Working from home is the norm these days. Whether you’ve set up shop in your bedroom, on the couch, at the dining room table or in your home office, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve got someplace within the home that you’ve dedicated to serving as your workspace. With this new workspace comes new habits and activities. Gone are the days of getting up from your office area at the company and taking a walk around the parking lot as one of your breaks. Instead, you need to approach break-taking creatively. Here are some work break ideas for when you’re working from home!
- Take a Cat Nap: Rather than taking one long nap, take a cat nap! Set your timer for 15-20 minutes and lie down on your couch or bed. Close your eyes. Leave the phone and electronic devices on your desk or put them in “Do Not Disturb” mode. This way, you can focus on getting some rest and really taking a break, rather than just scrolling through social media. Curl up with a soft personalized blanket to make sure you actually take a break!
- Do Some Yoga Poses: Yoga is a great way to enhance fitness and make your body feel better overall. By switching a computer tab over to a brief yoga class or some sun salutations, you can help yourself relax, release tension and get re-energized to finish out the workday. Who knows? You might just become the next great yogi!
- Try Putting Together a Puzzle: While putting together a puzzle might start to stress you out, it’s still a great way to engage your mind without using a blue screen. You don’t have to pick a large puzzle, either. It can be something small that you can complete in a couple of days! It’ll be a great activity for you to do on one of your breaks.
- Walk Down the Street: Just because you don’t have the office parking lot at your disposal doesn’t mean you can’t take a walk! It’s important to get fresh air while you’re working from home, and if you live in an area where there’s good weather in the afternoon, you can take a couple of brisk 15-minute walks during your workday. If you prefer distance over time, try to walk a half-mile. That way, you’ve gotten up and gotten moving!
- Take a Caffeine Break: Sometimes, you just need to brew yourself an afternoon cup of coffee to make it through the rest of the day. Load it up into a cute custom coffee mug, add a dash or two of your favorite flavored creamer and bask in the feeling of caffeine buzzing through your veins as you take that first sip.
- Dance It Out: Doing some quick cardio is great for your health, especially your blood pressure, and it can even help with asthma! It’s important to remain active, especially when working from home. Though you might be sitting comfortably, the way you’re sitting and typing might actually be poor for your health. Add that to the lack of movement you do while sitting through hourly Zoom meetings and you’ve got a recipe for not-so-great health. Getting up from the couch, blasting your favorite tunes and doing some light dancing around the house is a great way to loosen your muscles and get in some much-needed cardio. If you prefer to follow choreography from an instructor, you can search social media for personal trainers who are hosting different classes throughout the day or live stream some moves!
- Do Some Self-Care: Whether it’s a face mask or a hair treatment, take 15-20 minutes during your break to focus on yourself. If you’re not into skincare, you can do some other form of self-care, such as journaling. Regardless, filling your break with activities that make you feel better will help you get the most of your break time.
- Give Your Pet a Good Snuggle: Owning a pet has many benefits, including a better mood and emotional support. So, while you have the chance during your work-from-home experience, take some time to snuggle with your pet. Whether it’s on the couch, on the bed or just a good set of belly scratches on the floor, snuggling with your pet makes for a great break activity! Your pet is probably super excited to have you home more now, so why not spoil them a little? Turn break time into treat time, too, and enjoy a quick snack with your pet.
- Clean the Kitchen: Some psychologists believe that there’s a biological reason for our desire to be clean and organized and that the more we stay clean, the better off we’ll be. During one of your breaks, take some time to tidy up your workspace, wipe down kitchen counters or sweep off your front porch. While remembering to stay clean and organized can be a challenge for some of us, the benefits outweigh the annoyances in this case!
- Call a Friend–or Your Mom! In today’s age of virtual happy hours and Zoom University, it’s important we take a break from the electronics and just dial a phone number. Call a friend just to check in on them. Talk about the weather, one good thing that has happened so far or what you made the kids for breakfast that morning. These phone calls don’t have to be intense or emotional. The goal is for you to have a brief conversation that uplifts you and gets you ready to power through the rest of the workday! Be cautious of calling your mom, though. It’s probably best to save that for your lunch break when you have more time!
- Meditate: Instead of taking a full 30-minute lunch, eat some snacks on your 15-minute breaks and take your lunch hour to meditate! Find a quiet space in your home, free of distractions. Mute your notifications, set a timer and then find a meditation app to help guide you through your brief meditation. The more you meditate, the better you’ll feel!
