Looking After Yourself With a Demanding Office Job

Office jobs have the potential to destroy our well-being. They’re busy, noisy and dusty environments and the work you can do is sometimes so stressful that you’ll come back home a complete mess.

Depending on the country you work in, the entire worth ethic could be ridiculous as well. For instance, take a look at this Tokyo salaryman’s diary. He slept a total of 20 hours and worked 54 hours across a single week—a ridiculous amount by anyone’s standard.

This doesn’t just happen in Japan, however. All across the world, people are devoting themselves so much to their work that they constantly forget to look after their own bodies. If you feel like you’re in a similar situation, then here are a couple of ways to help you stay healthy at a demanding office job.

Use a wrist rest

If you use a computer for extended periods of time, then you would be wise to get a wrist rest for both your keyboard and mouse if you don’t already have one. Long periods of time typing can lead to issues such as RSI, and if you’re unlucky, it will require hand surgery to fix or even treat.

If possible, try to give your hands a break if you’re a fast typist. Repetitive strain can make you less productive over the course of the day, so give your fingers and wrists some time to heal and recover from strenuous typing sessions.

Stay organized at home

The more organized you are at home, the more likely you’ll be able to have an organized schedule. This will help you stay on track so that you’re never late to work, you’re never late with your assignments, and you don’t feel like you’re stressed out and rushing every little thing you do.

Stay calm, relax, and give yourself sufficient time. A good way to stay organized is to realize how much time you really have and cut down unnecessary tasks. For example, do you really have time to make long phone calls to friends and family members in between work?

Instead of stressing out by adding more tasks to your day, cut down and give yourself more time to meditate and relax instead.

Be active

Take the stairs, walk around more often, use a standing desk or visit the gym after work. A sedentary job is never a good thing for your body, so make sure you’re moving around and working your body on a regular basis.

This could be done by simply getting off the train or bus a stop early, going for walks more often after work or even stretching your legs at the desk. Take a look at this article to learn some desk stretches that can help work your muscles to reduce pain and increase comfort after a long period of time sitting down.

These are just a couple of tips that will help you look after yourself at a demanding job, but it’s important to remember that you need to balance a sedentary lifestyle with a healthy diet and after-work exercise.