The office has become the most common work environment today, and because we spend a large part of the day here, making proper use will have a great impact on our health and well-being. Stress, long hours sitting in front of a computer and lack of pauses affect both our performance and our life in general.
These problems equally affect workers, students and people who regularly spend several hours sitting at their desks in front of a computer. For all these reasons, we have found it interesting to collect a series of microhabits Easy to incorporate into our daily routine and will help us improve our comfort and quality of life.
1. Take active pauses regularly.
Being eight hours of work without getting up is not only uncomfortable, but it becomes harmful. Sometimes we are convinced that if we do not get up our productivity will be greater or we have to finish some task to deliver. This only causes our concentration to drop by minutes and the saturation generated by the task ends up creating blindness error, that is, from so much looking we did not detect the errors.
At that point, the best thing we can do is get up, go for a coffee, a glass of water or take a short walk. This improves posture, lowers stress and magic, enhances our creativity and motivation, helping us solve problems more easily.
Microhabit: Get up 5 min every hour or 10 min every two hours.
2. Rest the sight.
During breaks, it is important to take advantage to relax your eyes and avoid eye fatigue. At present, prolonged use of short vision, such as reading documents or displaying screens, can cause discomfort and difficulty focusing on a long distance.
In some cases, people may believe that their myopia has increased when, in reality, their eyes are simply fatigued. Constant exposure at short distances makes the eye get used to focusing closely, making it difficult to adapt to longer distances.
Microhabit: Technique 20-20-20, every 20 min try to see something at 20 feet, which is 6 meters, for at least 20 seconds
3. Mobility and movement during the day.
I would say that it is an increasingly adopted habit, however we cannot stop recommending regular practice of physical exercise and sports. Inactivity is detrimental and posture in an office is not the best for the spine and arms, so making small movements and stretching reduces the risk of problems.
Microhabit: Stretch the neck, back and legs, in addition to rotating the joints of the arm: wrists, elbows and shoulders.
4. Constant hydration.
Staying hydrated is essential to have energy, having the glass next to it makes it easier to be constant. However, the beneficial thing about this habit is that it helps to fulfill the others.
Get up for something to drink, or when you drink to do the eye exercises and as we all know the rest of coffee as a social act to clear your head or sometimes complain about work.
Microhabit: Having your favorite drink at hand, I personally prepare a stain in the morning or I spend the whole day drinking water.
5. Mental rest: Deep breathing and meditation.
Constant stress is one of the harmful agents that we find at work, and although sometimes nothing can be done to stop it, it is always good to try to fight it. Pauses to walk or have a drink are not usually enough in peaks of stress, so taking a brief moment to disconnect and breathe deeply can reduce anxiety, stress and improve concentration and productivity.
Microhabit: At the beginning and at the end of the day try to reserve a few minutes to meditate with 5 minutes would be enough to start noticing improvements. When you are facing a task that surpasses you, remember, breathe, this will help you relax and face the situation in better conditions.
6. Posture and ergonomics at work
Maintaining a proper posture not only prevents muscle pain, but also improves circulation, breathing and concentration. Adapting the workspace ergonomically is key to avoiding long-term discomfort.
Small adjustments can make a difference: the screen should be at eye level, feet resting on the ground and the back straight, avoiding curling.
Make sure you have knees and elbows at 90º, as far as possible, move the keyboard away 10 cm to be able to write supporting wrists and forearms.
Prolonged poor posture can lead to fatigue, neck and back strain, and even affect mood.
You can find these best explained guidelines in the following link.
Microhabit: If you have a hard time keeping your back straight and you don’t have an ergonomic chair, place a cushion at your lumbar height. This will force you to keep your spine straight, otherwise the cushion will fall out! A simple trick to improve your posture effectively.
7. Healthy eating
No one doubts that food influences multiple aspects of our life, but knowing it does not save us from not having time to dedicate it to cooking. Or at least it’s what many believe. Eating in the office is not synonymous with eating boring tupperware or always the same. On the busiest and lazy days you can look for options close to the office, and others, you can choose to bring it from home.
mycohabit: Dedicating Sunday morning to organizing that you are going to eat every day, as a preliminary guide, now time to know what to cook other days, prepare lunch the night before. Even to reduce the shopping list, so it is a habit that will be reflected in your agenda and in your portfolio.
8. Promote social interactions.
In a work-focused world it is easy to forget that human connections are one more key to our well-being. Prioritizing these relationships in the work environment helps improve a number of aspects that we will see.
Active listening, that is, we begin to listen to our colleagues in a genuine way. The break, having someone to take the breakfast break helps to distribute the responsibility of the break and we have already seen how beneficial it is to stop a little and eat well. In addition, the relations between workers improve the recognition of achievements, therefore it increases morale and performance.
Coworking facilitates these interactions in a natural way, allowing people to know each other and find common interests. With us you can carry out all kinds of activities, follow us on our networks to find the one you like the most.
Microhabit: Say hello to your colleagues and ask them how the weekend went, they are small gestures that break the ice. Human relationships are built step by step.
9. Organize the space.
Many times less is more and on the desk it should be law. Disorder and chaos prevents us from concentrating on the task that we have to carry out, that if we review a document that is not, that if we hit something and mess it up even more. This is why having the workspace tidy and simplified helps you focus on tasks, and guess what happens when everything is tidy and you focus more. Quite right! that lowers stress.
Microhabit: Keep your desktop tidy and you’ll see how it influences. Also if you allow me the advice, order your room before going to sleep will help your rest.
10. Avoid excess caffeine.
Despite the fact that this article has encouraged coffee as a social act in the office, the truth is said, it is not so recommended. It is considered excess caffeine when you drink more than two cups a day. This excess is easy to fulfill when you have the habit of drinking coffee and with it comes a series of detrimental effects to our health.
Microhabit: Trying the teas that have less caffeine has been like discovering a new world. There are all kinds and tastes, it’s just a matter of finding the one you like the most.
The gradual incorporation of microhabits in the work environment can make a significant difference in well-being and productivity. Although at first these adjustments seem minimal, over time their impact translates into less muscle pain, greater energy and better concentration.
The secret is in the perseverance: each small change adds up. Why not start today? Try to integrate one of these habits into your routine and observe the results. Share your experience and tell us what changes you have noticed. Your well-being begins with a simple action!
