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Remote Work & Culture

Make Time for These 7 Self-Care Remote Work Tips

Did you know that, according to a 2020 survey, 80% of Americans intended to be more mindful about regular self-care practices after the pandemic?

But it isn’t easy to make time for yourself and prioritize healthy habits while working from home and navigating busy schedules. Nevertheless, it’s essential. But not to worry — we’re here to help make your life a little easier with seven self-care remote work tips to simplify your routine when you’re feeling overwhelmed. (We even include a few recommendations for awesome self-care products.)

Before diving in, here’s a friendly reminder: When considering what to do on a self-care day, the activities should fuel your physical, spiritual and mental health. If you start something and discover it’s not serving you well, go back to the drawing board, simplify and try something new to find what works for you.

1. Stay hydrated and take care of your skin.

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Work life balance is important, but it’s not easy to prioritize self-care while working from home. For starters, working remotely means you’re no longer motivated to visit the water cooler for a top-off (and a chat). But guess what might incentivize you? Staying hydrated can significantly boost your productivity and creativity (the human brain is, after all, composed of ~73% water) and keep your skin looking fresh.

If you struggle with hydration, get creative with your water bottle of choice. Mix in some fresh fruit to add flavor or even electrolytes (although this isn’t a substitute for drinking the recommended amount of water in a day). Brands like Liquid IV offer various flavors of electrolyte additives.

And don’t forget the sunscreen! (Yes, even if you don’t have plans to go outside.) Electronic devices like our smartphones, tablets and TVs emit blue light — also known as High Energy Visible (HEV) Light — that might lead to premature skin aging and damage. So find a sunscreen that includes iron oxide for protection against visible light. We also suggest an excellent  moisturizer to keep your skin hydrated.

Then, when the weekend rolls around, pamper yourself with a face mask! It’s a great way to give your skin what it needs after a long week.

2. Dress the part. 

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Maybe you’ve adopted PJs as your work-from-home uniform. It might, however, be time to retire those to nighttime use only especially if you need a motivation boost during the day. Sure, it’s convenient to roll out of bed and stroll into your home office without thinking twice about dressing for the corporate world. But here’s one of our favorite (and most straightforward) work from home wellness ideas: take the time to get dressed and ready for your remote workday.

It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Instead, your morning prep might simply look like a great skincare routine and a change from your PJs into casual work-from-home attire. That might be more than enough to prepare your mind to tackle your to-do list.

3. Move your body.

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Another one of our go-to free self-care ideas: Get your body moving. That might look like an early morning yoga session or a 10-minute walk around the block three times a day. Even participating in a late-afternoon virtual fitness class can help you de-stress and wind down after a hard day’s work!

Luckily, fitness challenges, apps and online classes abound thanks to the “fitness-at-home” movement ushered in by COVID-19 just find a routine and time that works for you!

Here are just a few apps we recommend for getting a move on:

  • Insight Timer Start a meditation practice or even listen to soundscapes as you get ready to sleep. This free app allows users to enjoy yoga and meditation and tune into wellness lectures.
  • Alo Moves Thanks to a partnership with the Red Cross, Alo Moves offers a free one-year subscription to U.S. military service members, veterans and families. It’s filled with hundreds of yoga and fitness instructors, so sign up today!

*Bonus points if you find a way to get your kids involved; it can be a win-win, helping them burn off some energy, too.

4. Build breaks into your schedule. 

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Chances are, your office is no more than a few steps (or rooms) away from your bed. This makes it far too easy to stay constantly plugged in, burning the midnight oil (and burning yourself out). For that reason, it’s crucial to set clear boundaries around your workday and even your work environment.

Have a dedicated workspace – even if it’s just a closet. Build breaks into your schedule. Give the Pomodoro Technique a try. Get comfortable with stepping away for five to 10 minutes every hour or two (at the most) anything to avoid burnout, minimize stress and lower blood pressure, boost creativity and remain productive.

Also consider building in a clock-in and clock-out time and stick to it. You can be flexible if needed, but a rough schedule of working hours can further empower you to separate your “remote worker” life from your home life.

Have to work late? Switch your devices to dark mode or minimize the brightness on your computer screen. You’ll thank us as soon as bedtime rolls around. On that note, with how much you’ve been hustling, consider treating yourself to a self-care day off!

5. Eat balanced meals (and snacks!) to fuel up.

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When working from home, you either fall into the camp of snacking all day due to convenience or skipping meals altogether due to getting caught up on a specific project. Either way, it’s crucial to keep your nutrition in check so you can fuel up for maximum alertness and productivity.

Need a hand getting started with this remote work self-care tip? We suggest meal prepping for the week ahead! Sure, it can be a lot of work to handle this on the weekend, but you can look forward to easy-to-grab meals during your busy week. Also, when you eat, just eat give yourself the lunch break you deserve. While powering through always seems like the best option at first, you’ll quickly lose steam by the afternoon. Lastly, if you’re a snacker, try portioning out your snacks and keeping the junk food out of sight, out of mind!

6. Lean on your support networks.

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The lack of face-to-face interaction can be a shortcoming for many remote employees. Yes, there are always Zoom meetings, but these can often be to-the-point and focused on specific deliverables or hot projects, without those personal connections that help keep you going. Make time to fill up your connection tank. Hop on a video chat with a family member. Take a break to meet a local friend for lunch. Or invite a long-distance loved one to a virtual coffee date. Staying connected to your community — both near and far — can help get you back on track with a positive mindset.

7. Don’t work from home yet? Start your journey today.

If you’re ready for more flexibility while advancing your career and want to implement these wellness tips for working from home, create or update your Arti profile with Instant Teams.

Your Arti profile serves as your digital resume and Instant Teams application. What makes it unique from the traditional application process is that once you’ve completed each section of your candidate profile, you’re done!

Ready to get matched to remote assignments by Arti, our proprietary automated remote team innovation software?