It is a changing time. As we make shifts into more adaptable and flexible working timeframes, spaces and locations, we have some choices to make regarding how we approach our days, schedules and approach to our working hours. The current situation is going to make a big impact on how we work in the future as the test of ‘remote workplaces’ has well and truly begun. At the end of the crisis we will have a ‘brave new world’ to consider where workplaces are much more open to the idea of not being located in a central office and we are linked in an online capacity.
I touched on the various aspects of this last week in my article WORKING FROM HOME. The one consideration that I would like to give a little more weight to is the physical impact this has on our bodies. For those of us who are set up at home and doing well, we have maybe made some choices about establishing a work space that is geared towards optimal light, posture and focus . For those of us sprawled over the lounge room coffee table this may be more of a challenge that we need to address.
But the important aspect is that our movement patterns have changed. The way we get up and move during an office day is not necessarily the same for when we are engaged at home. Sometimes this can be a good thing as some of us may take advantage of the fact that at 12pm we can get the washing out of the laundry and hang it up outside, or spend an hour during the day out with the dog in the backyard watering the garden. But there are some of us that need a little more attention to our daily habits to avoid the 11hr stretch that can become the norm if we don’t consciously attend to our schedules and have a good blueprint.
Some remote workers are like little soldier ants. They keep to a constant attentive focus on tasks, deadlines, memos and answerable emails. The ability to log on early in the morning as you miss the daily commute and the walk into work from the bus stop means that some of us starting earlier than usual. That’s great. Good to get a jump on the day. Lunch breaks are quick things as we walk from the lounge room to the kitchen and collect our leftover pasta from last night and sit back down at the table/lounge/balcony and glance over a couple more emails and maybe have the tv on in the background. Dinner sometimes might get pushed back as we push on to finish just one more aspect of the report or spreadsheet and then it might just be some microwave dish that gets thrown in because “phew, I’ve been going all day”
But where is our movement? Where is the stair climbs to the 3rd floor, the walk up the hill to get a coffee before going up to the bus stop. Those ellusive 10,000 steps that we were so focussed on with our nifty little watches seem to have been discarded in our quest to just get out of pyjamas and get ahead with the day. Without regular breaks scheduled into your day and time taken out to ensure you have invested in some good solid movement practice, some of us are finding this brand new world to be a very fixed experience. Changing into the lululemons in the morning only to be sitting at the table/coffee table/lounge without so much as a bend and flex, reach for the sky.
Movement Patterns are so vital and so often we miss out on exploring everything that our body does. A lot of of us are perhaps left a little lost, wandering around the house without so much as a pole to scratch or a ball of yarn to play with. The online aspect of exercise for some of us is just not a desirable option. We all remember Aerobics Oz Style at 8am in the morning on Channel 7 but who actually got up and committed to those workouts? Weren’t we all just watching for the trendy fashion tips of crop tops, lycra and fluoro?
Getting into some moving is challenging when you don’t know what to do, or haven’t done enough movement before and just don’t understand how to do it safely. Start basic - 4 movements. Get into some back extension, shoulder circles, forward hip bends and twists. Just getting this regular movement patterning in a 5-15min routine can be a great starting point. You' don’t need weights or therabands yet, you just need to move. The other challenge is using your domestic life to get you moving. Don’t go for the easy option of popping all the washing in the dryer. Hang out your washing, bend and stretch, reach for the sky. These things are part of getting your main joints moving, stretching and extending and oddly, some domestic duties can be really excellent at getting us moving in healthy ways. Bring back the Hills Hoist!
Which brings me to another aspect of the remote working lifestyle. The lack of incidental exercise. To come back to our morning coffee walk example, that extra 500m to walk to the coffee shop before hitting the public transport all adds up. STAY AT HOME means we aren’t getting out and making those 10,000 steps easily. Taking the stairs at work as opposed to the elevator is now replaced with ‘do I walk to the bathroom or just roll across the floor’. (Actually thats not a bad idea! Rolling would actually challenge your lateral spinal muscles more!!) But my point is, we aren’t out and about as much and so we have to find our ways of clocking 10,000 steps in other ways. Some clients have told me this involves committing to a single walk into the park in a day. Something they never had time for before because they had to get to work in the morning. It’s important to realise that where one thing lacks, we need to implement other things to ensure we are still moving and staying mobile. This is where your plan or blueprint comes into it. Take advantage of the time and ensure that you have a way of getting some movement into your day.
There are also some of us who are relishing this new scheduling and trying something new. I am seeing SO MANY RUNNERS out there. It does feel like its one of the things that we can do without a uniformed individual coming up to us and encouraging us to move along. But remember that with any new activity, please be mindful of your volume. It’s great to take up something new but don’t attempt a marathon on your first jog. An easy 10km is not easy if you haven’t run before. Be careful to approach new activities with care and a ‘Graduating Intensity’. Remember, you are going to be sore when you do something new or a new action even. Your muscles are going to be saying to you - ‘whoaaa, that something I haven’t done before’ and whilst you may feel great the next day, beware the 2nd day DOMS. Give yourself enough space to not be hobbling like granny because you thought you could be Cathy Freeman in a week.
Moving is vital. Some of us are really good at it and really excellent at being motivated. Some of us less so. Understand the type of person that you are where you need to be more active or take bit of a chill pill to understand which is the right balance for you. Whilst we are in isolation that can pose its own problems in terms of being able to get out and be active, but use the time wisely if you can to develop some new movement patterns which could in turn lead to something else like doing a 10km run once we are all ‘allowed out to play’ once more. Hopefully - we will all be a little wiser and eager to be part of the movement revolution.
