Self-care is all about taking care of your mind and body. It’s about doing things that relieve stress and bring you joy. However, most of the self-care ideas you read are likely to include a pampering session, reading a good book or trying a yoga class. The thing is, they’re missing a very important part of our lives: work. You can’t expect to deliver your best work if you’re constantly feeling stressed and exhausted, can you? This is why it’s so important to take care of yourself at work, too, as it is a big part of your day.
Here are 12 ideas on how to practice self-care while at work:
- Make yourself a cup of tea: Have something to look forward to when you get to the office such as making yourself a hot cup of coffee or tea—a healthier choice. You can also use that excuse for a five-minute break in the afternoon.
- Make your seating comfortable: Pay attention to your posture, adjust your seat so that the screen is at eye level and bring in a small pillow for your lower back, if necessary.
- Get a standing desk: This really depends on where you work, but if you have that option, get a standing desk. Sitting all day at a desk is not ideal, so it might be worth considering.
- Stretch your body: Take a five-minute break and stretch out your body. If you need some ideas on how to stretch at your desk, Madeleine Shaw’s video is super helpful. However, if you don’t feel comfortable doing it next to your colleagues, sneak off to the bathroom to do it.
- Keep your desk area tidy: Keep your workspace pretty, organized and clutter-free as it will make you feel more productive. Trust me, it’s like pretty workout clothes that motivate you to exercise. You can even add a green plant and a cute pen holder to make things more interesting.
- Take a walk during the lunch break: Get your body moving during your lunch break, even if it’s just 10 minutes around the block to stretch your legs. Also, you can start parking your car further away from the office so that you’re forced to walk a bit more.
- Drink water: Keep a water bottle next to you. I know it’s easy to forget to actually drink it, but make sure to integrate this easy self-care tip into your workday as it’s super beneficial to you. Check out 5 Ways To Drink More Water.
- Bring healthy snacks: It’s also important to not forget to eat throughout the day. Keep healthy snacks next to you so that you don’t feel tempted to buy a pastry from the bakery nearby. Need ideas? Check out 10 Healthy Snacks To Keep On Hand At Work.
- Make a playlist that motivates you: Create a playlist to keep you energized and motivated. Then, pop in your headphones and get work done. Taylor is our queen of playlists, so make sure to check out her most recent creation.
- Keep a cozy sweater on hand: Offices are usually too hot or too cold, so it’s handy to keep a sweater for when you’re wearing a T-shirt and it suddenly gets chilly. This might not sound like a big deal but being too hot or too cold definitely affects your focus and productivity.
- Keep chocolate on hand, too: Do I really need to explain why? It’s a little sweet treat for when you need a pick-me-up.
- Get up once in a while: Staying chained to your desk all day is not good for you, so make sure to get up every now and then to give your eyes and brain a little break and stretch your legs. We like to use this timer to block out time and make sure we get up and out of our desk every hour.
This article was updated and adapted from this post originally written by Joana Ferreira and published on Glitter Guide in 2018.
Main + featured image via our interview with Danielle Hardy.