Where did the entire morning go?!

And where did all the food go?!

And where are my pants?!

Whether it began because of Covid, or long before Covid, if you work from home (either as an entrepreneur or a stay at home mom) you KNOW there are challenges that come with being at home all day.

Aside from finding your pants (which I probably can’t help you with), let me reassure you, the challenges are TOTALLY NORMAL.

Eaten your entire week’s worth of groceries in 36 hours? Yep, done it.

Spend an entire morning scrolling social media and end up wondering why you’re so hungry? Ohhhh! Cuz it’s already 1pm dammit! Yep, I’ve done that too.

Along with the normal challenges of everyday life, those of us who spend all day in our homes have unique challenges when it comes to our health.

Remember to Get Up

I don’t know about you, but I can get lost in work (or – see above – social media) and completely forget that it’s not normal to sit for three or four hours on end.

To combat this, I’ve experimented with the pomodoro technique where you work for 25min (and actually set a timer) and then break for five minutes. And during that break I force myself to get up, move around, maybe go outside and check out the garden for the 5th time that day. But I force myself to move.

If you’re not a fan of the 25 minute limit and don’t want it interrupting your flow, you can always build a habit stack around moving. A restroom habit stack to get you moving after you use the restroom; or an email habit stack to get up after each time you press send on an email. 

No matter what your plan is, just have a plan to get moving throughout your day.

Even with kids, it might feel like you’re moving more because THEY are moving more. But when you sit down to take stock of how much you actually moved around (other than to lean around the island to see if they’re still paying attention to zoom virtual learning) you might find you’re moving less than you think.

Keep Your Promises

No, this one isn’t a lesson in kindergarten politics. This one is a very mature, adulting kind of thing to do.

Keep the promises you make yourself.

I don’t know if you’re a calendar type of girl, or if post-its are your jam. Whether you use a digital version or a handwritten on paper kind of deal, no matter how you make those little appointments and promises to yourself, KEEP THEM.

What kind of promises you ask?

The ones that say you’ll do [insert name] habit stack; the ones that schedule in a workout after you’re done working for the day; or the ones that remind you to only eat when you’re hungry.

That’s how you can avoid eating yourself out of house and home while you’re working from home.

When you make a plan, you’re more likely to stick to it.

And that’s exactly what a plan is – a promise to your future self to do a certain something when you said you were going to do it.

So whether you’re planning out your meals for the day in MyFitnessPal or scheduling in your workouts for the week, keep those promises you make to yourself. Because after all, if you can’t keep a promise to yourself, who will?!

Interact with Real People

It may seem obvious, but even if you’re not an extrovert, you NEED to interact with real people each day.

Loneliness can be as damaging as smoking 15 cigarettes per day!

So just because you’ve lovingly named your home office the Bat Cave, don’t get trapped in your own hidey hole.

Join a group coaching program, find a local mom’s group on Facebook, or find a business network to do virtual coffee with each Friday.

When it comes to working from home, remember to work on your mental health just as much as your physical health.