How to Be Kind to Your Electronics-Addled Body

All it takes is one pandemic to see screen time statistics shooting off the charts.  But isn’t it hard to avoid those devices?  They sit and wait patiently, teasing us with access to absolutely everything (except actual human touch. Sigh). While the flexibility is handy, it is often tough to decide when to stop working…or Netflixing. Alas, staring at a screen can be seriously draining and detrimental to our health (and waistline).  Let’s check out some solid tips to help you improve our quarantine working-at-home, everything-from-home lifestyle.

The Best-Laid Planners

Making a schedule for your day can have major benefits to your working from home schedule.  This schedule will help you stay on task and be more efficient with your work.  (If the schedule doesn’t stay “jump on over to Twitter real quick,” you will be far less tempted to scroll social accounts.) Arrange your schedule with breaks in order to look away from the computer screen every once in a while.  On break time, you can go on a walk, call a friend, eat a great lunch, or simply relax. Your body will thank you, from your eyes to your thighs.

Meals and Snacks

Start your day with a Breakfast of Champions.  Breakfast will keep you going and motivated until your lunch break.  Some fun and easy breakfasts? Avocado toast with a fried egg, a smoothie, oatmeal, or yogurt with berries and granola.  Try to make something different for breakfast than what you had to eat the day before, to mix up your routine.  I always try to make breakfasts with a lot of color to bring some cheer to my morning.  For lunch, the possibilities are endless.  Something helpful is to eat leftovers for lunch, in order to spend more of your break enjoying that much-needed time away from the screen.  Some leftover faves: pasta or a stir-fry from last night’s dinner.  Or toss together a salad or sandwich to enjoy.  Don’t forget about snacks!  Simple to-go snacks are an apple with peanut butter (no eating the sticky stuff near that computer or proofreading pages, please!), dried fruit, a protein bar, or nuts.  

Eye Exercises

Getting glassy? Eye exercises have proven to be very helpful for individuals who spend a large amount of their day looking at a screen.  When you feel your eyes becoming tired, try looking away from your screen for at least twenty seconds.  Another helpful eye exercise is first looking at a faraway object for about twenty seconds, then looking at an object nearby for twenty seconds, and lastly returning your gaze to the faraway object for another twenty seconds.  This is a quick exercise, but it can be very helpful.  Another suggestion is to purchase blue light glasses, which may minimize and block light from digital screens.

Keep Good Posture

If you want to produce your best work (you do), count on good posture to help you.  Sitting wrong, even for a few hours, can lead to cramps and pain.  Neck pain is now far too common. So, let’s put you in the best position possible. First, set up a beneficial desk space.  Make sure that screen is at the same level as your face, so you can avoid looking down while working.  Bonus: This is a terrific way to avoid slouching.  You should also grab a quick five minutes every few hours to stretch your arms and neck.  A massive variety is available via a simple YouTube search.  My challenge to you: Find a different video each day to discover which stretches are most effective (and fun). 

Breathe

You can do it–step away from your screen for awhile and take a few deep breaths.  Remind yourself that you are doing the best that you can!  No matter how important you think a task is, your mental health always comes first. Ah, that one deep breath already relaxes everything.