Even though I’ve been out of college for an embarrassingly long time, I’m still pretty new to the 9-to-5 world. After living such a sporadic schedule and juggling multiple part-time jobs, adjusting to 9-to-5 life was both amazing and challenging all at once. I still kind of miss going home in the middle of the day and making myself lunch while watching Sex and the City.
In reality, many individuals are forced to leave their towns and states in search of better prospects. They have to put in a lot of work to locate their ideal career, such as adjusting to a new location, learning the dos and don’ts of the new state, and so on. Besides that, when people have to relocate to a new location they have to think about so many things, especially when they have a family to take care of. For example, people have to look for accommodation, find the best charter schools in jacksonville fl, or wherever they are migrating to, find transportation if they do not have one, and locate stores nearby. Aside from that, a few practical factors to consider when relocating to a new place include new employment possibilities for their spouses in their areas (if you’re changing careers), how the environment matches their lifestyle (winter or no snow? ), and if it will be simple to develop a community there (we all need friends). During the transfer, people require new clothing, pajamas, sheets, towels, toiletries, and prescriptions.
Furthermore, people who already own bikes in their native place, while relocating to a new location, often need to use services such as motorcycle transport interstate for travel convenience. Overall, relocating to a metropolis and adjusting to the rigid schedule of 9-to-5 employment is never easy.
Side note, does anyone actually work 9-to-5 these days? Bueller? Bueller?
Anyway, a lot of my coworkers are recent college graduates also adjusting to the joys of 9-to-5 life. Some seem to be quite happy with the pay, while others cannot stop complaining. I also heard some of them talk about some az204 and dp-203 exam that they are planning to take to get better pay, so that they can too enjoy their 9-to-5 with better pay, I guess. Anyway, coming back to health, it can be pretty easy to get into an unhealthy slump with a desk job. While some things like spending the majority of the day sitting is unfortunately unavoidable for many of us, there are a handful of things you can keep in mind to stay healthy at your job even if fitness isn’t your profession.
Awkward work selfies from my first ever phone call at the new job.
1. Ask yourself: am I hungry or bored?
I’m totes guilty of “boredom” snacking while working. If the day is dragging on, I crave something stimulating and what’s more stimulating than a crunchy pretzel in my mouth (don’t answer that…). The first step to beating boredom snacking? Ask yourself if you’re actually hungry or just bored.
If you are hungry, great, go get a snack. Better yet bring a snack if your office doesn’t have a snack pantry so you don’t have to settle for whatever at some coffee shop.
I usually crave something salty and crunchy mid afternoon and try to stick with this great 2 ingredient popcorn they have at work (yes we have a lot of free food at Yelp, I honestly love my job). Do your best to stick to simple foods with simple ingredient lists, my fruits like apples or carrots.
If you are bored, get up and take a lap around the office instead of snacking or substitute with some tea or water. I’m not saying deny yourself snacks, but don’t mindlessly finish a huge bowl of chips because you were subconsciously munching at 3:00pm. Now, if that doesn’t work, you might want to check if it is the right career for you. Maybe it is time to renew your resume with the help of services like ARC Resumes. Hopefully, your new job won’t be as hectic and boring!
2. Water water water.
I drink a lot of water whether or not I’m at work. Fun fact, I actually always have a water bottle with me because of my bizarre anxiety issues (that’s a whole other story, but on the plus side I’m always well hydrated).
If you keep water on your desk and bring it into meetings with you, you’ll be surprised how much more water you actually drink without even realizing it. There’s a lot of theories about how much water you should be drinking, but the general rule of thumb seems to be 9 cups for ladies, 13 for the fellas, and more if you’re working out of course.
Bonus: You’ll also have to go to the bathroom a lot more which means getting to stretch your legs.
Not that kind of hydration…
3. The seventh inning stretch
I’ve totally been guilty of sitting for roughly 10 hours straight at work, yes me, Kayla, the personal trainer, fitness junkie and healthy living blogger. Sometimes you honestly can’t avoid it, there’s no logical alternative to sitting if you’re answering emails all day sans standing desk.
You can still make the effort to stretch and get up during the day. Check out these great and pretty discreet stretches from Greatist that you can squeeze in during the work day.
Since my job is more centered around the phone now, it’s a bit easier to get up and move around a little bit while I’m talking, I try to make a conscious effort to stand up if I’m leaving a voice mail (which is fairly often) since I don’t need to reference anything on my computer for that. While I wish I had a standing desk, getting up as much as I can is still better than sitting all day.
4. Take the stairs… at least down
I now work on the 16th floor so actually haven’t taken the stairs at my new job, but previously worked on the 7th floor which made it really easy (and sometimes faster!) to walk down stairs rather than waiting for the elevator. Even I’m not good about taking the stairs up, especially if my quads are hella sore, but taking them down? Sure thing.
Side note, I have an elevator in my apartment building, but 1 out of the 2 elevators has been under constructions for the past 4 months. Wait times can be over 5 minutes for the one and only working elevator, but bonus is I’ve been forced to take the stairs a whole lot more.
5. Bring lunch
I’m still working on making this one happen more consistently, but bringing lunch is not only healthier for you, but also cheaper. My rule of thumb has been bring lunch 4 days a week (or have tuna fish from the work kitchen when I’m feeling especially lazy) and treat myself once a week to something from the outside world.
How do you stay healthy while working 9-to-5?
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