If you spend around 8 hours a day working, that means you’ll spend around 90,000 hours of your lifetime at work, or, a third of your lifetime to put that into perspective. Then, we spend another third of our lifetime sleeping (or attempting to do so).
You’ve probably spent time trying to optimise your sleep, whether it’s with a sleep mask, new mattress or sleep gadget or app. Plus you’ve probably spent time optimising that final third of your lifetime maximising your social life. So why not do the same for your work day?
Here’s a great list of ideas, from big ideas to small ones you can implement right away to help optimise your health, productivity and happiness so that you can have a domino effect on your after hours life: sleep and social life.
Curate the ultimate healthy lunch List
Eating lunch is probably our favourite part of the day. It’s the perfect time to catch up with a friend or sit outside- all while spending time away from your desk on a good break. However, there’s nothing worse than dealing with hunger and not having a packed lunch. Looking around for lunch options while starving doesn’t always lead you to the healthiest options, so we recommend building a healthy lunch spots list either yourself or with your team to help direct your hunger towards healthier options.
Ditch the meeting room, opt for a walk and talk
When it comes to short internal meetings that don’t require sharing a screen or presenting a deck, you should consider a walking meeting. Whether you’re getting outside or walking around your workspace, it’s good to get off your chair and walk around. Since you’ll already have your phone, use your notes app to bring your key points along with you and take any other notes.
Creating a dog-friendly office space
A 2017 survey found that 88% of employees at pet-friendly workplaces said having pets at work improved their sense of well-being. If your office building allows pets, you should definitely consider making your space dog-friendly to keep stress levels reduced.
Affordable standing desk that’s also portable
Sitting all day is not good for your health, and there’s no doubt it can be difficult to squeeze standing time in during the work day. According to the University of Waterloo, you should be standing for “at least 30 minutes per hour to get health benefits”. MOFT Z Stand makes it easy to transition from sitting to standing in a pinch without breaking the bank on a fancy desk. Plus you can take it anywhere, from working at the office, remote working or using a co-working space with hotdesking.
Dedicated work water bottle
You guessed it. A water bottle that lives on your desk so that you never have an excuse for not drinking enough water. When dehydrated, “your blood vessels constrict, which lead to increased stress levels. Chances of messing up the task than completing it are a lot higher. Also, water helps to flush out toxins, some of which are responsible for high stress.” It’s time to ditch sweet and sugary drinks and opt in to H2O.
Plants - more than just a green thumb
Plants are pretty powerful, they can boost creativity, productivity and even attract talent to your company. But the craziest benefit of plants is that it reduces sick building syndrome which then reduces the amount of sick days that employees take. The symptoms of sick building syndrome include headaches, nausea, difficulty concentrating, and even flu-like symptoms. And because plants filter toxins out of the air, they can help prevent sick building syndrome whilst giving you a plant baby to look after.
Talkspace - a new kind of therapy
Like many services in this world, even therapy is seeing a digital movement in the right direction to make therapy more accessible to those who need it. With Talkspace, you can be matched to a therapist, change therapists without a fee, cut down on commute time, and have 24/7 access to help when you need it most. That way, you don’t have to wait weeks for your next appointment and you can feel confident switching therapists until you find the right person. If you’re looking for more on mental health, check out our Mental Health in the Workplace blog.
Carve out an outdoor hour
Reconnecting with nature, whether you’ve got access to a forest, a park or the beach, can make a huge impact on your health. Staff Squared shares that “a lack of fresh air and sunlight harms the immune system, leaving you open and more susceptible to colds and flu as consistently breathing stale air in and out won’t supply your body with enough oxygen to keep your white blood cells fuelled and functioning properly.” Beyond that, getting outdoors is good for your energy, focus, vision, immune system and so much more. Whether you’re taking your lunch or having a break, make some time to get outside.
Squeeze in stretch breaks
If you find it hard to stay consistent with wellness tasks like this, we highly recommend scheduling it into your calendar- that way meetings don’t get in the way and you’ve dedicated time towards taking care of yourself. We’re all for scheduled R&R, so why not schedule in the mini self care breaks too? It’s so easy, you can do it from your desk!
Optimise your desk position (hint: follow the light)
A study conducted in 2017 showed that “employees seated within 10 feet of a window reported an 84% decrease in eyestrain, headaches, and blurred vision symptoms”. Plus, they have also found that employees with windows in their workspace have better sleep and stay asleep, on average, for 46 minutes longer. If you’re able to reposition your desk or grab that hotdesk near the window, you’ll be taking care of your sleep, vision and so much more. The view looks good from a desk with a window.
Have you tried any of these hacks before? Do you have any others you love? Let us know in the comments below! We love to learn about what the MOFT community does to stay healthy at work.