Week 2: Making your workspace healthy
Welcome to week two of our How To Work Well series. In last week’s column I focused on how to get healthy on the way to work, with some simple tips and recommendations to help you realise just how powerful small changes can be when it comes to your mental, physical and emotional health.
This week, I want to focus on your actual workspace, your desk and how you can make your office area work better for you. The reality is that you spend so much time at your desk, the healthier you can make that space, the better chance you have of getting and staying healthy!
Spring clean
First and foremost, it’s crucial to do a desk spring clean. I always say that someone’s desk is a direct reflection of their mind — if it’s messy and untidy then you may be the same way. Getting it clean and structured will help you to feel calm, relaxed and organised
— the three pillars that will help you get healthier.
Seating
Secondly, let’s address the seating issue. When you sit in a chair, the chair does most of the work. Your body switches off and relaxes and, over time, will lose the strength it needs, resulting in poor posture and often back pain. So what can you do? A Swiss ball swap will work really well, as your body is now working much harder to sit straight. A standing desk is great too and Ikea do super desk adapters that don’t cost the earth. If you want to blow the budget, you can get a treadmill desk or a cycling desk, which means you will also be burning calories while you work too. The reality is to find an option that works well for you which you can sustain.
Goals
Now it’s time to visualise your goals. In my diary every year I have my top three business and personal goals, always visible on the front page. I want you to do the same, write down your top goals and place them somewhere on your desk where you can see them. Even just glancing at your goals is a great way to train the subconscious mind to help you work towards them.
Healthy snacks
My next tip is to plan for eating well at your desk. Since you are going to be spending lots of time here, you need healthy snacks and water at your desk to be able to eat and drink during the day. This is especially true at birthdays and times of celebration when, no doubt, you will have boxes of sweets passed around. My tip here is to take a few, enjoy those few and then ensure to give the rest away to someone else. If they’re on your desk you are far more likely to eat them. Never good!
Your body
Okay, but what about your own body, what can you do to make your day better? Firstly, similar to your commute, you can engage your core. Pull your belly button in towards your spine at random intervals during the day — a simple way to improve the strength in the centre of the body, helping you to sit and stand taller too.
The second tip is to use a quick and easy trick to take the pressure off the lower back. Place a thick book around two inches off the floor and place one foot on that book at any one time, this helps to take a lot of the pressure off the lower back and you can simply alternate your feet during the day.
They key point to this whole series is to make you realise just what you can do during the day to make a difference to your health in the workplace. You spend so much time there, so try to make it somewhere you can actually improve your health.