The Best Work from Home Daily Routine For Healthy Body and Mind
If you’ve been working from home for awhile now either due to COVID-19 or other factors, you might be looking to establish a work from home daily routine. Especially as the business landscape changes to include more virtual and flexible options, you may be looking to create a daily routine for healthy body and mind.
Routines are a great way to add stability to your life and to improve your mental health. Additionally, routines can help you stay on task and increase productivity so you can reach all of your goals!
This post is going to give you the perfect work from home daily routine for healthy body and mind.
This daily routine is packed with self care and items to keep you on track to knock out your to-do list and reach your goals.
There are several benefits of a daily routine, especially when you work from home.
- Provides comfort and structure
- Reduce stress and anxiety
- Boost productivity
- Improved mental health
- Decreased decision fatigue
Provides comfort and structure
Having a daily routine provides comfort and structure to your day.
When life gets crazy, busy, or stressful (or all three!) it can be reassuring to know that the basic structure of your day will remain generally the same.
Reduce stress and anxiety
A daily routine can really help reduce stress and anxiety. By having a structured daily schedule, you’ll be able to feel more prepared and organized for the day.
Which in turn, can help reduce stress and anxiety that can stem from a lack of time management and organization.
Boost productivity
When you work from home, it can be easy to get distracted or not feel productive at work. Having a daily routine will help you build much needed structure and organization that will help you be more productive.
By doing things like outlining a to-do list every morning, you’ll know exactly what you need to accomplish and plan your time accordingly.
Improved mental health
In addition to reducing stress and anxiety, a daily routine can also help improve your overall mental health in general.
This daily routine is packed with self care that will leave your mind feeling refreshed and relaxed. Things like meditation and journaling will help to boost your mental health.
Decreased decision fatigue
The last major benefit of a daily routine is reduced decision fatigue.
If you haven’t head of decision fatigue before, it’s a simple concept that essentially illustrates how we make so many decisions during the day that our brain feels tired at the end of the day.
All of these decisions we make – like what to eat for breakfast, what time to wake up, etc. can get really tiring. However, when you develop a structured daily routine, then the amount of decisions you make every day is less – reducing that mental fatigue you feel.
This post is going to give you a work from home daily routine for healthy body and mind.
1. Wake up early
The first part of a daily routine for healthy body and mind is to wake up early.
Now, by no means do you have to wake up at 5 am every day – just set your alarm for a time that means early to you.
Believe me, I know it can be tempting to just roll out of bed before your first morning meeting. However, waking up early can change your whole day.
The main reason waking up early is beneficial in your daily routine is because it will prevent you from feeling rushed and stressed in the morning. You’ll be able to fit in activities that benefit your physical and mental health before you even start work.
2. Physical activity
The next essential item in a work from home daily routine is physical activity. Similar to waking up early, this activity should be whatever physical activity means to you.
Whether you like to go on a run, jump on the elliptical, or do some yoga, physical activity is a great way to jump start your day. It makes your mind feel more awake – maybe even more than a cup of coffee.
Physical activity in the morning also helps loosen your muscles and prepare your body for the day.
I also find that getting some exercise out of the way in the morning is a great way to prevent yourself from getting too busy or too tired later on in the day and pushing it off.
If doing hard core exercise in your morning doesn’t work with your schedule or personal lifestyle, you can also just take a few minutes and do some stretching to loosen up your body and reduce aches and pains you might feel from sitting at a computer all day.
3. Shower
The next item in this daily routine is to take a shower. Not only will it help you feel fresh and clean after the physical activity you just did, but it will help you feel awake and ready for the day.
Let yourself use this time to relax and be with your thoughts. Mentally prepare for the day.
4. Meditate
After taking a shower, I recommend doing some meditation. Mindfulness and meditation is a great way to help yourself be present in the moment, improve breathing, and reduce stress.
Meditation only takes 10-20 minutes, but can have a huge impact on your day.
If your new to meditation, read a post on meditation for beginners here.
If you don’t have time for morning meditation in your daily routine, you can also add some mindfulness exercises that fit right into your morning routine without adding extra time like mindful eating.
For 5 Mindfulness Activities to Incorporate into Your Morning Routine, click here.
5. Healthy breakfast
Eating a healthy breakfast is essential to a healthy daily routine. Even if you’re not huge on breakfast, just getting a little something in your stomach can be helpful.
Eating a healthy breakfast in the morning will set the tone for your whole day and encourage you to make healthy choices throughout the rest of your meals.
Food also gives you fuel and energy for your day – so a good breakfast will help you be prepared for the day ahead.
6. Write a to-do list and prepare for the day
One of the best ways to be productive throughout your day is to outline everything you need to accomplish so you can plan your time.
I recommend using the free Self Care Seeker daily planner to plan your day. Not only is there space to record your to-do list, but there is a place to plan for self care, record what you’re grateful for, and make notes.
As a bonus, you’ll also get additional life-changing self care resources including a month of journal prompts, a weekly self care schedule, and a stress management checklist.
Fill out the form below to get these resources to your email for FREE now!
7. Get to work!
Now that you have done some self care in the morning and prepared your to-do list you are ready to get to work!
8. Take small breaks
While you work, be sure to take small breaks throughout the day. If you work sitting at a computer all day, it’s beneficial to take small breaks to rest your eyes and stretch your muscles.
Take a pause to eat some healthy snacks or a healthy lunch. Rest your mind to keep yourself sharp during work!
9. After work ritual
Alright so you’ve finished work for the day, and if you’re working from home that might mean you just close your computer and get ready for your night. No need for a long commute home cause you’re already there.
However, because you don’t have the drive home, it can feel like you don’t have much separation from work and your mind doesn’t get that same to to decompress. And that time is important to prepare your mind to relax during the night.
Because of that, in this daily routine for healthy body and mind, I recommend developing an after work ritual to replace your commute. Put your computer away in another room. Maybe you listen to a few of your favorite songs or a podcast.
Just give yourself a few minutes to clear your head from the day.
10. Healthy dinner
Next your ready to cook up a healthy dinner. Treat yourself to something healthy and delicious.
11. Relax
After dinner take some time to relax – whatever that means to you!
Maybe you watch some episodes of your favorite TV show or maybe you work on a puzzle.
Choose an activity that you find fun and enjoyable.
12. Make a cup of tea
Another great aspect of a healthy daily routine is a cup of herbal tea to help you relax at night.
Sit down on the couch and enjoy a warm cup of tea.
13. Journal
I also recommend keeping a journal every day. Journaling has so many benefits from helping you process emotions, reducing stress, and sparking creativity.
It can be a great way to dump all of your thoughts and emotions from the day into a safe place so you can clear your mind and sleep easier.
For more information on how to start a journal, read more here.
14. Skin care routine
Another essential aspect of any daily routine is a skin care regime. A skin care routine is not only beneficial to your skin’s health, but it has a lot of relaxing and mental health benefits as well.
For an entire step by step nighttime skin care routine, read more here.
Even if you don’t have time or energy for a whole skin care routine, at the very least be sure to take your makeup off so your skin can breathe.
15. Read a book
Now that you’ve taken care of your skin, get comfy in bed with a good book. Watching TV and looking through your phone right before bed can actually impact your REM cycles.
To combat this, reading a good book before bed can be a great way to unwind without messing with your sleep schedule.
16. Go to bed early
The last step in a healthy daily routine is to go to bed early. Give yourself enough time to get a health amount of sleep, about 7-9 hours.
This will help you feel rested and energized for the day.
That is the work from home daily routine for healthy body and mind!
When you work from home, a daily routine is important to provide stability in your day. A daily routine helps to benefit your mental and physical health. It also helps to boost productivity.
Use the activities in this post to build your own daily routine packed with self care goodness.
Comment below with your favorite way to balance mental health and productivity in your daily routine.
