Your Guide to Getting Up and Moving Around While Working From Home

You've organised yourself a productive insta-worthy working from home space (aka work station). Or maybe like me, it's a space to work on projects and study while looking for your next career opportunity. Either way, you've created an area where there's next to no distractions, and you can type out emails for hours on end. You start your day, and before you know it, it's lunchtime, and you've been sitting in the same position all morning. You look at your smartwatch, and your daily step count is just under 500 steps - yikes! 

We all know that getting up and moving around should be apart of our daily life, with 10,000 steps being touted as the optimal daily goal by many health and well-being experts. However, it's more than just about achieving a goal. It's about not being in the same position for too long, getting the blood circulating, and preventing any aches and pains later on down the track.

I know for me if I sit at my desk for too long I can easily get shoulder, back, hip and knee issues. For others, this could mean sore knees, tense and tight shoulders, or a stiff back.

So, how often should you move? From my reading, there appears to be no specific rules or guideline for how long is too long to be working without movement. As your brain is only able to maintain a high level of focus for around 45 minutes, before it begins to lose steam, I would suggest moving your body every 45 to 60 minutes. By taking a movement break, you will have a mental break too.

These breaks really should consist of leaving the work area; you can go outside, put on a load of dishes, or getting a healthy snack. During this time, stretch whatever feels tight or walk around for a moment. Taking a break does not entail checking your email or Instagram account. A real movement break is when you get out of your seat, and you move your body.

How to move more throughout the day...

Vary your workspace:

Throughout the day you could switch up your workstation. Moving from sitting at your desk to sitting at the kitchen table, or maybe even taking a seat on the couch when you make phone calls. There are also many ways you can convert your desk into a standing desk; a few books and boxes can easily do the trick.

Go hands-free on phone calls and when listening to webinars:

When taking phone calls or tuning into webinars, rather than sitting at my desk, I connect my wireless headphones (Powerbeats3) to either my phone or my laptop. I will then walk around the house, or if I'm listening to a webinar where I don't need to participate, I might do some gardening, cleaning, or check the mail at the same time.

Set a timer:

Finding it hard to keep track of time? You can use your phone, smartwatch, computer, or even an extension for your internet browser to set a reminder to move. You can also use these reminders to remind you to grab a glass of water at the same times, so that you stay hydrated too!

Mix up your day with other activities:

I make sure that I have housework and gardening on my daily to-do list. I like to spend around a total of an hour a day on these tasks as a minimum. I find it is perfect for getting the body moving, to get outside and to get a few chores done at the same time. It also allows my mind the opportunity to process any learnings or ideas I have about in regards to projects I'm working on.

Need a little extra help to get moving:

If you require some guidance and like a more structured approach to moving your body here are some useful links to resources I've recently been using:

• Yoga teacher and wellness blogger Kelly McGrath has been doing free live Yin and Meditation classes on her Instagram account.
• XPTLife is digital coaching experience built on the cutting-edge training lifestyle of big wave surfer and innovator, Laird Hamilton and former professional athlete, Gabrielle Reece.
• Recruiter and Yoga Teacher Vanessa Dolan has made all her easy-to-do yoga videos available online and FREE on her YouTube channel Anessa Yoga.
• Be inspired by activity challenges in this year's The Iconic Sport Challenge and get encouraged to move by the opportunity to win some very cool prizes at the same time too!
• For those corporate Athletes, you might enjoy taking part in Core Advantages Athelete Lock Down. It is a free resource designed to be used by athletes of all sports, and levels of competition as a way of staying fit, keeping up the gains, and preparing for when the lock down ends!
• Kim Pedersen (Wellinux) has shared a video on stretching to reset.

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