Before I came to the Atlas Corps Fellowship, I worked remotely for a few years. That’s why now I feel prepared for the current worldwide challenge with home offices. I believe some of my life hacks can help you to feel better while working remotely. I’m going to share 3 main life hacks that help me be efficient working from home.
How to stop eating and not gain weight?
The main problem people face when they start working remotely is gaining weight. A fridge is so close to your work desk. Moreover, when you feel frustrated, you keep eating more and more. I figured out that if you want to eat enough but not gain weight, you need to stop buying snacks. Stop buying or ordering prepared food! Try to buy food you need to cook before eating. It helps you to understand whether you want to eat, or it’s just frustration. Moreover, while cooking food, you can rest a little bit from your working activities, which is also helpful.
If you want to have a snack break, buy fruits or vegetables. The time required to make a simple salad is equal to the time you’re waiting to make coffee or to boil tea. Of course, sometimes we want to have some “unhealthy” snacks like cakes, muffins, etc. But try to buy these snacks for one meal and do not keep them at home all the time.
How to sleep on time?
The second biggest problem is how to sleep on time, wake up earlier than midday, and be energetic during the whole day. First of all, keep following your daily schedule. A lot of articles and books advise you to go to sleep earlier for that. But it never works for me; I can go to bed at 10 pm and lie sleep-free for hours… If this is your problem too, I have a solution!
Even if you fall asleep very late, wake up in the morning at least an hour before your work is starting. After a few days, your body will get used to waking up early; hence you will start sleeping early. You can keep using the alarm clock at the beginning. But honestly, an alarm clock is a pretty stressful thing. So, if you want to avoid using it, try to make a trick: before going to sleep, tell yourself the time when you want to wake up in the morning. You’ll be very surprised when you wake up close to or even exactly at this time! I read about this trick a few years ago. Since that time, I have started practicing. Now I do not use an alarm clock most days, except situations when I need to wake up in the middle of the night.
How to be energetic and happy?
Firstly, for sure, do exercise! You don’t need to do a long and complicated workout. Warming up and doing a few simple exercises help you to be energetic the whole day. For example, yoga is perfect for that case. If you’re not a yoga fan, try to do squats or even just dancing to your favorite music.
Secondly, as I already told you, try to wake up at least an hour before your working hours. Use this hour for exercising, eating good breakfast, drinking coffee, and reading a book. I swear you gain a lot of good energy to start your working day!
Thirdly, do not forget about making coffee and lunch breaks. Do not eat in front of your laptop! Go to a dining room, cook your lunch, serve a table, and leave your laptop and phone in another room. Do you like to watch TV shows or series? You can watch one episode during lunch!
Thumbnail photo by Bench Accounting on Unsplash
