by Emma Joniken
With November coming to an end, many writers are pushing hard to finish NaNoWriMo and hit their word goals. At the same time, a lot of us are still, or again, working from home. Spending all day at your computer can be more straining on your body than you’d think, so here we have some tips on how to best take care of your health while doing so.
1. Sit correctly
I know how tempting it is to slouch down on the couch with your laptop on your lap, and while it might not seem to have any bad effects right now, the way you treat your back might come back to haunt you in the future! Sit at a table or desk and maintain an ergonomically correct position, taking care of your back, neck, wrists and more.
2. Take breaks and get moving
It’s so important to move, and it’s so easy to forget. Set a timer for every half hour, hour, or even 20 minutes to make sure you get out of your seat and move around a little. Walk over to the kitchen, do a couple of jumping jacks, stretch out everything that feels sore, or maybe you feel like doing a dance! Nothing’s off limits as long as you get a bit of regular movement in.
3. Protect your eyes
The blue light of from computer screens is very damaging on our eyes, but it’s difficult to avoid during times like these. Along with taking regular breaks, try to stay off your phone and laptop as much as possible for less necessary things. Keep your screen at a good distance and height, remind yourself to blink often, turn down the brightness on your screen, and see if your device has a setting for reducing blue light. If this is going to be your new normal for a while, it might be worth looking into investing in a pair of blue light glasses.
4. Stay structured
When you don’t have set worktimes it’s easy to overwork yourself or get stressed out by the lack of boundary between work and personal time. Make it easier for yourself by structuring out your day, choosing how long you’ll work or how many words you’ll write, and setting a start and end time including breaks. Decide on a specific workstation to separate it from leisure. Don’t be tempted to spend every waking hour of your day working; save enough time for yourself and your hobbies and relationships.
This is a stressful time, and it’s more important than ever that we take care of both our minds and bodies. These are the rules we’ll be following, and we hope you do the same!