look At Using a Pressure Mat
If your feet are in pain throughout the day – check your shoes and see if you can swap them out for ones that are more comfortable.
On top of that, think about getting rid of the shoes at the desk altogether and using an acupressure to relieve stress on your feet.
This is an awesome way for you to give your feet a mini-massage throughout the day so you can relax and let off some stress while you’re working.
You can grab a simple acupressure mat on Amazon or if you’re really up for some pain, take a look at the gnarly Aku Mat – which looks like it was cooked up in a Russian torture chamber.
Foam Roll For 5 Minutes Every Day
Foam rolling is likely the best thing you can do for yourself throughout the day to “undo” all the damage a normal workday has on a remote worker.
Along with the standing desk, simply 5-10 minutes of rolling out your hips can help unlock them and you can start to see (and feel) the results immediately.
Start with a free tutorials on youtube or a list of stretches and you’ll find the latent lower back pain coming from your mediocre desk chair starts to free up.
Eat Real, Whole, Foods Throughout The Day
Ditch the snack room and focus on whole foods. Whether you eat paleo, vegetarian, or keto, focus on eating real, whole foods. You’ll find you lose the need to snack and even occasional fasting doesn’t seem like such a challenge.
You’ll have more even energy by avoiding the sugar spikes and crashes throughout the day which will keep you focused and productive as you go throughout the day.