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If you're working from home for the first time, there can be a temptation to let regular routines slip. You don't want to find yourself eating lunch at three o’clock in the afternoon in your pyjamas, or let work drift into the evening hours.

Keeping a good work-life balance is always necessary, but it’s particularly important now with social distancing, working from home, and potential stress and anxiety management. Here are 6 tips to help you to maintain your wellbeing.

1) Maintain a regular routine

It’s important to stick to your usual routines, including regular sleep and waking times, having a shower and getting dressed, regular meal times and regular working hours. Doing so helps maintain our circadian rhythms, work life balance and provides a sense of normality.

2) Taking regular breaks

While it might feel strange taking a break while working at home, it’s an important part of maintaining a regular routine.

When we’re in our everyday working environment social cues such as colleagues getting up to grab a coffee or get lunch can help remind us to take breaks too.

Working from home, particularly if working alone, removes these social cues and means you need to be mindful of how long you’ve been working for.

3) Meal preparation

Talking of food, you need to consider what you’ll be eating for lunch, particularly if you’re someone who generally grabs lunch on the go.

It’s also a good idea to stock the house with healthy snacks, to minimise the temptation to graze on biscuits and unhealthy snacks across the working hours.

4) Regular exercise

One way to break up the day is with exercise. Regular exercise has long been recognised as fundamental for our physical health and mental wellbeing.

You could set aside 15 to 30 minutes each day to move in your own home or garden, or head outside for a walk or run in a local green space. You’re aiming for an intensity that results in your heart beating a little faster and your breathing rate to increase, but not so hard that you couldn’t maintain a conversation.

It doesn’t have to be big. Think dancing to your favourite song, doing a bit of gardening, or creating a mini bodyweight circuit using household items.

Remember that some movement is always better than nothing.

5) Create a work space

A downside of working from home is that your home, which should be a place to relax and restore, is no longer separate from your place of work.

If it’s not possible for you to create a work space, clearing away your laptop and any items you might use during your working day can help to signify that the working day is over and that it’s now time to unwind.

6) Stay connected

Feeling connected with other people is vital for our wellbeing. We’re fortunate to be living in a time where we’ve many different methods of connecting with others.

As well as staying in touch with friends and family, try to schedule regular catch up with colleagues and peers.

Maintaining communication with colleagues will be more important than ever to keep up-to-date with what others are working on, maintain a sense of team spirit and to continue being productive.

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Sam Davis Content Contributor, Warwick Sport

Sam is a content writer and sport enthusiast with a keen interest in football, judo, and hockey.

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