Working at a desk job is not a natural thing to do. No part of it is natural from sitting in a chair all day in front of artificial lighting while breathing air pumped through a system and being exposed to all sorts of unhealthy, nasty chemicals. Despite all of these unnatural things, you can still make your desk job a place where you physically and mentally cultivate your health.
Don’t let your desk job make you feel like you’re living an unhealthy lifestyle. Here are some things that you can do to build healthy habits while you work your desk job.
Tackle Your Commute in a Healthier Way
If you drive your car to work every day, consider whether that is the only way that you have to get to work or not. It would be healthier in the long run for you to walk, bike, take the bus, or even carpool with a co-worker than it would be to drive your own vehicle.
While the health benefits to walking and biking to work are obvious, both carpooling and using any means of public transportation would be healthier for the air around you. Less carbon dioxide in the atmosphere means that everyone can breathe a little bit easier and for that live healthier lives.
Start Packing Your Own Lunches and Snacks
One of the easiest things that you can do to start implementing healthy habits while at work would be to start packing your own lunches and snacks rather than relying on often unhealthy break room foods. While this may not be an option if you are of particularly low income, it can help you practice making better food choices that more positively affect your health.
Doing this can not only be healthier for you but also healthier for the planet. As long as you use reusable bags, water bottles, and utensils, you can reduce your carbon emissions significantly. That way, you breathe cleaner air outside and have better overall lung health that way as well.
Make Sure You’re Staying Hydrated
It’s fine to start out with a cup of coffee in the morning, but make sure that that is not the only thing that you are drinking throughout the day. Rather than reaching for any sugary soda or fruit juice, be sure to reach for a reusable water bottle full of water.
If you need some caffeine or want something with flavor, consider some of the healthy water additives that are in grocery stores as well as fruit and herb infusions that you can have with your water.
Put the Chair Aside for A Moment
Standing or using a medicine ball rather than sitting in a desk chair at your desk is better for balance, blood flow, and muscle usage. Doing such requires you to engage muscles and work your body in a different way than traditionally sitting in a chair ever would.
Standing instead of sitting helps you burn more calories and offers a change from monotony as well as helping you engage parts of your body that you may only engage when you walk or work out. This way, you can help your blood flow and boost your metabolism while still accomplishing the same amount of work that you need to do in a day.
Change Your Approach to Productivity
One thing that you can do to better your mental health at work is to increase your productivity. When you produce more output, you feel better about your job, yourself, and your own skills. It’s a confidence boost to know that the quarterly report was better because you added a new account, for instance.
If you feel as though you are having difficulty achieving your maximum potential, then consider asking for the help of a career performance coach in order to help you be your best self at work. They can help you with everything that you struggle with as well as maintain your strong suits, maximizing potential to the fullest.
Take Moments Throughout the Day to De-Stress
De-stressing can help you be more productive and feel better about yourself in your job and in life in general. Even though you may feel like you are wasting time, know that after you take a brain break, the work that you put out will be exponentially better. The work that you do on a tired brain is no use to anyone, and certainly not to you, your career, or your company.
Here are some things that you can do to take a quick break and de-stress:
- Play a quick online puzzle game
- Stand and stretch at your desk, focusing on breathing deeply and grounding yourself
- Closing your eyes and muttering a prayer, mantra, or other grounding words
- Look at artworks online without thinking
- Play with a stress ball, fidget spinner, fidget cube, or another gadget
If Your Job Itself is Unhealthy, Consider Finding a New One
If your job doesn’t allow you to live your life to the fullest extent, then you should consider a change in your career. Life is too short to be held back from living in the healthiest possible way by some mere corporate entity, so you should be with someone that can help you get everything that you want out of life and more.
Depending on your profession, you have a range of options. Various websites can help match lawyers to firms, construction workers to hiring companies, and even physicians to practices.
Start Living Your Healthiest Life As Early As Today
You can practice healthy habits in your office as well as in your home and in every other aspect of your life as well. Let nothing stop you from becoming the person that you want to be, whether that’s a healthy eater or an exercise or the most productive person at the office.
If that gets in your way, then find a firm that will let you be the person that you want to be. As you spend more and more time at the company, start valuing yourself more. You deserve it.
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