Home to Office - Our Top 5 Tips on How to Stay Healthy During the Transition!

After a prolonged stint of working from home in the name of a global pandemic, most of us seem to be heading back to the office, workplaces or on-campus study. 

Changes in your routine can bring about changes to your lifestyle - everything from what you eat and how you exercise to your stress, mental health and mood. Creating a new routine can be challenging; there is no doubt about it, which is why we have provided you with a few simple tricks on how you can continue to prfioritise your health and wellbeing within the constraints of your new routine. 

1. Be organised

Being organised always sounds great in theory, however when it comes to actually implementing the practise of being organised, it always seems easier said than done! 

If you are used to being at home and having the ability to put a load of washing on, duck out to the supermarket, prepare your meals  and exercise whenever you please, it's probably best that you come up with a few strategies on how you can make these happens outside your working hours. 

We recommend: 

- Shopping in bulk or ordering groceries online: this prevents you from needing to go to the supermarket every day! 
- Schedule in time to exercise: whenever that best works for you! We prefer working out in the morning because after a busy day at work - running and jumping is often the last thing we feel like doing. Who can relate? 
- Allocate 10 minutes at the end of each day to quickly tidy up around the house: This can prevent chores from piling up and ending in a '3-hour cleaning job' on the weekend. Weekends are to be enjoyed, remember!

2. Keep healthy snacks on hand

If you've been working/studying from home over the past year, you (like us) will probably be able to appreciate how much easier it was to reach for nutritious snacks in your pantry and fridge. After all, they were right there in the next room! 

Heading back to the office can mean you are pressed for time and will reach for something quick and easy, without considering the nutritional value of the food. 

We suggest keeping a range of healthy snacks at work so that you can be comfortable in making a healthy choice every single time. As tempting as the biscuit tin is, it unfortunately doesn't have our best interests at heart. 

Our favourite office snacks are natural greek yoghurt, KOJA Bars (of course), unsalted nuts, fresh fruit and wholegrain crackers with hummus. 

3. Nurture your mental wellbeing 

It's no secret that heading back to the office can bring about more stress. Sitting in traffic, more hours on the road, less time at home, tighter deadlines and working commitments can increase the pressure we place on ourselves and can negatively effect our mental health in the long run. 

Don't forget to prioritise time for yourself. If 2020 taught us anything, I think we can all agree that looking after our mental health is one of the single most important aspects of our health and wellbeing. 

Our favourite ways to wind down are by reading a book, partaking in a guided meditation or yoga session (you can find videos for these on our private Facebook page KOJA Krew), going for a walk in nature, journalling or simply taking a bath and putting on a face mask. 

4. Book yourself into exercise classes

If you can manage yourself at the gym, hats off to you my friend! We however find it easier to book into exercises classes from an accountability perspective. When our alarms go off at 6:00am, we are the first to admit that we are more likely to exercise if we have officially booked into a HIIT, pilates, yoga or strength session as opposed to just heading to the gym and exercising freely. 

5. Be kind to yourself 

Change is hard, there is no hiding behind the reality of it. Change can also be incredibly important for growth and perspective too. If you are feeling stressed, anxious, uncertain or uncomfortable at the moment, you are not alone! We've all been through a lot of over the past 12 months and need to remember to be kinder to ourselves. You are wonderful and you've got this!