Four Super Survival Tips for Work From Home Folks

Stretch more, sit better, tucks, and…yes, sleep every so often

If you’re into your second or third week of work from home and this is still new to you, the pleasure of the newness might well be wearing off.

In fact, if you’re experiencing cabin fever, as I know my fellow Coloradans are right now (that’s another story) as the sun begins to warm the trails, you’re not alone. That, plus lower back pain, from going from chair to couch to bed to chair to couch to bed. Or bar stool to floor. It depends.

If you happened to have fallen from the bar stool to the floor, that’s a different kind of pain, but I digress.

Those folks who, like me, have been at this a while, might have some other suggestions, which I would love to hear. I am going to temper this for people who don’t share my unabashed penchant for exercise breaks every twenty minutes.

Two of these ideas came from Outside Magazine’s online newsletter. The writers, all of whom, like me, are movement mavens, have been sharing some very good ideas which would work for all of us even if you couldn’t lift more than a beer can, much less a dumbbell. They are working at home, going mildly nuts, and they’ve been sharing very good strategies for those of us who, at least in this instance, share their circumstances.

Stretches for sitting (especially if you write all day)

If you don’t have a foam roller (mine are in storage) you can rig something similar by rolling up a towel and putting two rubber bands around it. Not quite the same, but the idea is support. And please, you don’t have to do all these. Pick and choose and see what feels best.

My proper work chair is downstairs. Right now I’m ensconced at the dining room table. These straight-backed chairs were never intended for all-day use. I am not going to muscle my office chair upstairs because the wheels will ruin the wood floor. The wood floor that was just prepped to sell this house. Eventually. So, the chair stays down. But the chair I’m using sucks. Which led to:

Saving Your Ass

Solution #2: I need to save my butt (in more ways than one, which means hide the chocolate almonds). I found this cushion online, promptly ordered it, and I agree completely with the writer. You can also buy two and use them for back and butt support. Thermarest makes good stuff (I am not being paid for this, I am a customer only) and it lasts. Even better, you can inflate or deflate this cushion to your preferences, put it in the car, take it to the stadium when the games start again…..I like good gear. This is good gear and it’s relatively cheap:

Now a special treat (not food) about tucks (no, not the ones for hemorrhoids, which can indeed be an issue for people who sit too long) and it’s NOT about “tucker” (pronounced tukka, if you’re a Dinky-di Aussie; tucker is another term for food). This video is for all of us who love an Aussie accent. I’d be among them, having lived there for four years. Our PT expert will give you the single best exercise that I learned from my uber excellent sports chiro to fix your computer neck. Most of us probably have one.

This movement looks weird. I do it. It WORKS. That’s all that matters.

Go Lie Down. No, Really. Preferably Alone. Wait…Yes. Bring the Dog.

Each of us has a very specific daily rhythm. If yours has been disrupted by our Conditions, then it might take you several weeks to figure out your best work hours at home, especially if you have to wrestle a work area away from another family member. Whether you are an extreme early riser like Mark Wahlberg and me (I love putting the two of us in the same sentence, AS IF I knew the guy, right?) or you do your primo creativity and productivity between 3 pm and midnight, makes no difference.

You and I need to nap. Period. Napping isn’t lazy. It is health-essential.

You can recharge by napping. Please see this:

I am up right around 3 am. By the time most folks are dragging their second or sixth Keurig next to the computer screen I’ve gotten perhaps two or three articles finished, at least an hour of exercise, a shower and breakfast.

I’m ready for a nap.

I hit my couch, put on a fuzzy eye mask, cuddle my Perfect Man Gerry the Ancient Teddy Bear. Precisely twenty minutes later I am up, rested and raring to go. And, utterly confused about the time, date, location, the current President (see? Napping is so good for you) and much more. I shake that off and get back to work as refreshed, as if I’d had eight hours of sleep.

I love this quote from the napping article:

The key to productivity isn’t managing your time, but your energy.

My energy flags badly at 3 pm or so. Unless I am so motivated, I leave my work to the side, find a movie, take a walk, relax. I have to be back to bed by 7:30 or 8 pm.

Now look. If you have a partner who is happy to accompany you to where you nap, just make sure you nap afterwards. The point is to recuperate, generate more energy and get rested.

Now I’m gonna go channel this puppy for twenty minutes and weird out my neighbors by doing those chin tucks.

They throw nickels on my deck.

I need the money.