Remote working 101
With the ever-increasing need for social distancing and working from home, Glandore, (Ireland’s longest serving and leading provider of serviced offices and coworking spaces) understands the impact this may have on our health and has released top tips on making our newfound working from home lifestyle a healthy one, and avoiding packing on the weight, or you could say the Covid Stones!
Unfortunately, under the new advice from our government to stay at home, our regular means of exercise has effectively taken a hit and with this, it can be difficult to maintain motivation in order to keep routine in place. In a climate where we must stay at home in order to protect ourselves and those around us, our regular moments of movement, like our walks to and from work and the fitness classes we have been a part of for years, are longer an option.
Instead, your ‘commute’ now means walking downstairs from your bedroom to your kitchen or, for those in apartments, walking across the hall. Not only that, but you are always in alarmingly close proximity to the fridge or the snack cupboard, meaning a regular eating schedule of three-square meals a day is starting to look a bit more fluid.
In essence, we might have substituted regular intervals of exercise (planned and incidental) for a significantly more sedentary set-up and are quite possibly eating more than we would in an average day, so it’s not hard to imagine that after a couple of weeks most people will lose muscle mass and see an increase in body fat. Most notably, the harmful fat around the abdomen associated with long-term health issues. Thankfully, we live in a time where working, and working out at home has never been easier and using the following steps, we should be able to incorporate a healthier working out and working from home routine.
Create a Dedicated Workspace
An important part of our routine is having somewhere to work from that is tidy, clear of clutter and noise, just as our office space should be. Allow yourself an area that is free from the distraction of other people, the TV, and external noise. This will help you stay present and productive. Share your workspace set-up with your team and ask them for any tips or tricks on how you can improve it. Let them know that you are contactable throughout the day while you are in this area.
Structure Your Day
If possible, stick to the same schedule you would have had from your place of work. Get up early and get ahead of the game, take your breaks and eat as you would normally in the office. Work to the same schedule you would with meetings and calls, where possible. Keeping to your usual routine will help maintain productivity and ease the changes of working from home.
Communicate with Your Peers Regularly
Communication is essential to stay connected with your team while you are not together in one space. Open a channel of communication for the whole team to use i.e. a group text chat or regular video and conference calls. Using visual prompts for Teams, Slack or Google Drive and sharing pictures throughout the day helps break up text heavy work and keeps things interesting and colleagues engaged.
Working Out at Home
It is important that you make time for some degree of exercise while you are working from home. If your first thought is that you may not have enough space for a workout, think again. The amount of space needed in a yoga, pilates, dance or gym workout is usually the size of a single exercise mat with room to have your arms spread out your sides.
Another worry people have regarding working out from home is whether they have the appropriate equipment to hand. Fortunately, there is a wealth of step-by-step videos online to guide you through no equipment, body-weight workout classes. All you will need is a towel, a bottle of water and some will-power.
Get Out and Get Active
Fresh air and exercise are key to a productive day so it is imperative that you get in your steps where you can. Try using your lunch hour to take a 30-minute walk around the block without music or a phone to distract you. Work on your breathing techniques and use this time for headspace. (Remember to observe the 2km rule for exercise, you can check that here https://2kmfromhome.com/)
There’s no doubt that this is a surreal time, where for most of us regularly scheduled programming is being replaced with improvisation and creativity. Now is the time to look on the bright side and use this as an opportunity to get moving for your heart and for your head.
The Team at Glandore are taking any and every step required to keep their staff, member businesses and employees safe. They are still very much open for business and trying their best to assist all members and business partners as much as possible over the coming months. Should you wish to speak to a member of the team or make an enquiry regarding office space please email the Sales Team at info@glandore.ie. They will continue to monitor the situation and correspondence from the HSE and keep all of their buildings safe for the businesses they house.