[thisnthat]

It’s easy to get consumed by trying to complete just one more task or make one more dollar before taking a little time to take care of yourself. If you find yourself falling into this trap, maybe these easy tips will help you see that self-care can be quick and simple and not disrupt your work too much.

Get up and move around

One of the best things you can do for yourself is to get up and move around regularly. Sitting is the new smoking, or so they say. It is recommended that people who work at a desk get up at least once per hour. You may need to set a timer, alarm clock, or alert on your phone, but it’s worth it. Poor posture, poor circulation, aches and pains, and many other health issues can be avoided with this simple idea.

Give your mind a break too

Along with giving your body a break from sitting in front of the computer, make sure you give your mind a break from making money online as well. If you’re feeling bored, frustrated, or burned out, take a minute. Play a game, listen to your favorite song, text a friend. Do something that relieves the pressure for a few minutes.

Get out of the House

If you work at home, order in, shop at home, have people in instead of visiting them, soon it will seem like you never leave the house. Many work at home moms can attest to a sense of cabin fever. After a while though, it can get to the point where you may not want to leave at all, so be sure to get out and about on occasion to combat this. Get out and get rejuvenated.

Keep healthy Snacks on Hand

Many people grab junk food, because they are busy and don’t want to “waste” time making a proper meal. By keeping healthier snacks around, you can avoid eating too much fat, salt, and sugar, even when you don’t want to stop to fix something (which is even worse for people who sit a lot). Fruit and nuts are handy, healthy snacks. You may even want to make a salad or a sandwich in the morning, so it will be ready later when you are hungry. Grab your sandwich instead of a candy bar or bag of chips.

Staying healthy, physically and emotionally, will make you more productive than constantly pushing yourself will. After all, if you’re not well, you might end up doing a poor job or not be able to work at all.

[spiderdust]

It’s easy to get consumed by trying to complete just one more task or make one more dollar before taking a little time to take care of yourself. If you find yourself falling into this trap, maybe these easy tips will help you see that self-care can be quick and simple and not disrupt your work too much.

Get up and move around

One of the best things you can do for yourself is to get up and move around regularly. Sitting is the new smoking, or so they say. It is recommended that people who work at a desk get up at least once per hour. You may need to set a timer, alarm clock, or alert on your phone, but it’s worth it. Poor posture, poor circulation, aches and pains, and many other health issues can be avoided with this simple idea.

YES!! I used to be a little better about this, especially when I was working on my senior thesis a few years ago. I have a timer app that I installed in my browser that reminds me to get up and walk around ever 20 minutes. Now that I have a nursing baby again, I have longer periods of sitting time. I'm in a rocking chair, so I hope that counts as a little bit of activity still (my FitBit seems to think so... 2 days after the baby was born, it said I had walked 9 miles! I hadn't gone anywhere at all, just moved from my bed to the rocking chair to the bathroom and back to the chair again. All that rocking registered as walking).

Give your mind a break too

Along with giving your body a break from sitting in front of the computer, make sure you give your mind a break from making money online as well. If you’re feeling bored, frustrated, or burned out, take a minute. Play a game, listen to your favorite song, text a friend. Do something that relieves the pressure for a few minutes.

I tend to watch movies or TV shows while I'm doing online work, so I don't really do this. I do break it up by rocking/playing with baby, doing household chores (which is another time to get up and move around), or leaving the house for errands.

Get out of the House

If you work at home, order in, shop at home, have people in instead of visiting them, soon it will seem like you never leave the house. Many work at home moms can attest to a sense of cabin fever. After a while though, it can get to the point where you may not want to leave at all, so be sure to get out and about on occasion to combat this. Get out and get rejuvenated.

Sometimes to take a break, I just put the baby in the stroller and go for a walk. It's getting colder and rainy here, so that's going to be more difficult to do soon. Still, bundling up and walking to the library or to see the lights in people's yards or even down to the corner drug store to buy toilet paper gets me out of the house and moving around.

Keep healthy Snacks on Hand

Many people grab junk food, because they are busy and don’t want to “waste” time making a proper meal. By keeping healthier snacks around, you can avoid eating too much fat, salt, and sugar, even when you don’t want to stop to fix something (which is even worse for people who sit a lot). Fruit and nuts are handy, healthy snacks. You may even want to make a salad or a sandwich in the morning, so it will be ready later when you are hungry. Grab your sandwich instead of a candy bar or bag of chips.

Staying healthy, physically and emotionally, will make you more productive than constantly pushing yourself will. After all, if you’re not well, you might end up doing a poor job or not be able to work at all.

This is really important! It's so easy and tempting to just grab whatever is handy and doesn't require a lot of thought or prep. Keep packages of carrot sticks or broccoli florets in the fridge, cups of yogurt, applesauce cups, etc. You can even go as far as packing up last night's leftovers into lunch sized portions so you can grab them when you need a quick meal (although the sandwich suggestion is a great idea!).

I keep snack sized packages of roasted seaweed on hand, which takes care of that salty, crunchy craving, but still gives me a vegetable serving... a bit more nutritional impact than chips or crackers.

Also -- STAY HYDRATED! Keep a water bottle (or something with your favorite beverage) near the computer, and make sure you refill it during those times when you get up to move around.

[grecy0905]

11 thumbs up. We already forgotten ourselves just to earn money. We seldom take a break because time is gold. We seldom sleep because we need to finish something and we are always climbing for opportunity. Your tips is a good reminder to all of us that what really matter is us and we must love ourselves the way we love our family, pets and our trusted online earning sites.

[suny]

You are scaring me @Thisnthat because I am doing almost everything that you mentioned here apart from my day job which again is limited to indoor activities lately. I think I should cut down on my online work and go out more frequently.

[oldbuddy]

I don't know just how healthy it is, but I usually take a couple of naps every day between computer sessions. Then throw in a few meals and take a mile walk a few times a week.

[sprite1950]

You're right about the exercise as I once got a really bad back. I was sitting at my computer and got a really sharp pain across my lower back. I could hardly walk for a few days. When I went to the doctor he told me I should take more breaks because he believed the inactivity was causing it. I take lots now and it hasn't returned so he was probably right.

[thisnthat]

These are some great responses.

That was excellent, Spiderdust. Thank you for adding your personal experiences as well as some good advice. Drinking plenty of fluids is spot on.

Yes, Grecy, you are exactly right. Loving ourselves is so important, yet it's usually not what we focus on. When we feel pressed to earn, we often put our well being behind making money.

I hear you, Suny. This advice is as much for me as it is for everyone else, and Oldbuddy, I think naps are great (if you can get one). I should have added something about getting enough sleep!

I'm glad you're doing better now, Sprite. Any movement at all is helpful. Our bodies just weren't made to stay in one place for too long.

[darrensurrey]

Great article. When you're staring at a screen all day it is really beneficial to take a break and get out even if it seems like a waste of time. You'll come back recharged and ready to go again.

[WorkAtHomeGal]

These all are very good tips and they all relate to me. Ugh earlier I finished off a half bag of party mix while doing some online stuff! I was kind of mad afterwards that I did that... Since last week I have been trying to go to the walking track by my house every other day. In the winter I won't be able to go as they don't plow the trail or anything. I need to keep it up though and do indoor exercises. I have put on weight since working online so I know how important it is to find time to be active.

[thisnthat]

Thanks, Darren. Sometimes, the things we consider a waste of time are the best things for us.

@WorkAtHomeGal, it's easy to do. The best way to avoid it is to put a serving of the snack in a bowl instead of bringing the whole bag to your desk (they say the same thing about snacking in front of the TV). People are so caught up in what they are doing that they don't realize how much they are consuming until half of the bag is gone.

[WorkAtHomeGal]

Thanks, Darren. Sometimes, the things we consider a waste of time are the best things for us.

@WorkAtHomeGal, it's easy to do. The best way to avoid it is to put a serving of the snack in a bowl instead of bringing the whole bag to your desk (they say the same thing about snacking in front of the TV). People are so caught up in what they are doing that they don't realize how much they are consuming until half of the bag is gone.

That is good advice. I did that sometimes with dry cereal or grapes to be healthier. Or sometimes I sit an apple by my desk and eat it when I am hungry or banana. Having a bowl does help though if I bring a bag over well at that point I know I am eating to much.

[oldbuddy]

I like using a bowl to slice up apples, melons or bananas into, because then I can sprinkle on a little bit of Tajin to make it even tastier.

[thisnthat]

That is good advice. I did that sometimes with dry cereal or grapes to be healthier. Or sometimes I sit an apple by my desk and eat it when I am hungry or banana. Having a bowl does help though if I bring a bag over well at that point I know I am eating to much.

Ha, everyone does that. We all eat too much when we don't pay attention to portions. Good idea to set an apple or other fruit on your desk.

Don't know about Tajin, but eating fruit is usually a good choice instead of other snacks.

[swalia]

Thanks for the tips! I often succumb to spondylitis due to long hours at laptop. Now I have limited my online work as health comes first.

[thisnthat]

Thanks for the tips! I often succumb to spondylitis due to long hours at laptop. Now I have limited my online work as health comes first.

Absolutely. Health has to come first. Sorry to hear you are having this pain.

Changing position frequently may also help a bit, if you're able to sit in different positions, and stand/stretch every so often.

[Angie10]

Thanks for the great article, thisnthat! I admit when I first started working online, I spent so much time online, I risked burning out. All I wanted to do was slave away at my computer from the moment I got up until I went to bed! But I soon wised up to the fact that I couldn't continue in that fashion, and have since changed the way I work, observing the same pointers you've listed. I feel a lot better for it, too!

[Amelll]

Very useful tips @thisnthat and great post. I posted discussion about earning money online and about legit sites and I agree with you that online job can be very harmful.

[nela13]

These are great advices @thisnthat, I read somewhere that people who spend more time on the internet experience greater sleep deprivation, have worse eating habits and less healthy diets, engage in less exercise, and also tend to smoke and drink alcohol more. We should really take a break and take care os us first. We can earn a lot of money online but we need to have health to spend it.

[oldbuddy]

Thanks for the tips! I often succumb to spondylitis due to long hours at laptop. Now I have limited my online work as health comes first.

Absolutely. Health has to come first. Sorry to hear you are having this pain.

Changing position frequently may also help a bit, if you're able to sit in different positions, and stand/stretch every so often.

I did better than that today, I drove 10 miles and took my son's dog for a mile walk.

[thisnthat]

@Angie10 I remember you back when on Chatabout talking about how you couldn't wait to get on your computer in the morning and how you were addicted to making money online. Glad you got a handle on it before burn out set in.

The good news is that it doesn't have to be harmful, Amelll.

Wow, Nela. That's a lot of serious stuff to consider. Everything in moderation!

I bet you and the dog enjoyed that, Oldbuddy. Nice.