Editor’s Note: Here at Dispatches, we are always looking for ways to help our readers do things. For some of our readers, that means helping navigate the working world, for others, it means assisting in the ever challenging question, “what’s for dinner?” For still others, it means figuring out how to balance family life with everything else. In an effort to aid in all of these endeavors, we have collaborated on this article written specifically for our readers.
You might think that working from home is always going to be better for you but there are pitfalls you should make sure to avoid for the sake of your health.
Be Careful Where You Sit: If you’re working from home, it’s quite tempting to wake up in the morning and reach for the laptop. You don’t even have to bother getting out of bed. Instead, you can just turn it on and start working. There are a few reasons why this could be bad for you. First, you’re probably not going to get breakfast until later on if you eat breakfast at all. Instead, you’ll have an early lunch which won’t have the same positive impact on your body. You’ll also miss out on rejuvenating your body with a nice, refreshing shower. Finally, and perhaps most important of all, you’ll be putting your health in danger. Experts have now claimed that sitting in one place for too long could be just as bad for you as smoking. Instead of staying in bed, you need to sit in a chair designed for good posture, at a desk. If you do this, you’ll avoid the issues associated with working in bed. You will also still be up for breakfast and your morning shower. You can find a great office chair from a site like arnoldsofficefurniture.com that will do wonders for your back.
Monday Morning Blues: You won’t escape the Monday morning blues working from home. Actually, they could be a lot worse because you’ll have very little chance at human interaction. Research shows that people who don’t interact through the day are more likely to suffer from depression. Having a pet can help with loneliness working from home, but a dog can’t talk back so you’re missing the benefits that the rest of the working population do from social interaction. You can find more about the benefits of social interaction on sciencedaily.com. This is why you need to take breaks and head outside throughout the day. Don’t spend the whole day cooped up in your home office. Even just heading to the shop for a chat with the sales assistant is better than spending the day in silence.
Don’t Overdo It: Running a business from home, you’ll experience one of two problems with the workload. Either you won’t get enough done because there’s nothing to motivate you. Or, you’ll work too much, pushing well beyond the confinement of a 9 to 5 day. The latter option can be incredibly tempting particularly if you don’t have much planned for the evening. Well, this can have severe psychological effects and could once again lead to depression or extreme cases of anxiety. Make sure you’re treating working from home just like working in the office. When it’s time to stop, it’s time to stop, go home and relax. You just have the extra benefit of already being right there.
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